StarsNStripes Origami Lantern

Betsy Ross is said to have been commissioned by George Washington in 1776 to create the first official American flag. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress unanimously passed a resolution that would unite the thirteen colonies under one standard:

“Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Over time, stars were added to the field of blue as new states were admitted to the union. The flag as we know it today with its 50 stars was designed by an Ohio high school student, Robert Heft, in 1960 for a class history project inspired by the addition of Alaska and Hawaii. Heft's design was selected out of more than 1500 submitted to President Eisenhower, and has been the nation's official flag to this day.