Some wag e-mailed to ask about flying the flag for Valentine’s Day.
Oregon entered as the 33rd state in 1859 – this is the Oregon commemorative quarter-dollar coin.
Legally, nothing stops a resident from flying the U.S. flag following protocol on any day. So the short answer is, yes, you may fly your U.S. flag on Valentine’s Day.
So for Oregon and Arizona, there is an expectation that residents will fly their flags. Oregon came into the union on February 14, 1859; Arizona joined the Republic as a state in 1912.
President William Howard Taft signed the papers accepting Arizona into statehood, on February 14, 1912. He still finished third behind Democrat Woodrow Wilson and Bullmoose Party’s Teddy Roosevelt in that fall’s elections. Photo found at Mrs. Convir’s page, Balboa Magnet School (Can you identify others in the photo? Who is the young man?)
I hope your flag is already flying today — sun’s up in almost all the U.S.
U.S. Capitol before dawn, January 21, 2013 – flags for the Senate and House not up yet, but the historic five flags of the nation hang ready for the 2nd Inauguration of the 44th President, Barack Obama. Photo from near the Newseum (replacing earlier photo from roof of Newseum, gone into internet ether).
U.S. Capitol before dawn, January 21, 2013 — flags for the Senate and House not up yet, but the historic five flags of the nation hang ready for the 2nd Inauguration of the 44th President, Barack Obama. Photo from the roof of the Newseum.
Courtesy of the Newseum, the front page of the Miami Herald, today — featuring the Martin Luther King, Jr., monument, and the official inauguration of President Barack Obama. 40 years ago, who would have dared guess this front page in a southern newspaper?
Capitol building for Connecticut in Hartford; this photo is from the rear of the building, so the U.S. flag is flying correctly on its own right. The building was completed in 1878. The dome is covered in gold. Image from Wikimedia Commons
To avoid political scheming by anti-federalist colony governors, especially Patrick Henry in Virginia, in September 1787 James Madison proposed that the draft constitution be ratified not by legislatures in the colonies, but instead by a specially-called convention of the people of the colony. Connecticut’s convention met first on January 3, 1788, and with six days of discussion and debate, passed a resolution of ratification on January 9.
So by tradition, January 9 is Connecticut’s statehood anniversary. According to U.S. law, citizens and residents of a state should fly their flags on statehood anniversaries.
Hall of Flags in the Connecticut State Capitol Building; photo by the great photo-historian Carol Highsmith, from the Library of Congress collection; the statue is Connecticut’s Civil War Governor, William A. Buckingham (1804-1875), honored for his personal contributions to the equipping of Connecticut’s men fighting in the Civil War;.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
South entrance (main) to the Utah State Capitol, with U.S. and Utah flags flying on the single flag poll, and the snow-dusted Wasatch Mountains in the background. Utah State Law Library photo.
Utah joined the Union on January 4, 1896. It had been a 49-year slog to statehood for Deseret, the Mormon settlement in the Desert. The size had been pared down, so it would not be the biggest state, incorporating parts of what is now Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico. New capitals had been tried and cast aside (Fillmore, Utah). Democratic Party rule was broken when LDS church authorities went door-to-door, calling every other family to the Republican Party, and party parity. The Mormon Church abandoned polygamy, and adopted a state constitution that gave the vote to women.
Iowans may fly their flags today in celebration of the anniversary of Iowa statehood. Iowa’s admission to the Union came on December 28, 1846; Iowa was the 29th state admitted.
American Flag, Spencer, Iowa, 1996 – caption from the National Geographic Society: A man rolls up U.S. flags at the end of the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. “Although the population of Spencer is only about 12,000, the fair draws some 300,000 visitors. Once a year, rising from the endless flatness of the Iowa countryside, a crowd forms—to stroll, to hear big country music acts like the Statler Brothers, to sell a grand champion boar, to buy a new silo.” (Photographed on assignment for, but not published in, “County Fairs,” October 1997, National Geographic magazine) Photograph by Randy Olson; copyright National Geographic Society
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Flag flying at the White House in the background, the National Christmas Tree in the foreground. Image via WETA.
It’s been raining here in Dallas (now changing to heavy, wet snow). One may fly the flag in inclement weather. Remember to dry the flag before putting it away.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
December 14, 2012
Presidential Proclamation — Honoring the Victims of the Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut
HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE TRAGEDY IN NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT
– – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, December 18, 2012. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA
The Governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, following the practice established by his predecessor, Jennifer Granholm, notified Michiganders of orders on flying the flag through an e-mail list-serv. He’s Republican, she’s a Democrat. Michigan honors each Michigan soldier killed with half-staff flags.
Does your state’s governor offer a similar service? If not, why not call and ask that they do?
President Obama has ordered the flag of the United States lowered to half-staff until sunset on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 to honor the victims of the school shooting in Newtown, CT.
“The senseless acts of violence witnessed today in Newtown are unthinkable,” said Snyder. “My sincere condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the parents and entire families forever impacted by this tragic event.”
We have included a PDF of the president’s official proclamation.
Thank you for subscribing to updates from Governor Rick Snyder. We welcome questions and appreciate comments at our Contact Us page. However, please do not reply to this email. This is an unmonitored address, and replies to this email cannot be responded to or read.
Remember, flag etiquette suggests that the flag should be briskly raised to the full staff position, then slowly lowered to half-staff. If your flagpole is less than 30 feet high, you may want to be sure the flag’s lower grommet is at the half-way point, and not the top grommet.
Stamford, Connecticut, Fire Department Honor Guard puts the U.S. flag at half staff, in Stamford (photo from an earlier event) – Photo: Amy Mortensen / Connecticut Post Freelance
Presidential Proclamation — National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 2012
NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY, 2012
– – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On December 7, 1941, our Nation suffered one of the most devastating attacks ever to befall the American people. In less than 2 hours, the bombs that rained on Pearl Harbor robbed thousands of men, women, and children of their lives; in little more than a day, our country was thrust into the greatest conflict the world had ever known. We mark this anniversary by honoring the patriots who perished more than seven decades ago, extending our thoughts and prayers to the loved ones they left behind, and showing our gratitude to a generation of service members who carried our Nation through some of the 20th century’s darkest moments.
In his address to the Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed that “with confidence in our Armed Forces — with the unbounding determination of our people — we will gain the inevitable triumph.” Millions stood up and shipped out to meet that call to service, fighting heroically on Europe’s distant shores and pressing island by island across the Pacific. Millions more carried out the fight in factories and shipyards here at home, building the arsenal of democracy that propelled America to the victory President Roosevelt foresaw. On every front, we faced down impossible odds — and out of the ashes of conflict, America rose more prepared than ever to meet the challenges of the day, sure that there was no trial we could not overcome.
Today, we pay solemn tribute to America’s sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu. As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright — whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free.
The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as “National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.”
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2012, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn day of remembrance and to honor our military, past and present, with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this December 7 in honor of those American patriots who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA
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Americans load up this particular holiday with significance, often for no particular reason. As a holiday, it is really rather uniquely American. There were feasts of thanksgiving from time to time throughout recorded history, but most often they were one-shot affairs, after a particular event.
In America, Americans eagerly seized on the idea of one day set aside “to give thanks,” both with the religious overtones some wanted to see, and with the commercial overtones others wanted, especially during the Great Depression. In our 236th year since the Declaration of Independence, the 223rd year since the Constitution was enacted, we come to Thanksgiving as a major period of travel to old family homesteads, to Thanksgiving as a period of genuine thanks to American troops fighting in foreign lands half a world away, and as a commercial celebration that sucks the sobriety and spirituality out of all but the most dedicated of profiteers, or bargain hunters.
In the early 20th century, some people sent greeting cards for Thanksgiving; this is a tradition overtaken by Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years cards, today. (Image from HubPages, unknown year — credit for cards, “Images courtesy VintageHolidayCrafts.com“
Thanksgiving often stumbled into controversy. George Washington issued proclamations calling for a day of thanks, but struck out all references to Christianity. Some president’s issued similar proclamations up to the Civil War, When Abraham Lincoln used the holiday as a time to remind Americans that they had a lot to be thankful for, partly as a means to keep Americans focused on the war to be won, and keep supporting troops in the field. During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt juggled dates for Thanksgiving, moving it earlier in November to create a longer Christmas shopping season, hoping to stimulate sales, and thereby push America further out of the Depression.
In 2001 George W. Bush urged Americans to go shopping so terrorists would know America was not defeated by the attack on the World Trade Center, knowing that a stimulus to the economy would help garner support for other policies.
Children riding large turkeys, waving American flags, made popular images in several years of the early 20th century.
2012 saw controversy over Big Box stores and other major, national retailers pushing their post- Thanksgiving, Christmas sales, into Thanksgiving day itself. Is this fair to employees? Is this too much emphasis on purchasing, and too little emphasis on family and giving thanks?
You can be sure of one thing: It’s probably safe to fly your American flag on Thanksgiving, as Congress suggested. It won’t make your turkey more moist or your pumpkin pie taste any better. It won’t boost your sales, if you’re a retailer, nor find you a bargain, if you’re a shopper.
If you have the flag, it costs nothing. Flying the flag makes no particular religious statement, supports no particular political party, supports no one’s favorite football team. Flying the flag earns you nothing, usually.
But as a free act of patriotism, support for our nation, and our troops, and a demonstration that even after a divisive election, we’re all one nation, it’s a pretty good deal.
Falling down on the job here as arbiter of your flag-flying habits. How could I forget that some of America celebrates this day as Columbus Day? (No one in this household gets the day off.)
Fly your U.S. flag today. Fly it to honor Columbus’s discovery of the Americas. Or, fly your flag to honor exploration and explorers, and to remember the people who suffered so greatly as a result of the collision of European cultures in search of money, and American cultures lacking gunpowder and steel.
The second Monday in October is celebrated as Columbus Day, a federal holiday (though not widely honored in private enterprise). Columbus made landfall in the Americas for the first time on October 12, 1492, 520 years ago.
John Vanderlyn, Oil on canvas, 12′ x 18′ – Commissioned 1836/1837; placed 1847 in the Rotunda of the Capitol. Christopher Columbus is shown landing in the West Indies, on an island that the natives called Guanahani and he named San Salvador, on October 12, 1492. He raises the royal banner, claiming the land for his Spanish patrons, and stands bareheaded, with his hat at his feet, in honor of the sacredness of the event. The captains of the Niña and Pinta follow, carrying the banner of Ferdinand and Isabella. The crew displays a range of emotions, some searching for gold in the sand. Natives watch from behind a tree. John Vanderlyn (1775-1852) had studied with Gilbert Stuart and was the first American painter to be trained in Paris, where he worked on this canvas for ten years with the help of assistants.
Did you notice? In the painting in the U.S. Capitol, Columbus isn’t flying the U.S. flag. Acccuracy over political correctness winds, eh?
Below the fold: A description of the painting in the Capitol Rotunda, from the Architect of the U.S. Capitol (the “official” version.)
The distinguished commentator Pat Carrithers, on Facebook: “Today is a special day. It’s Columbus Day. That’s the day on which illegal immigration is called Discovery.”
Did you remember to put your flag up today? September 17 is Constitution, one of the score of dates on which Congress recommends everyone to fly their U.S. flag.
U.S. flag flying at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, with fireworks – National Park Service image. Fort McHenry is one of the sites Congress designated to fly the flag 24 hours a day, lighted or not.
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Amendments 11 through 27 — notice that, although not ratified until 1991, the 27th Amendment was in the package of amendments proposed by James Madison in 1789, a package of twelve proposed amendments, of which ten were ratified within a few months to become the Bill of Rights
Rotunda for the charters of Freedom at National Archives (NARA) building in Washington, D.C. Here displayed are the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Flags at the Washington Monument fly at half staff, with the dome of the U.S. Capitol in the background. Fly your flag at half-staff today, Patriot Day.
Americans are urged to fly flags today, at half-staff, in honor of patriots and those who died in the attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.
(b) Proclamation.— The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation calling on— (1) State and local governments and the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate programs and activities;
(2) all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States and interested organizations and individuals to display the flag of the United States at halfstaff on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001; and
(3) the people of the United States to observe a moment of silence on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001.
Patriot Day formerly occurred earlier in the year; information on flag flying has not been added to the Flag Code portions of U.S. law, and consequently this news gets missed.
Fly your flag today, at half-staff. Remember when flying a flag at half-staff, it is first raised to full staff, then slowly lowered to the half-staff position. When the flag is retired at the end of the day, it should again be crisply raised to the full-staff position before being lowered.
A flag attached to a pole that does not allow a half-staff position should be posted as usual.
Description
On April 21, 2009, President Barack Obama signed legislation that for the first time officially established September 11 as a federally recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance.
By pledging to volunteer, perform good deeds, or engage in other forms of charitable service during the week of 9/11, you and your organization will help rekindle the remarkable spirit of unity, service and compassion shared by so many in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. And you’ll help create a fitting, enduring and historic legacy in the name of those lost and injured on 9/11, and in tribute to the 9/11 first responders, rescue and recovery workers, and volunteers, and our brave military personnel who continue to serve to this day.
Check in your own community to find opportunities for service projects.
It’s Labor Day 2011 in the United States, a federal holiday, and one of those days Americans are urged to fly the U.S. flag.
“Free Labor Will Win,” the poster said, encouraging a theme important during World War II, when unions were encouraged to avoid strikes or any action that might interrupt work to build the “arsenal of democracy” believed necessary to win the war. Labor complied, the war was won, and organized labor was the stronger for it. In 2012, some have difficulty remembering when all Americans knew that our future rides on the backs of organized labor.
The poster was issued by the Office of War Information in 1942, in full color. A black-and-white version at the Library of Congress provides a few details for the time:
Labor Day poster. Labor Day poster distributed to war plants and labor organizations. The original is twenty-eight and one-half inches by forty inches and is printed in full color. It was designed by the Office of War Information (OWI) from a photograph especially arranged by Anton Bruehl, well-known photographer. Copies may be obtained by writing the Distribution Section, Office of War Information [alas, you can’t get a copy from the Office of War Information in 2012]
Even down here in deepest, darkest-right-to-work Texas, patriots fly their flags to honor Labor today. It’s heartening.
Flags fly all around in 1882 at the first Labor Day Parade in New York City’s Union Square; lithograph from USC’s Dornsife History Center, via Wikipedia, artist unidentified
Or, until that account is unsuspended by the forces supporting Donald Trump: Follow @FillmoreWhite, the account of the Millard Fillmore White House Library
We've been soaking in the Bathtub for several months, long enough that some of the links we've used have gone to the Great Internet in the Sky.
If you find a dead link, please leave a comment to that post, and tell us what link has expired.
Thanks!
Retired teacher of law, economics, history, AP government, psychology and science. Former speechwriter, press guy and legislative aide in U.S. Senate. Former Department of Education. Former airline real estate, telecom towers, Big 6 (that old!) consultant. Lab and field research in air pollution control.
My blog, Millard Fillmore's Bathtub, is a continuing experiment to test how to use blogs to improve and speed up learning processes for students, perhaps by making some of the courses actually interesting. It is a blog for teachers, to see if we can use blogs. It is for people interested in social studies and social studies education, to see if we can learn to get it right. It's a blog for science fans, to promote good science and good science policy. It's a blog for people interested in good government and how to achieve it.
BS in Mass Communication, University of Utah
Graduate study in Rhetoric and Speech Communication, University of Arizona
JD from the National Law Center, George Washington University
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