This Day in History: Congress Adopts the Stars and Stripes June 14, 1777 The basic design for the American flag was adopted at the Continental Congress during the American Revolution.
Legend has it seamstress Betsy Ross sewed the first flag at the request of General George Washington.
The flag had thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen stars set in a circle against a blue field.
As new states declared their statehood, the flag added both stars and stripes.
Congress restored the original 13 stripes in the early 1800s to represent the original 13 colonies.
The inaugural Flag Day was held on June 14, 1877, and was designated officially by Congress in 1949.
