The American flag is one of history’s most indelible icons.
The star spangled banner has, since its inception, become a symbol of freedom and democracy that
every single American is extremely proud of.
With its seven stripes and fifty stars and the iconic trifecta of colours associated
with freedom - red, white, and blue – almost anyone in any corner of the globe will be
able to recognise Old Glory in whatever medium or form possible.
However, the flag did not become our today’s icon overnight.
Before the final design was approved, the look of the flag had to go through numerous
looks and iterations that, if you would try to imagine any of them today, would not really
make much of an impact – and inspiration - that it should or not at all.
What’s even more interesting is that the design that we all recognise today did not
become official until 1960.
Even more so, one of the most important chapters in the history of the flag came about in the
Eisenhower era when Alaska and the island of Hawaii were going to be incorporated into
the flag.
American’s were extremely interested in the new flag and eager to participate in history
that President Eisenhower’s office received thousands of unsolicited designs from citizens.
You could say that this could also very well be the first time in history that crowdsourcing
came to light.
So today we are going to revisit twelve of these flag designs that did not necessarily
fly well with our forefathers.
12.
THE EAGLE AND THE STAR The only requirement for the flag’s design
was that the stars must be set in white over a blue field.
How the other elements are laid out are completely up to the designer.
There is even no requirement on how the stars should be arranged.
This one, from an anonymous designer, took a cue from military flags and laid out the
stars in a way that they would form one large star with the American Bald Eagle at the very
center.
The stripes are laid out the same way as the flag we use today.
11.
STAR-STUDDED This design lacked the blue field that was
required of the flag.
In its stead, are red stripes over a field of white studded with stars and at the very
center is a much larger star with another one at its heart representing the largest
and smallest states in the union.
Aside from the fifty stars on the field were four additional ones that are said to represent
President Franklin D Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms”.
And at the very bottom of the flag was a running text of poetry that reads “From the state
that is large, to the one that is small; All fifty offer peace and goodwill to one and
to all.”
10.
THE DOPPELGANGER Another one from an unknown designer featured
the map of the mainland United States in blue filled with white stars representing all fifty
states.
Since there is no restriction that the blue field needs to be a square or a rectangle,
this surely should have passed, right?
Fortunately for us, it didn’t.
Because the rest of the layout includes intersecting red lines behind the US map that eerily resembles
those of the United Kingdom’s Union Flag.
9.
THE QUICK FIX Designing a flag can be problematic and can
take a lot of time until the right layout is made.
It takes careful and meticulous decisions in order to avoid alienating groups of individuals
or cause any kind of offense to anyone at all.
In the case of this design, the designer may have drawn it up a little too hastily that
it looks more like a gag than something you would take seriously.
The layout is pretty standard with the blue field in the upper left-hand corner and the
stripes in their proper places.
However, the flag seems to be missing some stars because there are only thirteen of them;
and to make matters even more bizarre, a large number 50 is at the center of the blue field,
encircled by the said stars.
8.
THE TORCH Seeing kids being patriotic is something that
any parent can be proud of and should continue to encourage.
In the case of a 17-year old student from New Jersey, she took her patriotism and designed
a flag for President Eisenhower’s consideration.
The design was the standard layout of the flag except that instead of laying out the
stars in a row, they have been arranged in a circle surrounding a hand carrying a white
torch with red flame that we can only assume is a representation of the Statue of Liberty.
7.
MINOR IMPROVEMENTS A woman by the name of Estell Arthur Owens
submitted a design proposal for the flag that makes some minor adjustments to the existing
one.
Using the same elements of the American Flag, Owens, instead, rearranged the stars to form
the numbers 1776 – the year when the Declaration of Independence was signed as well as the
same year Betsy Ross supposedly sewed Old Glory at the request of George Washington,
who was a Continental Army General back then.
6.
THE GEOGRAPHER’S DREAM At this point, we can assume that the standard
layout of the flag is pretty much perfect and makes quite an impression.
This flag design sticks to that layout.
However, instead of placing the stars where they should be, the designer opted to place
the map of the mainland US in the blue field and has plotted out 48 stars on the geographic
location of the state each one represents with the stars for Hawaii and Alaska sitting
next to each other on top of the map.
5.
A COMPLETE OVERHAUL A submission from a woman named Gertrude Brofman
took the idea of the flag and completely turned it into something, well, “new”.
Designed by Brofman’s brother, the submission features a stylized geometric pattern that
reads “USA” in the middle of a large white star.
The pattern was designed in such a way that however which way you flip the flag, it would
still read “USA”.
4.
NO SPACE WASTED This design looks pretty simple.
In fact the only change that was applied to it was that the designer decided to extend
the blue field so that it covers the entire height of the flag.
The colours and layout remain the same except that the stars – since the blue field has
been stretched downwards – now seem to be arranged in columns instead of rows.
It could have been a winner if not for the fact that it appeared too cluttered and messy
despite the designer’s best intentions.
3.
WHAT’S A MOTTO WITH YOU?
Here is another design that decided to keep it straightforward and preserve the look of
the flag.
The design is pretty straightforward, preserving the original layout of the flag.
However, the stars have been rearranged so that there are eight in five rows with the
remaining two stars flanking the US motto “In God We Trust” as the final row.
2.
ROUND AND ROUND THE STARS Another proposal sent to President Eisenhower’s
office is also pretty straightforward and still keeps most of the original layout of
the flag.
However, the unnamed designer made the creative decision to layout the 50 white stars in concentric
circles.
A design choice that, somehow, confuses the eyes more than keeping it locked onto the
entire image of the flag.
1.
THE UNITED STATES OF NATIONS This is an interesting design that keeps the
original elements and layout of the American Flag.
The stripes are in their proper positions, the blue field is just the right size; however,
instead of placing the stars that represent all fifty states in the union, the designer
made a bold choice of placing – what seems to be – the logo of the United Nations in
the blue field.
While the United States is indeed one of the most important and influential member-countries
of the organization, having to incorporate the standard of the United Nations into the
American flag may be pushing it a little too far.
So there you go.
I never thought about the process of making the flag, but now that I think about it, it
was a huge task that everyone felt important to complete.
I can’t really imagine the united states having a different flag, and i’ve grown
up with it my whole life.
What are your thoughts?
Anyways thanks for watching, I ‘ll see you next time