This brief video on the legend of the Betsy Ross Flag was intentionally created to leave out my personal thoughts on the current trending topic of Nike and the Revolutionary Flag.
If you would like to know my personal thoughts on current revisionist history, I can only state that the attempt to demonize the Betsy Ross Flag is a poorly disguised act of misogyny.
While Betsy Ross may not have been the woman to have crafted this flag, another woman, obviously long forgotten, most certainly did. The flag had nothing to do with slavery when it was created, but it had everything to do with the start of a new country.
Brief History of the Betsy Ross Flag – Revolutionary Flag
According to American legend, in June 1776, the Continental Congress asked Betsy Ross to make a flag with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, representing the original thirteen colonies: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. It was decided that as each new state entered the Union, a new star would be added to the flag.
The Betsy Ross flag also became known as the Revolutionary Flag. The American Revolution began in 1775 and lasted until 1783. The Declaration of Independence was made on July 4, 1776.
The controversy surrounding the Betsy Ross Flag story comes from the fact that it was Betsy’s grandson who told the legend of the flag’s origin 100 years after the American Revolution.
While there is no actual proof that Betsy Ross made the thirteen stars and stripes flag, it has been proven that she made flags for the State Navy Board from 1777 until 1816.
Regardless as to whether or not people want to give Betsy Ross credit for this particular flag, in 1989, the Betsy Ross Flag was officially named American’s first national flag.
