Betsy Ross flag
Although her manufacturing contributions are documented, a popular story evolved in which Ross was hired by a group of Founding Fathers to make a new U.S. flag.[2] The claim by her descendants that Betsy Ross contributed to the flag's design is not generally accepted by modern American scholars and vexillologists.[3] Ross became a notable figure representing the contribution of women in the American Revolution,[4] but how this specific design of the U.S. flag became associated with her is unknown.[7] In 1870, Ross's grandson, William J. Canby, presented a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in which he claimed that his grandmother had "made with her hands the first flag" of the United States.[8] Canby said he first obtained this information from his aunt Clarissa Sydney Wilson (née Claypoole) in 1857, twenty years after Betsy Ross's death.Canby dates the historic episode based on Washington's journey to Philadelphia, in late spring 1776, a year before Congress passed the Flag Act.[24][a] While modern lore may exaggerate the details of her story, Canby's account of Betsy Ross never claimed any contribution to the flag design except for the five-pointed star.The Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress passed a Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777, establishing the first congressional description of official United States ensigns.The shape and arrangement of the stars is not mentioned – there were variations – but the legal description legitimized the Ross flag and similar designs.The Board sent a letter to General Washington asking his opinion, and submitting a design that included a serpent, as well as a number corresponding to the state that flew the flag.Historians and experts discredit the common theory that the stripes and five-pointed stars derived from the Washington family coat of arms.Washington frequently used his family coat of arms with three five-pointed red stars and three red-and-white stripes, on which is based the flag of the District of Columbia.During the Revolutionary War era and into the 19th century, the "Rebellious Stripes" were considered as the most important element of United States flags, and were almost always mentioned before the stars.In the late 18th century, a circle of stars, also known as a "wreath"[54] or "medallion" arrangement,[55] was a favorite for painters and coin designers, as well as some flag makers.The thirteen stripes showed with the stars the number of the United Colonies, and denoted the subordination of the States to the Union, as well as equality among themselves.The Betsy Ross design, with its easily identifiable circle of stars, has long been regarded as a symbol of the American Revolution and the young Republic.Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and a symbol of women's contributions to American history.During the United States centennial, not long after the presentation by William Canby, the Betsy Ross design became a highly produced and popular flag.
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