In 1776, the American colonists decided that it was time for them to separate from Great Britain. There were many reasons, and the result was the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, which proclaimed the creation of a new nation and country, and the War of Independence won by America in 1783.One of the first flags of the independent colonists had 13 red and white stripes, and on the blue field in the upper left corner there was a red cross of St. George and a white one of St. Andrew. However, after the beginning of the revolution, this flag with its obvious connection to England (the crosses of England and Scotland) began to cause conflicting emotions, and it was decided to create a new flag.I must say that the colonists had many different versions for flags. For example, a very popular flag was this: a coiled rattlesnake on a yellow background with the inscription "Don't step on me!". But the design on which the Congress stopped and which in May 1776 was received by the dressmaker Betsy Ross from George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross, had 13 red and white stripes and a blue field on the left. The difference from the previous (pro-British) one is that on the blue field there were 13 white stars in the form of a circle – the new constellation of the independent states of America.It is unknown who produced the design project. According to some sources, it was a member of Congress Francis Hopkinson; in any case, in 1780 he wrote a letter to the Admiralty, stating that he was the author of the design. Initially, the stars were supposed to be six–pointed, but the craftswoman Betsy Ross showed customers that it is much easier to cut five-pointed stars - it can be done with one movement of scissors. Impressionable congressmen agreed to this change, and at the end of May 1776, the new flag was ready, and on June 14, 1777, by a decision of the US Congress, it was adopted as the official flag of the new country.The design of the last flag with 50 stars was created by Robert Heft in 1958. A 17-year-old student of one of the schools in a small town in Ohio received a homework assignment: to come up with a flag design. He came up with it, getting a 4 with a minus as a result. Robert did not agree with the teacher's assessment, to which he said that if Robert manages to get Congressional approval for his flag, the assessment will be changed. The rest, as they say in America, is history.
It follows from this that the American population, happily buying and wearing T-shirts, ties and underwear with pictures of the American flag in commemoration of Independence Day, violate the rules of the Code. Moreover, if you follow the Code, then old T-shirts and underpants should be burned with all respect. It's good that the Code is not a law, but a guide to action, and violators are not punished...