Flag: An American Biography"The curious history of Old Glory and the special veneration it often evokes" comes alive in this comprehensive volume—preface by Nelson DeMille ( Kirkus Reviews). The thirteen-stripe, fifty-star flag is a quintessential American icon. It stirs something in the hearts of Americans like no other symbol. Yet the flag's history is cloaked in myth and misinformation. In Flag, historian Marc Leepson presents an illuminating, myth-busting look at the American flag from its colonial origins to its renewed importance in the aftermath of 9/11. Leepson examines how the flag's meaning and popularity evolved over the years, and sheds light on key figures in its story, such as the maker of the star-spangled banner, Mary Pickersgill; the author of the national anthem, Francis Scott Key; the coiner of the phrase "Old Glory," US Navy Capt. Samuel Driver; the first African-American Medal of Honor recipient, William Carney, who carried the flag during the Civil War; the creator of Flag Day, Wisconsin schoolteacher B. J. Cigrand; and many others. |
Contents
| 1754 | |
CHAPTER TWO The Birth of a Symbol | 1783 |
Notes | 1785 |
CHAPTER THREE Mother of Invention | |
CHAPTER FOUR First Additions | |
CHAPTER SIX Additions and a Subtraction | |
CHAPTER SEVEN A House Divided Against Itself | |
CHAPTER EIGHT Flagmania | |
CHAPTER TWELVE One Nation Indivisible | |
CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Great | |
CHAPTER FOURTEEN One Hundred Percent Americanism | |
CHAPTER FIFTEEN United We Stand | |
CHAPTER SIXTEEN The Cold | |
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN United We Stand Again | |
Acknowledgments | |
Bibliography | |
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Common terms and phrases
American flag American Legion April Baltimore Bates battle Battle of Baltimore became began Bellamy Betsy Ross Betsy Ross House blue British bunting campaign Canby canton Capitol celebration ceremonies Cigrand Civil colonial committee Confederate Continental Colors December displayed emblem February Flag Day flag desecration flag protection Flag Resolution flown Fort McHenry George Washington Historians honor Hopkinson James John July June 14 large American flag Liberty Lincoln magazine March Marine McHenry military Museum National Anthem national flag North October official Old Glory organization painting parade patriotic Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pledge of Allegiance political poster Preble Pres President rally reported Republican salute Senate ships song South Spangled Banner speech Star-Spangled Banner Stars and Stripes story Street Sumter symbol thirteen stars thousand U.S. Army U.S. Navy unfurled Union veterans Vietnam Virginia waving Wendover Whitney Smith William words World wrote York City