Which 1777 resolution established the first official flag of the United States?

The Flag Resolution of 1777 established the first official flag of the United States.

The Second Continental Congress adopted the resolution on June 14, 1777. It specified thirteen alternating red and white stripes and a blue field containing thirteen white stars, representing the thirteen states. The resolution did not prescribe the exact arrangement of the stars.

The flag’s design developed from earlier symbols used during the Revolution, including the Continental Colors. The familiar nickname “Stars and Stripes” refers to the two most visible features of the design. The number of stars later increased as new states joined the Union, while the number of stripes was eventually fixed at thirteen.

Congress restored the thirteen-stripe arrangement in 1818 after earlier flags had added stripes for new states. June 14 is now observed as Flag Day in the United States. The resolution’s adoption occurred one year after independence and nearly 250 years before the nation’s 2026 semiquincentennial.