Free Republic

Most U.S. school children grow up knowing the story of Betsy Ross, who may or may not have sewn the first American flag, based on a sketch given to her by George Washington. But what about Francis Hopkinson, Mary Pickersgill or Samuel Reid, all of whom played roles in the history of the flag? Or Bernard Cigrand, who may have been the first to celebrate the birthday of the flag and led the movement to make Flag Day, June 14, a national observance? In her lifetime, Ross herself never claimed to have sewn the first flag. Only in 1870 did...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." For over 200 years there has been debate on what this first flag design looked like and where it was originally flown. Unfortunately, fact mixed with legend has clouded the issue and even at the present day, there is no definitive answer. Recently, historians have generally conceded that credit for the design proposal of the first...

What do we offer the world? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 19, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern "So, how do we advance the cause of female emancipation in the Muslim world?" asks Richard Perle in "An End to Evil." He replies, "We need to remind the women of Islam ceaselessly: Our enemies are the same as theirs; our victory will be theirs as well." Well, the neoconservative cause "of female emancipation in the Muslim world" was probably set back a bit by the photo shoot of Pfc. Lynndie England and the "Girls Gone Wild" of Abu Ghraib prison. Indeed, the filmed orgies among...