Front:
GHINGTON
JUL
1988
USA 25
20066
DC
Back:
FLAG WITH CLOUDS BOOKLET
First Day of Issue: July 5, 1988
First Issue Location: Washington, D.C.
It was only after the Declaration of Independence was
signed that Americans chose a flag of their own to cele-
brate their freedom. On June 14, 1777 — Flag Day — the
Second Continental Congress approved the design. With
a star and a stripe for each state, the flag quickly became
the symbol of America, and of freedom. Originally, the
flag was designed with the idea of adding a star and a
stripe with each new state. When Francis Scott Key
penned his famous “Star Spangled Banner" during the
War of 1812, for example, he was writing of a flag which
bore fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. But it soon became
obvious this land of freedom would admit many more
states, and that the flag would simply become too large.
In 1818, the American flag was restricted to its original
thirteen stripes, with a single star to be added upon the
field of blue for each new state. Today, the flag flies
proudly before the homes and buildings of America —
symbol of freedom, and a proud American tradition. The
No. 88-39
©1988 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Dennis Lydon
