Francis Hopkinson: The True Designer of our Nation’s Flag
Jessica Lear
26576 Westfall Road
Circleville, Ohio 43113
(740) 477-1072 learj15@circlevillecityschools.org Honors English III (Grade 11)
Circleville High School
380 Clark Drive
Circleville, Ohio 43113
(740) 474-4846
Francis Hopkinson: The True Designer of our Nation’s Flag
Francis Hopkinson 2
The story of the creation of the United States’ first flag has always seemed simple enough. The story tells of Betsy Ross designing and sewing the flag for Washington that would fly proudly in the wind of the newly born country. There is only one problem with this story though. It never mentions the man who deserves the credit for creating the first template of the United States flag. Although Betsy …show more content…
He graduated from the College of Philadelphia with a degree in law (Kindig). As an educated man he served as a delegate for the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. According to some “he almost certainly was the person who designed the first Stars and Stripes”(Struffert). This flag was red, white, and blue to signify what Congress interpreted as red for courage, white for purity, and blue for justice.(Gardner 56-57) This can be credited to the fact that Hopkinson “wrote a letter to the Board of Admiralty in which he claimed he designed the American flag”(Did Betsy Ross). The truth behind this letter can also be explained by his contributions to other important American …show more content…
Aside from the lack of vouchers, the members of the board knew that "Hopkinson was not the only person consulted" on the matter of designs and therefore could not rightly claim the whole amount, and in addition, the board felt that the public was entitled to these extra services from men who drew high salaries.(Streufert)
The only proof that can be used to vouch for Betsy Ross creating the flag is that of her descendant’s testimony(Canby)(Randolf). On the other hand, many sources and documents can be found proving that Hopkinson did in fact design the flag. One of these can be found in the journals of the Continental Congress:
The design of the first Stars and Stripes by Hopkinson had the thirteen stars arranged in a "staggered" pattern technically known as quincuncial because it is based on the repetition of a motif of five units. This arrangement inevitably results in a strongly diagonal effect. In a flag of thirteen stars, this placement produced the unmistakable outline of the crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew, as used together on the British flag. Whether this similarity was intentional or accidental, it may