Flags That Have Flown Over Georgia: The History of the Georgia State Flag

U.S. Flag Since 1960

Despite the admission of Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi as states, the official U.S. flag continued to show 15 stripes and 15 stars. In 1818, Congress enacted a new flag law that reduced the number of stripes to 13 and provided for 20 stars in the union of the flag. More importantly, the act provided that on the admission of each new state, one star would be added to the flag's union, effective on the July 4 after statehood. Thus, after Illinois was granted statehood in December 1818, a twenty-first star was added to the U.S. flag on July 4, 1819.

Since the, the number of stars has increased and their arrangement changed as new states have joined the Union. Most recently, the flag changed following the admission, respectively, of Alaska and Hawaii as states in 1959 and 1960. Shown above is the U.S. flag that has flown over Georgia since July 4, 1960.