American symbols: the flag, the anthem, the bald eagle, and more

American symbols are unusually visible in everyday life. Flags hang from porches, the anthem opens sports events, and many schoolchildren recite a pledge to the flag. Visitors from countries where such displays are reserved for official occasions often find this striking. This guide explains the main national symbols, where they came from, what they mean, and the rules and customs around them.

The flag

The American flag, nicknamed the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory, has a precise design:

• 50 white stars on a blue field, one for each state.
• 13 stripes, seven red and six white, for the original colonies that declared independence from Britain.

Congress adopted the first flag on June 14, 1777, a date still marked as Flag Day. A new star has been added each time a new state joined the Union, always on the following July 4. The current 50-star version dates from July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became a state. The story that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag is a popular tradition without firm historical evidence.

Flag etiquette and the law

The US Flag Code, part of federal law, sets out how the flag should be treated. It says the flag should not touch the ground, should be lit if flown at night, and should be retired by dignified means, traditionally burning, when worn out. It is flown at half-staff during periods of national mourning. The code is advisory and has no penalties. Burning the flag in political protest is protected speech under the First Amendment, as the Supreme Court held in Texas v. Johnson (1989), and the issue remains politically charged.

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance is a short oath to the flag and the republic, usually recited standing, right hand over the heart:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Francis Bellamy wrote the original version in 1892. The words "under God" were added in 1954, during the Cold War. Many public schools begin the day with it, but the Supreme Court ruled in 1943 (West Virginia v. Barnette) that students cannot be forced to take part.

The national anthem

"The Star-Spangled Banner" began as a poem by Francis Scott Key. In September 1814, during the War of 1812, Key watched the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore and saw the American flag still flying at dawn. His words were set to a popular English song, "To Anacreon in Heaven," and Congress made it the official anthem only in 1931. The range is notoriously hard to sing, and only the first of its four verses is usually performed.

The anthem is played before most professional, college, and many high school sports events. The custom is to stand, face the flag, and remove your hat. Non-citizens are expected to stand respectfully but need not place a hand over the heart.

The bald eagle and the Great Seal

The bald eagle, native to North America, was placed on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782 and has been the national emblem ever since. Surprisingly, it was only made the official national bird by law on December 24, 2024. It is not actually bald: the name comes from its white head. The species nearly disappeared from the lower 48 states in the 20th century, largely because of hunting, habitat loss, and the pesticide DDT, and it recovered well enough to be removed from the endangered species list in 2007.

A popular story says Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey as the national bird. In fact, Franklin only criticized the eagle's "bad moral character" in a private letter to his daughter and praised the turkey in comparison. He made no formal proposal.

The Great Seal authenticates official documents. On the front, the eagle holds an olive branch in one talon (peace) and 13 arrows in the other (war), with its head turned toward the olive branch. A banner in its beak reads "E Pluribus Unum." The reverse shows an unfinished pyramid topped by an eye, and both sides appear on the back of the $1 bill.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, officially "Liberty Enlightening the World," stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It was a gift from the people of France, designed by sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi with an internal structure engineered by Gustave Eiffel, and it was dedicated in 1886. The tablet she holds bears the date of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

Its link to immigration came later. Millions of arrivals saw the statue on their way to nearby Ellis Island, the main immigration station from 1892 to 1954, and a plaque added in 1903 carries Emma Lazarus's poem with the line "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Our guide to immigration in the US covers that history.

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam is a personification of the US government: a stern older man with a white goatee, a top hat, and a star-and-stripe suit. The name appeared during the War of 1812 and is traditionally linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat supplier from Troy, New York, whose barrels stamped "U.S." were jokingly read as "Uncle Sam." His best-known image is James Montgomery Flagg's World War I recruiting poster from 1917, in which he points at the viewer above the words "I Want You."

National mottos

• "In God We Trust": the official national motto since 1956, printed on coins and paper money.
• "E Pluribus Unum": Latin for "Out of many, one." It appears on the Great Seal, adopted in 1782, and it served as the de facto motto before 1956. It originally referred to the states forming one nation, and today it is often read as unity amid diversity.

The place of religious language in public life is covered on our page about religion in America.

Landmarks and founding documents

Some places and objects work as national symbols too:

• The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is known for its large crack. Abolitionists gave it its name, and it became an emblem of freedom.
• The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are on public display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Few countries treat founding documents with such reverence.
• The US Capitol, the White House, and the Lincoln Memorial represent national institutions and history.
• Mount Rushmore in South Dakota carves four presidents into the Black Hills, on land sacred to the Lakota, which makes it a contested symbol.

Summary table

Why symbols matter so much in the US

The United States was not built around a shared ethnicity, ancient monarchy, or single religion. Its identity rests largely on political ideas set out in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, so its symbols carry unusual weight in holding a diverse population together. Immigrants swear an oath of allegiance when they become citizens, as our page on citizenship and naturalization explains. These symbols peak during the Fourth of July, and they were especially prominent for the country's 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, as described in our page on American holidays.

Their meaning is also contested. Athletes kneeling during the anthem, disputes over flag burning, and debates about monuments all show that Americans argue through their symbols, partly because they share the belief that these things matter. This ties into broader American values.

Related articles:

• American values
• The US Constitution
• American culture
• American holidays and traditions