National symbols

The American flag. It was adopted in 1777. It is often called “The Stars and Stripes”. There are three colours on the flag of the USA red, white and blue. The red colour symbolizes courage, the white – purity, and the blue colour – firmness and justice. As there are 50 states in the United States, there are 50 stars on the flag: one star for each state. The flag has 13 stripes. There are 7 red and 6 white stripes: one stripe for each of the first 13 colonies of the USA.

The National anthem is the song “The Star-Spangled Banner”. The verses were written in 1814 during the war between Britain and America by Francis Scott Key, a lawyer from Baltimore.

National motto: “In God We Trust”.

The Seal of the USA is put on all official documents signed by the President. The seal shows an American eagle with a ribbon in its mouth bearing the Latin phrase “Epluribus unum”, which means: “Many made one”. The eagle is holding an olive branch (the symbol of peace) and 13 arrows (the symbol of war).