How Did Red, White & Blue Become America's Colors?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- They are the colors of Captain America, the Minnesota Twins and every balloon animal made to celebrate the Fourth of July. They also make up the colors in the American flag.
Red, white and blue: How did they become the colors of the United States of America? Good Question.
Back in 1777, the Second Continental Congress resolved, "the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation."
At the time, the Founding Fathers made no mention about why red, white and blue were chosen. Historians assume those were the colors Americans at the time has been exposed to, given those were the colors of the British flag.
But, it wouldn't be for another five years that Americans would get an official explanation. It happened when Founding Father Charles Thomson presented the Great Seal to Congress. That Seal was created to represent the values and beliefs as well as sovereignty of the new nation.
"The white signifies purity and innocence. Red, hardiness and valor and Blue ... signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice," Thomson said.
So, while most of Americans likely do not know all the specific details of the history, they understand what our Founding Fathers did. Colors can evoke strong emotions, like patriotism and pride.