Ever wonder the American flag features five-pointed stars? The American flag has been revised over two dozen times since its origins in the 18th century. Many of these revisions involved the addition of new stars. When a new state was added to the Union, a star would be added to the American flag. But the American flag has continued to feature five-pointed stars.
The Basics of 5-Pointed Stars
All stars have points. A star is a geometric figure with multiple, equally spaced pointed ends that converge in the center. With that said, some stars have more points than others.
Some stars have six points, whereas others have seven points. There are also stars with five points. Over the course of its history, the American flag has only featured five-pointed stars. New stars have been added to the American flag, but they all have five points. This has led many people to ask …
Why does the American flag feature five-pointed stars?
Some historians believe that the American flag features five-pointed stars because they are easier to sew than six-pointed stars. In 1776, George Washington formed a committee to design an official American flag. The committee contacted Betsy Ross with a proposal to design the American flag with six-pointed flags. Ross explained that the American flag would be easier to sew if it featured five-pointed stars.
The general belief is that Ross persuaded the committee to use five-pointed stars on the American flag. Ross told the committee that the American flag would be easier to sew with five-pointed stars. The committee agreed with Ross, thus paving the way for five-pointed stars to be featured in the American flag.
In the past, all American flags were hand-sewn. Five-pointed stars are easier to sew than six-pointed, as well as seven-pointed stars. Most American flags (except some of ours here at Star Spangled Flags) are not hand-sewn, but they continue to feature the same five-pointed stars as those sewn by Betsy Ross and other designers.
Aligned With European Customs
Five-pointed stars are also aligned with European customs. After all, the American flag wasn’t the first symbol or object to feature them. Five-pointed stars had been around long before the advent of the American flag. They were commonly used in European customs, which may have played role in their use in the American flag.
Five-pointed stars, for instance, were commonly used on European coins. Even some European flags featured five-pointed stars. Whether or not this influenced their use in the American flag remains unknown. Nonetheless, five-pointed stars were around prior to being featured in the American flag.
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