The Flag Essay—What It Represents The flag of the United States is very important to the citizens of the United States and their afflicted nations. The patchwork of stars and stripes gave relief to many, hope to even more, and a sense of impending doom to it’s enemies. Through history, the flag went through many tests, in which the flag that represented the Unites States proved victorious. It represented freedom and the land of opportunity. In other words, the US flag became an international symbol of freedom and opportunity.As observed in the crossing of the Delaware, the early flag is in a way leading and rallying the men on their attack across the river. Although the era of the flag in the picture is incorrect, the meaning is clear. At that point, the test for the flag and the country it represented was: ‘Can the states rally themselves to a united effort for independence?’ and ‘Even if the states get their independence, will they survive?’ As history went on, the states won their independence, and the country survived, despite the doubts of some European countries. The second big set of tests came up in the time when hostilities between the North and the South were to the breaking point, the entire South seceded, and General Lee seemed invincible. The difference between this and other wars was that the Americans fought between each other. The test for the North was: ‘Can the United States stay together?’ and ‘Although divided, can the flag and the country rally enough support to prevent secession?’ The American Civil War threatened the wholeness of the country and the entire continent because of westward expansion. Many countries watched the conflict from the sidelines. They either sided for the Union, or sided for the Confederates. Some even believed that the nations will kill each other and both would cease to exist. As the British Thomas Carlyle once s...
