Significance of Elements

In describing its design Washington said: "We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty." The Continental Congress defined the special significance of the chosen colors to be: White, suggesting purity and innocence; red, hardness and valor; blue, vigilance, perseverance, and justice. The stars of the Union were not merely a collection but a new constellation representing a new ideal in political and governmental affairs. The newly formed States were to develop under the control of laws, not independently nor indifferent to each other - but a Union, one and inseparable.