Forty-Eight Star Flag
Bicentennial Flag Memorial
The obligations and responsibilities of becoming an imperial power as a result of the Spanish-American War quickly multiplied. The international problems that arose in Latin America, in the Philippines, and in China saw the first application of Theodore Roosevelt's "big stick" policy. Additional responsibilities were taken on in 1903 in connection with the construction of the Panama Canal. The Hawaiian Islands had been acquired in 1898. Internal changes included the carving out of more states from Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and the Gadsden Purchase (New Mexico and Arizona) from Mexico. And by 1912 the Stars and Stripes became the forty-eight star version which remained unchanged until 1959.
Under the flag of forty-eight stars the United States played an ever-increasing role in international affairs. The United States' participation in World War I was followed by two decades of peace which included the roaring [T]wenties and the depression-racked [T]hirties. Then again in 1941, the United States was plunged into the global conflict of World War II. With that war barely over, the Cold War split the world into armed camps and fighting erupted in Korea in 1950. It was there, for the first time, that American soldiers, sailors and airmen fought under a new flag of the international colors of the United Nations - as well as under the Stars and Stripes.
Courtesy hmdb.org
