The American flag wasn’t always revered as it is today. At the beginning, it was an afterthought

“She would not have worried about it touching the floor or violating any codes,” says Lisa Moulder, director of the Ross House. ‘AN AFTERTHOUGHT’“The flag was really an afterthought,” says Scot Guenter, author of “The American Flag, 1777-1924” and a professor emeritus of American Studies at San Jose State University. Americans were in the mood for a good story, and William J. Canby, grandson of Betsy Ross, had one. LEGEND OUTWEIGHS FACTThe Ross House bills itself as “the birthplace of the American Flag,” but its origins are uncertain. In the 1950s, that gets appropriated by the anti-communists.”Burning American flags dates back at least to the Civil War.