Flag of the Vice President of the United States
Encyclopedia
Seal of the Vice President of the United States
The Seal of the Vice President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. vice president to other members of government, and is also used as a symbol of the vice presidency. The central design, directly based on the Seal of the President of the United States , is the...
on a white background, with four dark blue stars in the corners. A version of the flag is kept in the Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
's office, is sometimes displayed by the Vice President in official photos, and is flown on the Vice President's motorcade
Motorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...
.
The first official flag for the Vice President was specified in 1936, although a special design was used at least twice during the 1910s. The flag has shared the same design as the vice presidential seal since 1948, and the current flag dates from 1975 when it was redesigned during Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
's administration.
Design
The Vice President's flag is defined in :Attached to the order were illustrations of the seal and flag, and also a set of "specifications" for the flag, which defines more precise colors for the elements than does the blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
(written description) of the coat of arms:
The design of the eagle is basically identical to that in the presidential flag
Flag of the President of the United States
The Flag of the President of the United States consists of the presidential coat of arms on a dark blue background. While having the same design as the presidential seal since 1945, the flag has a separate history, and the designs on the flag and seal have at different times influenced each other...
. Other than a slightly shorter central tail feather, which was perhaps inadvertent, all of the differences are in coloration. The written design specifies gray for the clouds and stars above the eagles head, the scroll, and the arrows; these are "proper" (i.e. naturally colored), argent
Argent
In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
, white, and proper respectively in the President's seal and flag. In the flag specifications, the chief
Chief (heraldry)
In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
(upper third area) of the shield is dark blue (rather than the light blue specified for the presidential flag), the stem of the olive branch is brown (the presidential flag uses green), and the olives are just green (instead of specifically light green).
The background color of the flag, as on all historical versions, is white. The Vice President's coat of arms does not have a ring of stars around the eagle like the President's does, but on the flag, four blue stars are added, one in the each corner.
Sizes
The dimensions of all the elements in the flag are relative to the hoist (vertical size) of the flag. The relative length of the flag varies; each military service typically defines several sizes and dimensions depending on use. The coat of arms stays centered, while the four stars stay a fixed distance from the edges, so on longer flags the stars will be further apart.A U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ship will fly the flag while the Vice President is aboard; either 3 feet 7 inches by 5 ft. 1½ in. (size 6, for ships over 600 feet long) or 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 8 in. (size 7, for ships under 600 feet). For onshore use, the dimensions are either 3 ft. 7 in. by 5 ft. 1½ in. or 1 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 8 in. depending on the size of the flagpole. For indoor use, a blue fringe of 2½ inches is added along with blue and white tassels. When in either small boats or automobiles, the flag is 1 ft. by 1 ft. 3 in., and on airplanes, a version 11 by 14 inches can either be printed on each side of the plane or on an detachable metal plate.
The U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
also has several sizes for different uses. For indoor display the color
Colours, standards and guidons
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or Guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago...
is used; this is 4 ft. 4 in. by 5 ft. 6 in. with a 2½ in. fringe. A field flag is 6 ft. 8 in. by 12 ft. with no fringe, a boat flag is 3 by 4 ft. with no fringe, and the automobile flag is 1 ft. by 1 ft. 6 in. with a 1½ in. fringe. The Army also allows aluminum plates printed with the flag design (without fringe) to be placed on cars and aircraft; cars use a plate 6 by 9 inches, airplanes 11 by 14 inches, and helicopters 17 by 21¾ inches.
Use
The Vice President's color (with fringe, tassels, and ornamental flagstaff) is displayed in his office, usually along with the flag of the United StatesFlag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
and sometimes others, and sometimes as a backdrop when he speaks. The flag will be flown from the after masthead of a U.S. Navy ship while the Vice President is aboard, and the Navy also prescribes several other flag sizes to use in various situations when the Vice President is present. Similarly, the Army prescribes use of the color (with fringe) or flag (without fringe) in different situations when the Vice President is present.
History
The first official flag for the Vice President came in 1936, long after flags were designed for most other high government officials, though on two earlier occasions (1915 and 1919) a specially-designed, unofficial flag was used for the Vice President when he was representing the President at official functions. Since 1948, the flag has contained the vice presidential coat of arms, the central part of the vice presidential seal. One common thread through all the flag designs is a white background; the presidential flag has (almost) always had a blue background.Early naval honors
In 1857, the Navy proposed honoring the President and Vice President by flying the national flagFlag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
at the mainmast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
, with the President receiving a 21-gun salute
21-gun salute
Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...
and the Vice President an 18-gun version. This was not adopted, but the Naval Regulations of April 18, 1865 specified that the national flag should be flown at the mainmast during a visit from the President, and at the foremast if the Vice President was aboard. Subsequent regulations switched between the national flag and union jack
Jack of the United States
The jack of the United States is a maritime flag representing United States nationality flown on the jackstaff in the bow of its vessels. The U.S. Navy is a prime user of jacks, but they are also used by ships of the Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
for the honors, but the December 31, 1869 regulations reverted to the same honors as 1865.
Unofficial 1915 flag
In March 1915, Vice President Thomas R. MarshallThomas R. Marshall
Thomas Riley Marshall was an American Democratic politician who served as the 28th Vice President of the United States under Woodrow Wilson...
was sent to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
to represent President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, which was to include a ceremony aboard a U.S. Navy ship. While most other high government officials had personal flags by this time, there was no such flag for the Vice President. Therefore, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels
Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor and publisher from North Carolina who was appointed by United States President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I...
and Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(who was also going, to represent Daniels) decided to create one, and chose to use a version of the President's flag (which had a depiction of the Great Seal of the United States
Great Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
) with a white background instead of blue. Accordingly, on March 6, a telegram was sent to the Mare Island Navy Yard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
, asking for two versions of this flag be made of the same dimensions as the President's flag (size #1, 10.2 by 16 feet, and size #6, 3.6 by 5.13 feet). The design was to be the same as the President's flag, except with a white field
Flag terminology
Flag terminology is a jargon used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display.-Description of standard flag parts and terms:...
(background) instead of blue, and asked for delivery before March 20 (about when Marshall would arrive). Since the President's flag took a full month to make from scratch, this was actually very short notice, and the telegram suggested modifying existing presidential flags to save time. The flags were delivered on March 19.
The basic design was therefore a full-color version of the obverse side of the Great Seal of the United States
Great Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
, i.e. the eagle grasping an olive branch and thirteen arrows, with a constellation of stars surrounded by a ring of clouds over it, on a white background. The color specifications given by the Navy were:
Another contemporary description was as follows:
The Secretary of the Navy's flag is blue with a white anchor and stars on it; the flag of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy uses the same design with the colors reversed (blue stars and anchor on a white background). The same concept was used for the Vice President's flag, and has since become the standard system in the U.S. Government for differencing the flags of the first and second ranking civilian officials in any hierarchy, and would be repeated on all subsequent vice presidential flags.
Port of San Francisco
The Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate. It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from Spain and England to find the anchorage originally called Yerba Buena...
aboard the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
USS Colorado
USS Colorado (ACR-7)
The second USS Colorado , also referred to "Armored Cruiser No. 7", and later renamed Pueblo , was a United States Navy Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser....
, at the time serving as Admiral Thomas B. Howard
Thomas B. Howard
*...
's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for the Pacific Fleet. At 3:15 in the afternoon, Marshall boarded the ship, and the Vice President's flag was raised at the mainmast. (In an oft-retold story, while trying to hold his cane, cigar, and top hat in his left hand so he could return a salute with his right, Marshall was unprepared for the 19-gun salute and sent all of the items flying in the air.)
The flag was used on at least one other occasion, in 1919. Due to President Wilson's recent stroke, Vice President Marshall once again needed to represent the President, hosting King Albert
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(and their son
Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
, the Duke of Brabant
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
) on their trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
from October 27 to 29, 1919. Part of the schedule involved a trip on the presidential yacht USS Mayflower
USS Mayflower (PY-1)
USS Mayflower was the second ship in the United States Navy to have that name. Mayflower — a luxurious steam yacht built in 1896 by J. and G. Thompson, Clydebank, Scotland — was purchased by the Navy from the estate of Ogden Goelet and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 24 March 1898,...
from the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
to Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
on the last day, so accordingly two flags (the same sizes as in 1915) were ordered on October 23 and delivered on October 28. The President's flag had been redesigned in the interim, but the same 1915 design for the Vice President's flag was apparently used again for this occasion. The Vice President boarded first, so his flag was hoisted at the mainmast. The Belgian royalty boarded an hour later, at which point the Belgian national ensign
Flag of Belgium
The national flag of Belgium contains three equal vertical bands of black , yellow, and red. The colours were taken from the colours of the Duchy of Brabant, and the vertical design may be based on the flag of France....
was raised at the mainmast, with the Vice President's flag being shifted to the foremast, per Navy regulations.
Originally, several reports said the 1915 design was intended to be the official flag for the Vice President, but no such official order is known. Following the 1915 ceremony, Marshall asked to keep the flags, and they were given to him. A flag of this design, presumably either from 1915 or 1919, is housed at the Scottish Rite Masonic Cathedral in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
(Vice President Marshall's hometown).
1936 flag
In 1936, President Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
issued Executive Order 7285, which defined an official flag of the Vice President for the first time. The design was the same as the President's flag of the time, as specified in Executive Order 2390 from 1916, except with the colors reversed (much like the 1915 concept). The President's flag design was a mostly white eagle (in the presidential seal form, with the head facing to its left) on a dark blue background with four white stars in the corners. Accordingly, the Vice President's flag had a mostly blue eagle with four blue stars on a white background. The shield was in color, with its blue chief over white and red stripes; the eagle's beak and talons were yellow, and the olive branch was green. The dimensions were 10.2 by 16 ft (3.1 by 4.9 m).
The instigation for the 1936 flag appears to have been a letter from Vice President John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner, IV , was the 32nd Vice President of the United States and the 44th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives .- Early life and family :...
to the Secretary of War George H. Dern on December 24, 1935, asking if the Vice President's office had an official flag. Dern replied on January 15, 1936 that there was none, though did mention the 1915 and 1919 occasions. Dern also said the War Department thought there should be one, and would prepare drawings of possible flags and submit them for Nance's approval. At least one design was rejected, one made by Arthur E. DuBois on January 25 which depicted an eagle, columns, and the sun on a purple field. After a design was approved, Roosevelt issued the executive order shortly thereafter on February 7, 1936.
1948 flag
In 1945, President Roosevelt started the process of changing the President's flag and seal shortly before his death, and the process was continued by President TrumanHarry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
later that year before officially making the change in October. During the process, it was recognized that since the Vice President's flag was based on the President's, it would need to change too. Truman accordingly asked for sketches of possible designs, but since the Vice Presidency was vacant at the time there was no immediate need to make the change and it was delayed.
Shortly after the 1948 election, President Truman issued Executive Order 10016 to redefine the coat of arms, seal and flag of the Vice President. Because the seal was to use the same design, the coat of arms was made distinctive from the President's. While still a derivative of the national coat of arms, the eagle's wings are more outstretched, with the wing tips pointing slightly down. The eagle's right talon holds a smaller olive branch, and the left talon holds a single arrow. The eagle emblem is surrounded by a ring of thirteen stars (representing the original 13 colonies). As with previous vice presidential flags, the background color was white. The executive order had an attachment which had a set of color specifications more detailed than the written definition:
Like the current flag, the dimensions of the elements were given relative to the hoist (vertical size), and the fly (horizontal size) of the flag varied per the differing customs of the military services. The size of the color though was fixed at 4.33 by 5.5 ft (1.3 by 1.7 m). This flag took practical effect when Alben W. Barkley
Alben W. Barkley
Alben William Barkley was an American politician in the Democratic Party who served as the 35th Vice President of the United States , under President Harry S. Truman....
was inaugurated as Vice President on January 20, 1949.
1975 flag
More than one Vice President disliked the design of the eagle on the 1948 seal and flag. When Nelson RockefellerNelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, who was particularly critical of it, was nominated to the office under President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
in 1975, he received permission to redesign the seal (and therefore the flag). The Army's Institute of Heraldry
United States Army Institute of Heraldry
The United States Army Institute of Heraldry furnishes heraldic services to the Armed Forces and other United States government organizations, including the Executive Office of the President...
was asked to come up with an appropriate design. After several months of work, where about twenty models were rejected, a design was finally accepted and Ford issued Executive Order 11884 on October 29, 1975, which redefined the coat of arms, seal, and flag of the Vice President.
The use of the four stars (one in each corner) is a characteristic shared by the flags used by the members of the President's Cabinet (Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, Secretary of Defense, etc.), reinforcing that the Vice President is indeed a member of the Cabinet.
The written description (blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
) as well as the actual drawings were essentially identical to the presidential coat of arms, except for some differences in the colors, meaning that the eagle was now much fuller with the wing tips pointed up, holding a larger olive branch and the full complement of thirteen arrows. The ring of stars was removed, and the eagle was made larger to fill the space, so the eagle on the vice presidential flag is slightly larger than that of a presidential flag of the same size.
The Vice President's flag has not been changed since.
See also
- Seal of the Vice President of the United StatesSeal of the Vice President of the United StatesThe Seal of the Vice President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. vice president to other members of government, and is also used as a symbol of the vice presidency. The central design, directly based on the Seal of the President of the United States , is the...
- Flag of the President of the United StatesFlag of the President of the United StatesThe Flag of the President of the United States consists of the presidential coat of arms on a dark blue background. While having the same design as the presidential seal since 1945, the flag has a separate history, and the designs on the flag and seal have at different times influenced each other...
- Flags of Governors of the U.S. StatesFlags of Governors of the U.S. StatesThe flags of governors of the U.S. states are personal flags of the governor of each state that has such a flag. This is similar in concept to the standards of the President and Vice President of the United States....
- Great Seal of the United StatesGreat Seal of the United StatesThe Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...