Apprentice: Symbols of US Government (2024)

White House: 1792

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and is located in New York on Liberty Island. It is a very tall statue of a woman holding a torch in her right hand and a tablet with the date July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals in her left hand.

Her crown has seven points that represent rays of light; the name for the statue is “Liberty Enlightening the World.” There are broken chains around her feet that also symbolize her freedom.

The Statue was a gift from the people of France to the United States. Planning for the statue was started not long after slavery was abolished in the United States, but the statue was not completely assembled and dedicated until 1886.

To learn more, see the National Park Service Statue of Liberty site.

The Pledge of Allegiance is a promise of loyalty to the United States. The first version of the Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892 to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the explorer, Christopher Columbus, in the Americas. Over the years, more words were added, and the pledge that we recite now was written in 1954:

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

The Pledge of Allegiance is recited at the beginning of classes in school, and most everyone can say it from memory. It should be recited standing up, facing the flag, and with the right hand over the heart. In the United States Congress, the sessions of the House of Representatives and the Senate begin their daily business with the Pledge of Allegiance.

To learn more, see Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 4 of the United States Code in govinfo.gov.

The “Star-Spangled Banner” is the national anthem, or national song, of the United States. The words are from a poem that was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. He watched a night-time battle between Great Britain and America that took place in Baltimore at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

He was very excited when the American flag was still flying in the morning and wrote a poem that began with these words:

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem is also called the “Star Spangled Banner.” The flag is old and fragile, but is now being cared for at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

See one of the original copies of the poem written by Francis Scott Key, listen to the anthem, and see images of the original flag at the Smithsonian’s Star Spangled Banner site.

The Liberty Bell is a well-known symbol of freedom in the United States.

The bell was first made in 1752 for the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. The bell was cast in London, England, and shipped to Pennsylvania. Soon after it arrived, the bell cracked. In 1753, a new bell was cast from the same metal by John Pass and John Stow. Their names and the year in Roman numerals, MDCCLIII, are marked on the bell. It also has a Bible verse written on it: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10).

In the early 1800s, people who wanted to outlaw slavery called it the “Liberty Bell” and used it as a symbol for their cause. In 1846, another crack began to develop in the bell and it was repaired. It rang for George Washington’s birthday in that same year, but then it cracked again and has not been rung since. The bell traveled around the country after the Civil War (1861-1865), and since 1915 it has stayed in Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell is now on display in a visitor center next to Independence Hall, where many people come to see it each year.

To learn more, see the National Park Service site.