American AmericanSymbols Symbols By: Mary Fosterand Mary Foster By: Barbara Cornett

and Barbara Cornett

A symbol is a picture or thing that stands for or means something else. For example, what do you think of when you see a heart?

Of course, you think of love! A heart is s symbol of love.

We as Americans are so proud of our country that we have adopted different things as symbols for America. Each symbol represents something about our great country.

One of the most famous symbols for America is the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a figure of a lady wearing a radiant crown and holding a lighted torch high above her head. Given to America as a gift from France in 1886, the Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor.

Long ago, people from other countries came to America to live by way of boat. The Statue of Liberty was the first thing they would see when pulling into the harbor. She quickly began to represent the freedom these people hoped to find in America. Whenever people from all across the world see this famous American symbol, the think of America and the freedom her people enjoy.

If you look carefully at American coins, you will see a bald eagle on many of them. This is because the bald eagle is the national bird and another symbol of America. The bald eagle was chosen as a symbol of America because of its long life span, strength, and the majestic way it looks. Flying high up in the mountains, it also gives the impression it is free. Because America is the land of the free, the eagle was chosen as a national symbol.

This famous bell is called the Liberty Bell. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A very long time ago, Philadelphia was our nation’s capital city. The Liberty Bell was rung when America became a free nation, gaining her independence from England. The sound the bell made was the sound of freedom. This is why the Liberty Bell is now one of our national symbols. If you look closely at the bell, you will see a large crack running down the side. Unfortunately, this crack makes the bell unable to ring!

Of course, now our nation’s capital is in Washington D.C. Washington D.C is home to many monuments and statues that are symbols of our nation. Do you recognize this symbol? Right, it is the White House. This lovely house is where the President of the United States lives and works. His family lives there with him.

Perhaps the most well known American Symbol is the American Flag. Nicknamed “Ol’ Glory,” the flag has gone through many changes since our country was born almost 250 years ago. Of course America was much smaller then. There were only thirteen colonies! When Betsy Ross made the first flag, it had thirteen stripes and thirteen stars. Each stripe and star represented one of the original thirteen colonies.

As America got bigger the colonies became known as states. Every time a new state became a part of America a star was added to represent that state. Today our American Flag has fifty stars and thirteen stripes. The stars represent all fifty states and the stripes represent the original 13 colonies.

Today, the American Flag has its own song, The Star Spangled Banner and its own pledge. Do you say, “The Pledge of Allegiance” each morning before school? This is a sign of respect and loyalty to America!

All around America there are symbols to remind us of the freedom we enjoy just by being Americans. Being proud of America is called patriotism. Each American symbol represents our country in a different way and helps all citizens show their patriotism and prove how proud we are to be Americans!

Created for [email protected] By: Barbara Cornett and Mary Foster Graphics and Designs by Microsoft clip are and scrappindoodle