46-Star American Flag Printed in Drum Star Configuration

This is an original 46-Star American parade flag, celebrating Oklahoma statehood.  Each star on the flag's canton represents a state in the Union at the time. The official flag design would update every July 4th, to include any new states added to the Union in the past year. Oklahoma, the 46th state, entered the Union on November 16, 1907. As such, this 46–star flag was the official flag of the United States from July 4, 1908, until July 4, 1912.

The silk flag has a dark blue canton with 46 white printed stars. The stars are printed in an 7-8-8-8-8-7  row configuration, or “Drum design.” The flag design is completed with 13 alternating red and white stripes, each stripe representing one of the original thirteen colonies.

The land that comprises Oklahoma today was added to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Throughout the 19th century, the U.S. government relocated Indian tribes from the southeastern United States to the area, and by 1900, over 30 Indian tribes had been moved to what was originally called the Indian Territories. At the same time, ranchers in Texas began to move into the area in search of new pasture lands. Although stipulations in the Indian Relocation Act agreed that the land would forever be Indian Territory, the promise of fertile farmland trumped the government’s promise of sovereignty. 

On April 22, 1889, they opened the land to settlement by homesteaders, creating a land run in which settlers, called “Boomers,” were allowed to cross the Texas or Arkansas border at a particular hour to claim homesteads. Settlers who illegally crossed the border earlier to stake prime land were called “sooners,” which eventually became the state’s nickname. Wagons and the Santa Fe railroad carried cartloads of men and women to blank town sites and building plots, creating ten thousand-people communities in a matter of days. The following year, the region was further divided into Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory.

Congress decided to admit Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory into the Union as a single state in 1907. Representatives of both territories drafted a constitution,which was approved by voters of the two territories on September 17, 1907. On November 16, Oklahoma was welcomed into the United States by President Theodore Roosevelt. 

CONDITION: 

Very good condition. Printed flag, with strong color and minimal toning. Flag Dimension 14 1/2" H x 19 1/2" W. 

Flag is archivally framed in a custom-built black and gold wooden frame with UV Conservation Clear glass and acid-free linen matting. Framed Dimensions: 23" H x 27 1/2" W x 1 1/2" D