{"id":3071,"date":"2016-03-10T08:37:51","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T13:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=3071"},"modified":"2025-04-18T11:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T15:25:16","slug":"1920s-american-flag-contests-excited-youths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/1920s-american-flag-contests-excited-youths\/","title":{"rendered":"1920s\u2019 American flag contests excited youths"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"1926<\/a>
1926 American Legion Weekly cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ninety years ago, teenagers around the U.S. received a check to reward their love for the American flag<\/a><\/span>. It happened because they entered a contest sponsored by The American Legion Weekly. Another contest, held three years later, sent winners around the globe.<\/p>\n

Under the heading, \u201cWanted: A Patriot\u2019s Flag Creed,\u201d the Legion invited \u201cmillions of school children in the United States\u201d to write about their \u201cdevout reverence for the flag of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rules for the 1926 contest were at once simple and challenging: Write a 125-word essay that would \u201cgive to all the other children of the nation the same reverence for the flag and understanding of what it symbolizes that he has himself.\u201d The national winner would get $750 toward a college scholarship. (Tuition that year at the University of Pennsylvania, for example, was $400.) State winners received a silver medal.<\/p>\n

\"Four<\/a>
Four flag contest winners pose at Stanford University before cruising the world.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The American Legion explained that \u201cthis flag creed should be stated in concise, impressive phrases and in a style of sufficient vigor and literary merit to warrant its memorization and use in schools, in citizen assemblies and on all patriotic occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of youngsters entered the contest, and the winners were a melting pot of Americans:<\/p>\n

*In Idaho, Carrie Bradshaw, a Shoshone teenager, won first prize.<\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/a>
Mary McGonigal and Robert Sullivan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

*In North Carolina, Kate Robinson, 16, bested all of the entrants with her essay, which began: \u201cI believe in the Flag all-glorious, emblem of unity and peace\u2026.May it ever be guided toward the right\u2026.I promise to guard with pride and serve with love this blest symbol of truth and liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

*California\u2019s state winner was Fumie Yanagisawa. While her parents were natives of Japan, she wrote, \u201cI was born under the stars and stripes, and I am proud to be an American citizen.\u201d She told how she read as many tributes to the American flag as she could find before beginning her essay. It included these words: \u201cI believe that you [the flag] will lead the world not only in strength but in righteousness\u2026.I promise to follow your ideals of \u2018liberty, justice and peace.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"William<\/a>
William Randolph Hearst<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three years later, William Randolph Hearst, the wealthy newspaper publisher, sponsored another American flag contest for the United States Flag Association, which was headed by Charles Lindbergh. Hearst\u2019s prize topped the American Legion\u2019s: The four national winners, who not only wrote essays but also had to answer 75 questions on the history of the American flag, were sent on an around-the-world tour.<\/p>\n

Two New Yorkers \u2013 Mary McGonigal of Troy and Robert Sullivan of Syracuse \u2013 were joined by Alma Groves of Alabama and Merle Clark of Michigan. The quartet headed to the West Coast to begin their trek, which took them to such places as China and Italy. In Rome, they met Mussolini and the pope.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>
President Coolidge and Charles Lindbergh on a flag-draped podium in 1927. (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other sites for the foursome included the Philippines, Kuala Lumpur, Egypt, Austria, France and England. Their three-month-plus tour ran from June 28 to Oct. 9.<\/p>\n

As teens, their energy probably never flagged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ninety years ago, teenagers around the U.S. received a check to reward their love for the American flag. It happened because they entered a contest sponsored by The American Legion Weekly. Another contest, held three years later, sent winners around the globe. Under the heading, \u201cWanted: A Patriot\u2019s Flag Creed,\u201d the Legion invited \u201cmillions of… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-3071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag"],"yoast_head":"\n1920s\u2019 American flag contests excited youths - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/1920s-american-flag-contests-excited-youths\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1920s\u2019 American flag contests excited youths - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ninety years ago, teenagers around the U.S. received a check to reward their love for the American flag. 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