in 1902, in the midst of the womens suffrage movement, the American flag had 45 stars:

(source: Flags of the World)

But the suffragists created their own US flag with only four stars, representing the four states that, at that time, allowed women to vote. I found a Herstory site that hosts a picture of this flag:

This flag flew at the podium of the First International Womens Suffrage Conference in 1902, where Clara Barton gave a little talk.

The suffrage flag was my inspiration for a 2004 re-appropriation of the American flag which, since 9/11, seems to have been co-opted by conservatives to represent pro-war nationalism, “family values”, etc. I’m taking it back. The flag below has only the 6th star, for Massachusetts (the 6th state), the only state which allows gay marriages. I’ll republish this flag with more stars when more states follow suit.

Download PDF version

Get a t-shirt of it