Many people may wonder who Betsy Ross was, and what she did to earn her place in American history. Others may know who she was, but not believe in the importance of her accomplishments. Most historians credit Betsy Ross for helping design and sew the first ever American flag. That is what makes Betsy Ross one of the most historic women from the Revolutionary war time period. Although there were many other women who made contributions to the war and to the colonies, her contribution is one of the most well known. Betsy Ross is historic because she showed the sad reality of war for women, had connections to George Washington, and she made the first ever American flag. Betsy Ross was born on January 1st 1752, as the eighth out of seventeen …show more content…
When asked if she could sew the design of the flag she said, “I do not know, but I will try” (Historic Philadelphia online). The flag design included thirteen white six pointed stars, with red and white stripes. However, when Betsy showed how much better it would look, and how much easier it would be, if they used five pointed stars, the design was changed (Lewis online). It took Betsy Ross around a month to make the entire flag. In July of 1776 the flag that Betsy Ross made was first flown with the first reading of the Declaration of Independence, at Independence Hall (US History online). This was not the last flag she made though, throughout the rest of her career she continued making flags for forts, ships, and Indians (Betsy Ross timeline online). Betsy Ross retired from making flags at the age of seventy five. She died about ten years later on January 30th 1863, at the age of eighty four, with a wonderful legacy. “She had become a prominent character in telling the story of America’s history” (Lewis online). Although there are some who doubt that Betsy Ross even made the flag, many historians have found facts to prove the story is not a