The twenty-five stars mean that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth state to be admitted to the Union. The diamond represents Arkansas as the nation's first diamond-producing state. The two parallel white stars at the left and right points of the diamond symbolize the dual admission of Arkansas and Michigan to the Union. Both were admitted to the Union about the same time-Arkansas on June 15, 1836, and Michigan on January 26, 1837.
On February 26, 1913, the legislature made Miss Hocker's design the state's official flag. The U.S.S. Arkansas received her flag from the Pine Bluff Chapter of the D.A.R.
Then there was trouble...there was no indication on the flag that Arkansas had been a member of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. To correct that, the legislature in 1923 added a fourth blue star above the letter "R" in Arkansas and moved the single blue star to a position above the last "A". But, a furor arose and many claimed that the original symmetry and meaning of the design were destroyed.
So in 1924 the legislature placed three blue stars below the word "Arkansas" and one above, the way the flag is today.
The three stars below "Arkansas" retained the meanings Miss Hocker had set and the lone star above the word is to commemorate Arkansas' membership in the Confederacy.
Source: arkansas.gov/education/arkansas-history/history-of-the-flag/story-of-the-flag |
