In January 1916, President Woodrow Wilson spoke from the back of his train during a cross-country tour calling for greater military preparedness. Stops in towns like Waukegan, Illinois, brought large crowds who gathered near the tracks to hear him in person. With war already raging in Europe, Wilson argued that the United States needed to strengthen its defenses, even as many Americans hoped to remain neutral. The whistle-stop tour captures a turning point, as the nation weighed its place in a conflict it would enter the following year.
Flag Flies Over PT Boat
During World War II, sailors trained aboard Navy PT boats at the motor torpedo boat center in Melville, Rhode Island. An American flag flies above the small craft as crew members stay alert on deck, scanning the sky and horizon. PT boats were fast, lightly built vessels used for patrol and surprise attacks in coastal waters after Pearl Harbor. Training focused on speed, coordination, and constant readiness, preparing young crews for long hours and sudden action at sea.
Geraldine Farrar and Secretary McAdoo Selling War Bonds on Flag Draped Platform
Around 1918, opera singer Geraldine Farrar joined Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo on a platform draped in American flags to help sell war bonds during World War I. A sign announcing that Farrar would sell bonds made clear that her name was part of the draw. The government regularly called on well-known performers to attract crowds and encourage people to invest in the war effort.
Liberty Loan Crowds
In 1917, thousands filled the grounds in Washington, D.C., for a Liberty Loan rally held to raise money for the First World War. From the platform, a federal official—likely Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo—spoke to the crowd about buying war bonds to support American troops overseas. Large signs tracked loan totals, reminding everyone of the scale of the effort.
Jimmy Carter and Mayor Richard J. Daley Ride in a Torchlight Parade During a Campaign Stop in Chicago, Illinois
On September 9, 1976, Jimmy Carter rode through downtown Chicago in a torchlight parade during a campaign stop, with Mayor Richard J. Daley at his side. Crowds packed the streets, holding signs and banners as the motorcade made its way through the city at night. Carter, then the former governor of Georgia, was pushing hard in major cities as he worked to win the presidency.
ARMY, U.S. Return of Washington, D.C. Soldiers
Soldiers arriving home from World War I lean out of a railcar window, scanning the crowd below. Friends and family wait alongside the train, dressed for the occasion, ready to welcome them back. Across the country, scenes like this unfolded as units returned from Europe after the Armistice. Train stations became gathering points where communities met the men who had served overseas and watched them step back into civilian life.
Detroit, Michigan. Ford Workers Carrying American Flag and Union Banners in the Labor Day Parade
September 1942, Ford workers took to the streets of Detroit for the Labor Day parade, carrying the American flag along with United Auto Workers banners. The city was deep into wartime production, with auto plants turning out tanks, aircraft engines, and other military equipment. Organized labor had become a powerful presence in the industry, representing thousands of workers who kept the assembly lines moving.
General Pershing Making a Memorial Day Address, 1919
June 1919, General John J. Pershing spoke at a Memorial Day ceremony in Romagne, France, before American troops of the A.E.F. and French soldiers. The reviewing stand is covered in American flags, and rows of servicemen stand at attention across the hillside. The gathering came just months after the Armistice, near ground where many had fallen in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. As the war ended and units waited to head home, ceremonies like this honored the dead and reminded those present of the scale and sacrifice of America’s involvement in the First World War.
Parade. Fourth of July, Vale, Oregon
In July 1941, the town of Vale, Oregon marked the Fourth of July with a patriotic parade down its main street. Photographed by Russell Lee, it shows American flags strung overhead, and residents gathered along the sidewalks in front of local storefronts. Just months before the United States entered World War II, communities like this were already expressing national pride in public celebrations.
Surrender of Cornwall
The surrender of British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781, the final major battle of the American Revolution. American and French troops stand in formation as the British formally yield, marking the collapse of Britain’s campaign in the colonies. General George Washington’s leadership is central to the scene, symbolizing the unity that brought the war to a close.
Banquet Scene with Flag Draping
Photographed between 1913 and 1917, this banquet scene shows a large gathering of formally dressed men seated beneath oversized American flags and patriotic bunting. Many hold listening devices to one ear, reflecting the early use of telephone or radio technology at public events, likely to hear a remote speaker or live transmission. The setting suggests a civic or political dinner at a time when industry, government, and communication were rapidly modernizing.
Women in Industry, War Time Production
1942 image shows a factory worker focused on the job at hand, grinding drill points that would be used to build American ships, planes, and weapons during World War II. With so many men serving overseas, women stepped into industrial roles that kept the war effort moving at home. Factory work like this wasn’t just a paycheck—it was seen as service. The small American flag by her machine says what words didn’t need to: this was part of the fight, carried out on the production floor.
President-elect John F. Kennedy with His Wife Jacqueline Kennedy, Giving His Acceptance Speech at the Hyannis Armory
John F. Kennedy speaking to supporters on November 9, 1960, after winning the presidential election, with Jacqueline Kennedy at his side in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Kennedy’s victory marked a generational shift in American leadership at the height of the Cold War. At 43, he became the youngest elected president, representing both continuity in American institutions and the promise of a new political era.
Washington American League Baseball Club
1924 photograph shows fans gathered outside the Washington American League Baseball Club, known at the time as the Washington Senators. The long lines of men in suits and hats reflect an era when attending a game was a major public outing and baseball was a central part of community life. Before radio broadcasts were widespread and long before television, fans showed up in person, often hours early, to be part of the experience.
Raising U.S. Flag, Vera Cruz
American troops raising the U.S. flag over Veracruz in April 1914, during the U.S. occupation of the Mexican port city. The action followed a diplomatic breakdown amid the Mexican Revolution and reflected the United States’ growing role in regional affairs. The flag marked control of a strategic harbor and a visible American military presence far from home. The occupation lasted several months and remains a clear example of how U.S. foreign policy and military power were being exercised beyond national borders in the early 20th century.
World's Biggest Flag Being Carried in Capitol Parade
Massive American flag being carried down Pennsylvania Avenue in 1932, with the U.S. Capitol rising in the background. Hundreds of people are needed just to keep the flag moving, turning it into the main event of the parade. The country was deep in the Great Depression at the time, and scenes like this were meant to reinforce a sense of unity and pride when everyday life was uncertain. Civic groups regularly organized parades and public displays to remind people of shared traditions and national identity.
Woman Suffrage Parade, Wash., D.C.
Taken in 1913, this photograph captures the woman suffrage parade filling Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., as crowds stretch toward the Capitol and the old Post Office tower. Marchers carried clear demands for voting rights, turning the street into a public forum at a time when women were still excluded from the ballot. The parade drew national attention by placing the issue front and center just before a presidential inauguration. Moments like this helped push women’s suffrage from protest to policy, laying the groundwork for the 19th Amendment a few years later.
American Flag Amid Rubble Following September 11th
Taken on September 11, 2001, an American flag set among the wreckage at the World Trade Center in New York City in the hours after the attacks. Twisted metal, torn surfaces, and smoke frame a scene of sudden loss and confusion as the city and the country tried to understand what had just happened. The flag was not a planned display, but something placed by hand in the middle of destruction, reflecting how people reached for familiar symbols in an unfamiliar moment.