The United States flag has more than one meaning. To one person, it may represent leadership; and to another, it may represent power. However, people, American or not, sees the same thing when they look at the American Flag--freedom. There are 196 countries in the world and most of them have freedom. Even though other countries’ citizens can own guns, speak as they please, and vote, no other country brags about freedom the way that America does. This is because America is the pioneer of freedom.

The first Americans moved to the USA from England in search of religious freedom. What they discovered was an open and free land. There was no government and, for them, no troubles. They built houses and started a life for themselves as more and more people moved in. What they did not know is that they were the first of many to move to America in search of the freedom they deserved. As the colonies grew, more and more flags began to fly along the shorelines, letting newcomers know that they were free.

The USA was not the creator of democracy, however. The words America and democracy go together like peanut butter and jelly because the USA cares about it the most. No other country has come close to the love that America has shown for democracy. The USA went to war against communism in Vietnam to, simply, preserve democracy. While the American flag does fly there, the people there think of the sacrifice America made that allowed them to be free.

Although America is the country of freedom, there was a time when not every American was free. Slaves were kept against their will and were forced to do grueling work. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, setting everybody free. The American flag still flies, and it now shows the America is the land that ended slavery, and that all of its citizens were truly free.

America is the land of the free. Wherever the American flag is seen waving proudly in the wind, it is letting Americans know that they are free.