<Tr> <Td> 50 </Td> <Td> 13 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Hawaii </Td> <Td> 000000001960 - 07 - 04 - 0000 July 4, 1960--present </Td> <Td> 590! 57 years </Td> </Tr> <P> In the November 2012 U.S. election, Puerto Rico voted to become a U.S. state . However, the legitimacy of the result of this election was disputed . On June 11, 2017, another referendum was held, this time with the result that 97% of voters in Puerto Rico voted for statehood, but it had a turnout of only 23% . Similarly in November 2016, a statehood referendum was held in the District of Columbia where 86% of voters approved the proposal . If a new U.S. state were to be admitted, it would require a new design on the flag to accommodate the additional star . </P> <P> The modern meaning of the flag was forged in April 1861, when Major Robert Anderson defended Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor . The Confederates shot at the flag and Anderson was forced to surrender . The modern meaning of the flag was forged by Anderson's stand at Fort Sumter; he was celebrated in the North as a hero . Harold Holzer states that New York City: </P> <Dl> <Dd> responded with a "feast of the American flag ." Eyewitnesses estimated that as many as 100,000 flags quickly went on display across the city . To punctuate this feast of national colors, New York's graphic artists rushed out patriotic engravings and lithographs depicting avenging soldiers or gowned goddesses, bayonets upthrust, carrying "The Flag of Our Union" into future battles...Composers dedicated songs like "Our Countries Flag" to President Lincoln, and adorned their published sheet music with colorful images of resolute soldiers gripping the national banner . </Dd> </Dl>

When did the american flag become a symbol