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| | [[File:Gadsden flag.png|right|275px]] | | [[File:Gadsden flag.png|right|275px]] |
| − | The '''Gadsden Flag''' is a symbol of [[American]] [[independence]] and [[freedom]], which includes a fierce [[rattlesnake]], coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and a defiant '''"[[Don't Tread on Me]]"''' motto. The Gadsden Flag, originally seen in 1775 painted onto the drums of some of the first enlisted [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] during the [[American Revolution]], was meant to represent the 13 original colonies and their battle for independence from the [[British]] [[monarchy]].<ref name=gadsdenhistory>Chris Whitten. [http://www.gadsden.info/history.html Gadsden Flag History: An American Guesser], Gadsden.info, 2001-2009.</ref><ref>Diane Macedo. [https://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/30/dont-tread-license-plates-growing-trend/ 'Don't Tread on Me' License Plates Become a Growing Trend in the U.S.], [[FoxNews]].com, Published November 30, 2010.</ref> In due course, the Gadsden Flag was also adopted by groups of the [[Tea Party Movement]] as a message against [[big government]]. | + | The '''Gadsden Flag''' is a symbol of [[American]] [[independence]] and [[freedom]], which includes a fierce [[rattlesnake]], coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and a defiant '''"[[Don't Tread on Me]]"''' motto. The Gadsden Flag, originally seen in 1775 painted onto the drums of some of the first enlisted [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] during the [[American Revolution]], was meant to represent the 13 original colonies and their battle for independence from the [[British]] [[monarchy]].<ref name=gadsdenhistory>Chris Whitten. [http://www.gadsden.info/history.html Gadsden Flag History: An American Guesser], Gadsden.info, 2001-2009.</ref> This flag is available today in many states as specialty license plates.<ref>Diane Macedo. [https://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/30/dont-tread-license-plates-growing-trend/ 'Don't Tread on Me' License Plates Become a Growing Trend in the U.S.], [[FoxNews]].com, Published November 30, 2010.</ref> In due course, the Gadsden Flag was also adopted by groups of the [[Tea Party Movement]] as a message against [[big government]]. |
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| | Although [[Benjamin Franklin]] helped create the American rattlesnake symbol, his name isn't generally attached to the rattlesnake flag. The yellow "Don't tread on me" standard is usually called a Gadsden flag, for Colonel [[Christopher Gadsden]], or less commonly, a Hopkins flag, for Commodore [[Esek Hopkins]].<ref>[http://www.foundingfathers.info/stories/gadsden.html Don't Tread on Me: Gadsden Flag], FoundingFathers.info, July 5, 2001.</ref> The Gadsden Flag and similar variants have long been used by the U.S. Navy.<ref>Read, Russ (July 20, 2019). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/dont-tread-on-me-flag-has-long-history-of-navy-use 'Don't Tread On Me' flag has long history of Navy use]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved July 20, 2019.</ref> | | Although [[Benjamin Franklin]] helped create the American rattlesnake symbol, his name isn't generally attached to the rattlesnake flag. The yellow "Don't tread on me" standard is usually called a Gadsden flag, for Colonel [[Christopher Gadsden]], or less commonly, a Hopkins flag, for Commodore [[Esek Hopkins]].<ref>[http://www.foundingfathers.info/stories/gadsden.html Don't Tread on Me: Gadsden Flag], FoundingFathers.info, July 5, 2001.</ref> The Gadsden Flag and similar variants have long been used by the U.S. Navy.<ref>Read, Russ (July 20, 2019). [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/dont-tread-on-me-flag-has-long-history-of-navy-use 'Don't Tread On Me' flag has long history of Navy use]. ''Washington Examiner''. Retrieved July 20, 2019.</ref> |
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| | [[File:CulpeperMinuteMen.jpg|right|175px]] | | [[File:CulpeperMinuteMen.jpg|right|175px]] |
| | The Gadsden flag and other rattlesnake flags were widely used during the [[American Revolution]]. There was no standard American flag at the time, not even Betsy Ross's stars and stripes. People were free to choose their own banners. The Minutemen of Culpeper County, [[Virginia]], chose a flag that looks generally like the Gadsden flag, but also includes the famous words of the man who organized the Virginia militia, [[Patrick Henry]]: "Liberty or Death."<ref>[http://www.gadsden.info/Culpeper.html The Culpeper Flag]</ref> | | The Gadsden flag and other rattlesnake flags were widely used during the [[American Revolution]]. There was no standard American flag at the time, not even Betsy Ross's stars and stripes. People were free to choose their own banners. The Minutemen of Culpeper County, [[Virginia]], chose a flag that looks generally like the Gadsden flag, but also includes the famous words of the man who organized the Virginia militia, [[Patrick Henry]]: "Liberty or Death."<ref>[http://www.gadsden.info/Culpeper.html The Culpeper Flag]</ref> |
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| | + | == Allegations of Racism == |
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| | + | This flag has no connection or connotation with racism. Despite that, the [[Obama Administration]] ordered the United States Postal Service to investigate further a claim of racial discrimination by a worker who alleged that a co-worker “repeatedly wore a cap to work with an insignia of the Gadsden Flag.”<ref>https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-shifting-symbolism-of-the-gadsden-flag/amp</ref> |
| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| | {{reflist}} | | {{reflist}} |
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| | * [[Rattlesnake (American symbol)]] | | * [[Rattlesnake (American symbol)]] |
| | * [[Tea Party Movement#Symbols|Tea Party Movement (Symbols)]] | | * [[Tea Party Movement#Symbols|Tea Party Movement (Symbols)]] |
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| | [[Category:United States of America]] | | [[Category:United States of America]] |
| | [[Category:United States History]] | | [[Category:United States History]] |
| | [[Category:Flags]] | | [[Category:Flags]] |