A yellow banner charged with a yellow spiraledtimber rattlesnake facing toward the hoist sitting upon a patch of lush green grass, with thirteen rattles, representing the thirteen colonies, the words "DONT TREAD ON ME" [sic] positioned below the snake in black font
The rattlesnake was a symbol of the unity of theThirteen Colonies at the start of the Revolutionary War, and it had a long history as a political symbol in America.Benjamin Franklin used it for hisJoin, or Die woodcut in 1754.[5][10] Gadsden intended his flag to serve as a physical symbol of the American Revolution's ideals.[5]
Many variations of the Gadsden flag exist. The motto may or may not include an apostrophe in the word "Don't";[21]: 339 thetypeface used for the motto may or may not featureserifs. The rattlesnake is sometimes shown as resting on a green ground; representations dating from 1885 and 1917 do not display anything below the rattlesnake. The rattlesnake usually faces to the left, and the early representations mentioned above face left. However, some versions of the flag show the snake facing to the right.
Thetimber rattlesnake can be found in the area of the originalThirteen Colonies. Like thebald eagle, part of its significance is that it was unique to the Americas, serving as a means of showing a separate identity from the Old World. Its use as a symbol of the American colonies can be traced back to the publications ofBenjamin Franklin. In 1751, he made the first reference to the rattlesnake in a satirical commentary published inThe Pennsylvania Gazette. It became the policy of theBritish Parliament to send convicted criminals to Britain's North American colonies (primarily theProvince of Georgia), so Franklin suggested that Americans thank Parliament by sending rattlesnakes to Britain.[22]
In 1754, during theFrench and Indian War, Franklin publishedJoin, or Die, a woodcut of a snake cut into eight sections. It represented the colonies, with New England joined as the head andSouth Carolina as the tail, following their order along the coast. This was the firstpolitical cartoon published in an American newspaper.[23]
In December 1775, Benjamin Franklin published an essay in thePennsylvania Journal under the pseudonym "American Guesser" in which he suggested that the rattlesnake was a good symbol for the American spirit and its valuation for vigilance, assertiveness, individualism, unity, and liberty:[25]
[T]here was painted a Rattle-Snake, with this modest motto under it, "Don't tread on me." [...] she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders [...] The Rattle-Snake is solitary, and associates with her kind only when it is necessary for their preservation [...] 'Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces. [...] The power of fascination attributed to her, by a generous construction, may be understood to mean, that those who consider the liberty and blessings which America affords, and once come over to her, never afterwards leave her, but spend their lives with her.
The rattlesnake symbol was first officially adopted by the Continental Congress in 1778 when it approved the design for the seal of the War Office.[citation needed] At the top center of the seal is a rattlesnake holding a banner that says, "This we'll defend". This design of the War Office seal was carried forward—with some minor modifications—into the subsequent designs as well as theDepartment of the Army's seal, emblem and flag.[citation needed] As such, some variation of a rattlesnake symbol has been in continuous official use by the US Army for over 243 years.
George Washington established the Continental Navy in 1775 as Commander in Chief of the Continental Forces, beforeEsek Hopkins was named Commodore of the Navy. The first ships were used to intercept incoming transport ships carrying war supplies to the British in the colonies in order to supply the Continental Army, which was desperately undersupplied in the opening years of theAmerican Revolutionary War.
Continental ColonelChristopher Gadsden representedSouth Carolina in the Congress, and he was one of seven members of the Marine Committee outfitting the first naval mission.[5][21]: 289 Paul Aron described Gadsden as a "leading advocate of an American navy."[26] The first Marines carried drums painted yellow and depicting a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen rattles along with the motto "Don't Tread on Me." This is one of the first recorded mentions of the flag's symbolism.[27]
Gadsden decided that the American navy needed a distinctive flag and took it upon himself to make one in 1775.[28][7] He gave CommodoreEsek Hopkins a yellow rattlesnake flag to serve as his personal standard onUSSAlfred, the flagship of America's first navy squadron.[8][21]: 289 Gadsden intended the design to serve as a physical symbol of the American Revolution's ideals.[29] The rattlesnake was seen inCharleston, South Carolina as a "noble and useful" animal that gave warning before it attacked.[5] Before being appointed to lead the Navy, Hopkins had ledThe United Companies of the Train of Artillery of the Town of Providence, a unit that flew a flag similar to Gadsden's.[30][31] He unfurled the Gadsden flag on the main mast of USSAlfred on December 20, 1775, while the ship was at anchor inChesapeake Bay.[5][28] Whenever he was aboard, Hopkins flew the flag from the mainmast of the flagship as his personal banner.[5]Alfred was also the first recorded ship to fly thefirst national flag of the United States, when Senior LieutenantJohn Paul Jones hoisted it on December 3, 1775, while the ship floated in theDelaware River nearPhiladelphia.[32][8]
By winter 1775, theSouth Carolina Provincial Congress expected that British forces would attack Charleston and recalled Gadsden home from Congress in Philadelphia to command the1st South Carolina Regiment.[5] By January 14, Gadsden had both his orders to return home and permission from the Continental Congress to leave.[5] On Friday, February 9, 1776, he presented an example of his yellow rattlesnake flag to president of the CongressWilliam Henry Drayton.[5]
Flag of the Providence United Train of Artillery
Gadsden's presentation of the rattlesnake flag was recorded in the South Carolina congressional journals on February 9, 1776:
Col. Gadsden presented to the Congress an elegant standard, such as is to be used by the commander in chief of the American Navy; being a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattlesnake in the middle in the attitude of going to strike and these words underneath, "Don't tread on me."[33]
Between 1860 and 1862, the meaning of the Gadsden flag was disputed between pro- (later, theConfederacy) and anti-slavery (later, theUnion) sides, with the latter side ending up abandoning the flag "because Confederates had irreparably tainted it" and the former making it into their unofficial flag.[34]
The Union side would counter the Gadsden flag with images of snakes being stomped, stabbed, and eaten by eagles; in response, the Confederacy would abandon it for theSouthern Cross battle flag.[34]
In 1861, a ship from Georgia entered Boston Harbor flying a version of the Gadsden Flag with 15 stars on it signifying the 15 slave states. The captain removed the flag after a large and angry crowd gathered, who then destroyed it.[34]
Map of states (colored yellow) that offer Gadsden flag specialty license plates
For historical reasons, the Gadsden flag is still popularly flown inCharleston, South Carolina, the city where Christopher Gadsden first presented the flag and where it was commonly used during the revolution, along with theblue and white crescent flag of pre-Civil WarSouth Carolina.
The Gadsden flag flying over theSan Francisco Civic Center Plaza.
In the 1970s,libertarians began using the Gadsden flag as a symbol to represent individual rights and limited government.[44] The flag's prominent yellow or goldcolor is also strongly associated with libertarianism.[45]The libertarianFree State Project in New Hampshire uses a modified version of the flag with the snake replaced by a porcupine, a symbol of the libertarian movement.[46]
Beginning in 2009, the Gadsden flag was widely used as a protest symbol by protesters who supported the AmericanTea Party movement.[47][48][49] It was also displayed by members of Congress at Tea Party rallies.[50] In some cases, the flag was ruled to be a political, rather than a historic or military, symbol due to the strong Tea Party connection.[51]
Street Patrol, a 1990sLGBTQ+ self-defense group affiliated withQueer Nation/San Francisco, used as its logo a coiled snake over atriangle holding a ribbon with the motto "Don't Tread on Me".[61][62] Some libertarians use a version of the flag with the snake and motto placed over arainbow flag.[63] Following the 2016Orlando nightclub shooting, posters containing a rainbow Gadsden flag inscribed with "#ShootBack" were placed aroundWest Hollywood.[64]
In 2014, the flag was used by Jerad and Amanda Miller, the perpetrators of the2014 Las Vegas shootings who killed two police officers and a citizen.[65] The Millers reportedly placed the Gadsden Flag on the corpse of one of the officers they killed.[66]
In March 2013, the Gadsden flag was raised at a vacant armory building inNew Rochelle, New York, without permission from city officials. The city ordered its removal[67] and the United Veterans Memorial & Patriotic Association, which had maintained the U.S. flag at the armory, filed suit against the city. A federal judge dismissed the case, rejecting the United Veterans' First Amendment argument and ruling that the flagpole in question was city property and thus did not represent private speech.[68]
In 2014, aUS Postal Service employee filed a complaint about a coworker repeatedly wearing a hat with a Gadsden Flag motif at work. Postal service administration dismissed the complaint, but the United StatesEqual Employment Opportunity Commission reversed the decision and called for a careful investigation. The EEOC issued a statement clarifying that it did not make any decision that the Gadsden flag was a "racist symbol," or that wearing a depiction of it constituted racial discrimination.[69]
In 2023, a seventh grader atThe Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was removed from school for wearing several patches that were "in violation of the school’s dress code policy" including a Gadsden flag patch.[70] After high-profile backlash against the decision, including criticism from GovernorJared Polis, the school reversed its decision.[71][72]
The Gadsden flag has been used by supporters of Argentine right-libertarian presidentJavier Milei.[73] During Milei's inauguration, there were Gadsden flags flown[74] which is one of the first times the flag was flown with notability in a foreign inauguration.[75]
Parodies and pastiches of the Gadsden flag exist; one common design replaces the "Don't tread on me" motto with "No Step onSnek", sometimes paired with a crudely drawn snake.[76][77]
In the 1982 filmTootsie, the character of Jeff Slater (Bill Murray) is shown to have the Gadsden flag displayed in his bedroom.
In the 1985 filmRocky IV, the character of Paulie (Burt Young) wears a coat with the flag on the back while in Russia.
In the 1995The Simpsons episode "Bart vs. Australia", Bart reveals in an act of patriotism the phrase "Don't Tread On Me" written across his buttocks when he is supposed to be kicked by the Australian Prime Minister as a punishment.
In the 1999 drama seriesThe West Wing, the character of Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) is shown to have a variation of the Gadsden flag displayed in this office.
In the 2006CBS apocalyptic drama seriesJericho, Gadsden flags are shown several times, most notably inthe series finale when Jericho's mayor, Gray Anderson (Michael Gaston), replaces the town hall's "Allied States of America" flag with a Gadsden flag.[78]
American heavy metal bandMetallica recorded a song called "Don't Tread on Me" on theirself-titled fifth studio album, released in 1991. The album cover features a dark-gray picture of a coiled rattlesnake like the one found on the Gadsden Flag.[81]
American country singerGranger Smith recorded a song called “Don’t Tread On Me,” which was featured on his 9th studio album “When The Good Guys Win.” The song also featured his alter ego,Earl Dibbles Jr.
American rapperLil Darkie recorded a song called "DON'T TREAD ON ME", released in 2019, in regard to theNew Zealand Mosque Shootings. The cover art depicts Lil Darkie's self drawn character as the rattlesnake on the Gadsden Flag.
The flag is also featured in the official for Aaron Lewis' single "Country Boy", featuring George Jones, Charlie Daniels & Chris Young.
American rock bandGrateful Dead reference the flags motto in their song "Uncle Johns Band" from their 1970 album "Working Mans Dead".
^Rankin, Hugh F. “The Naval Flag of the American Revolution.”William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 3, 1954, pp. 340–53.JSTOR,https://doi.org/10.2307/1943310. Accessed 20 Feb. 2023.
^Hall, Simon. "'Guerrilla-Theater... In the Guise of Red, White, and Blue Bunting': The People's bicentennial Commission and the Politics of (Un-)Americanism.Journal of American Studies, Vol. 52, No. 1 (February 2018); pp. 114–136. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018; pp. 114-136
.jpg)
.svg)
Media related toGadsden flag at Wikimedia Commons
