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MY'STORY

The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Wilmington 1898 — An American Coup

Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.

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Wikipedia

Gadsden flag

Gadsden flag
UseBanner Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
ProportionVaries, generally 2:3
AdoptedDecember 20, 1775
DesignA yellow banner charged with a yellow spiraled timber 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
Designed byChristopher Gadsden

The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a timber rattlesnake[1][2] coiled and ready to strike. Beneath the rattlesnake are the words "Dont Tread on Me" [sic].[a] Some modern versions of the flag include an apostrophe in the word "don't". Originating in the American Revolution, the flag has in modern days become a symbol of American and international right-libertarianism, and later the Tea Party movement.

The flag is named after Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolinian delegate to the Continental Congress, slaver and brigadier general in the Continental Army,[4][5][6] who designed the flag in 1775 during the American Revolution.[7] He gave the flag to Commodore Esek Hopkins, and it was unfurled on the main mast of Hopkins' flagship USS Alfred on December 20, 1775.[5][8] Two days later, Congress made Hopkins commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy.[9] He adopted the Gadsden banner as his personal flag, flying it from the mainmast of the flagship while he was aboard.[5] The Continental Marines also flew the flag during the early part of the war.[7]

The rattlesnake was a symbol of the unity of the Thirteen 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 his Join, or Die woodcut in 1754.[5][10] Gadsden intended his flag to serve as a physical symbol of the American Revolution's ideals.[5]

The flag has been described as the "most popular symbol of the American Revolution".[5] Its design proclaims an assertive warning of vigilance and unity of purpose in the common defense.[11] This has led it to be associated with the ideas of individualism and liberty.[12][13][14][15][16][17] It is often used in the United States as a symbol of right-libertarianism, classical liberalism, and small government, as well as for distrust or defiance against authorities and government.[18][19][20]

Appearance and symbolism

[edit]

Variations in appearance

[edit]

Many variations of the Gadsden flag exist. The motto may or may not include an apostrophe in the word "Don't";[21]: 339  the typeface used for the motto may or may not feature serifs. 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.

History of the rattlesnake symbol in America

[edit]
Benjamin Franklin's 1754 JOIN, or DIE. cartoon

The timber rattlesnake can be found in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies. Like the bald 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 of Benjamin Franklin. In 1751, he made the first reference to the rattlesnake in a satirical commentary published in The Pennsylvania Gazette. It became the policy of the British Parliament to send convicted criminals to Britain's North American colonies (primarily the Province of Georgia), so Franklin suggested that Americans thank Parliament by sending rattlesnakes to Britain.[22]

In 1754, during the French and Indian War, Franklin published JOIN, or DIE, a woodcut of a snake cut into eight sections. It represented the colonies, with New England joined as the head and South Carolina as the tail, following their order along the coast. This was the first political cartoon published in an American newspaper.[23]

In 1774, Paul Revere added Franklin's iconic cartoon to the nameplate of Isaiah Thomas's paper, the Massachusetts Spy, depicted there as fighting a British griffin.[24]

In December 1775, Benjamin Franklin published an essay in the Pennsylvania 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.

Flag of the Culpeper Minutemen

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 the Department 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.

Other American flags that use a rattlesnake motif include The United Companies of the Train of Artillery of the Town of Providence, the First Navy Jack, and the Culpeper Minutemen flag,[26] among others.

In the 21st century, the Gadsden Flag has been used by supporters of the Tea Party movement.

History

[edit]
Christopher Gadsden, designer of the flag, portrait by Jeremiah Theus, c. 1760–1770

George Washington established the Continental Navy in 1775 as Commander in Chief of the Continental Forces, before Esek 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 the American Revolutionary War.

Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden represented South 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."[27] 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.[28] On April 27, 1775 a flag with the coiled rattlesnake and motto was carried by David Jameson from Culpeper County.[29]

Gadsden's flag in an 1885 schoolbook

Gadsden decided that the American navy needed a distinctive flag and took it upon himself to make one in 1775.[30][7] He gave Commodore Esek Hopkins a yellow rattlesnake flag to serve as his personal standard on USS Alfred, 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.[31] The rattlesnake was seen in Charleston, South Carolina as a "noble and useful" animal that gave warning before it attacked.[5] Before being appointed to lead the Navy, Hopkins had led The United Companies of the Train of Artillery of the Town of Providence, a unit that flew a flag similar to Gadsden's.[32][33] He unfurled the Gadsden flag on the main mast of USS Alfred on December 20, 1775, while the ship was at anchor in Chesapeake Bay.[5][30] 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 the first national flag of the United States, when Senior Lieutenant John Paul Jones hoisted it on December 3, 1775, while the ship floated in the Delaware River near Philadelphia.[34][8]

By winter 1775, the South Carolina Provincial Congress expected that British forces would attack Charleston and recalled Gadsden home from Congress in Philadelphia to command the 1st 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 Congress William 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."[35]

Use during the Civil War

[edit]
A variation of the Gadsden flag appears at a pro-secession rally in Savannah, Georgia, at the onset of the American Civil War in 1860
A variation of the Gadsden flag flown by the Confederate Navy

Between 1860 and 1862, the meaning of the Gadsden flag was disputed between pro- (later, the Confederacy) and anti-slavery (later, the Union) 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.[36]

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 the Southern Cross battle flag.[36] In 1862, Abraham Lincoln was given a 34 star American flag with the inscription: "The heel of the old flagstaff shall bruise the rattle-snake’s head," in gold.[37]

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.[36] The flags even flew as far west as El Dorado, California.[38]

Modern use

[edit]
Map of states (colored yellow) that offer Gadsden flag specialty license plates

For historical reasons, the Gadsden flag is still popularly flown in Charleston, South Carolina, the city where Christopher Gadsden first presented the flag and where it was commonly used during the revolution, along with the blue and white crescent flag of pre-Civil War South Carolina.

The Gadsden flag has become a popular specialty license plate in several states. As of 2022, the following states offer the option of obtaining a Gadsden flag specialty license plate: Alabama, Arizona,[39] Florida,[40][41] Kansas,[42] Maryland,[43] Missouri, Montana,[44] Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,[45] Texas, and Virginia.[46][47]

Use as a libertarian symbol

[edit]
The Gadsden flag flying over the San Francisco Civic Center Plaza.

In the 1970s, libertarians began using the Gadsden flag as a symbol to represent individual rights and limited government.[48] The flag's prominent yellow or gold color is also strongly associated with libertarianism.[49] The libertarian Free 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.[50]

Use by the right

[edit]
Gadsden flag flown in the area of demonstration during the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Beginning in 2009, the Gadsden flag was widely used as a protest symbol by protesters who supported the American Tea Party movement.[51][52][53] It was also displayed by members of Congress at Tea Party rallies.[54] 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.[55]

The Gadsden flag was featured prominently in a report related to the January 6, 2021, attack of the United States Capitol.[56][b]

Stop wojnie - Gadsden flag at anti-war rally in support of Ukraine.

Use by the left

[edit]

In the mid-1970s, the New Left People's Bicentennial Commission used the Gadsden flag symbolism on buttons and literature.[59][60]

Following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which struck down Roe v. Wade, abortion rights activists were seen at a Texas rally carrying a version of the flag with the snake in the shape of a human uterus.[61][62][63][64]

Rainbow Gadsden flag

Street Patrol, a 1990s LGBTQ+ self-defense group affiliated with Queer Nation/San Francisco, used as its logo a coiled snake over a triangle holding a ribbon with the motto "Don't Tread on Me".[65][66] Some libertarians use a version of the flag with the snake and motto placed over a rainbow flag.[67] Following the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, posters containing a rainbow Gadsden flag inscribed with "#ShootBack" were placed around West Hollywood.[68]

Use in a terrorist act

[edit]

In 2014, the flag was used by Jerad and Amanda Miller, the perpetrators of the 2014 Las Vegas shootings who killed two police officers and a citizen.[69] The Millers reportedly placed the Gadsden Flag on the corpse of one of the officers they killed.[70]

[edit]

In March 2013, the Gadsden flag was raised at a vacant armory building in New Rochelle, New York, without permission from city officials. The city ordered its removal[71] 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.[72]

In 2014, a US 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 States Equal 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.[73]

In 2023, a seventh grader at The 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.[74] After high-profile backlash against the decision, including criticism from Governor Jared Polis, the school reversed its decision.[75][76]

Use outside the U.S.

[edit]

The Gadsden flag has been used by supporters of Argentine right-libertarian president Javier Milei.[77] During Milei's inauguration, there were Gadsden flags flown[78] which is one of the first times the flag was flown with notability in a foreign inauguration.[79]

Parodies

[edit]
"No Step on Snek" parody flag

Parodies and pastiches of the Gadsden flag exist; one common design replaces the "Don't tread on me" motto with "No Step on Snek", sometimes paired with a crudely drawn snake.[80][81]

[edit]

The Gadsden flag has made numerous appearances in popular culture, particularly in film, television, video games, music, and sports.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ During the 18th century, contractions were often written without an apostrophe.[3]
  2. ^ Thirty-four-year-old Rosanne Boyland carried one when she collapsed from an amphetamine overdose and died in the Capitol.[57][58]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Waser, Thomas (December 6, 2016). "The Symbolism of the Timber-Rattlesnake in Early America". Herpetology Guy (Thomas Waser) on Steemit. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Timber Rattlesnake Conservation Strategy for Pennsylvania State Forest Lands". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. April 7, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Lowth, Robert (1794). A Short Introduction to English Grammar: With Critical Notes. pp. 67, 79.
  4. ^ "GADSDEN, Christopher | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Godbold Jr., E. Stanly; Woody, Robert Hilliard (1982). Christopher Gadsden and the American Revolution. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 142–150. ISBN 978-0-87049-363-8.
  6. ^ Eldridge, Kelcey (August 1, 2018). "A Forgotten Founder: The Life and Legacy of Christopher Gadsden". All Theses.
  7. ^ a b c "Short History of the United States Flag". American Battlefield Trust. November 6, 2019. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Alfred". Naval History and Heritage Command. U.S. Navy. June 9, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  9. ^ "Esek Hopkins appointed Commander-in-Chief of Continental Navy". California SAR. December 22, 2022. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  10. ^ "Join, or Die". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Philadelphia. May 9, 1754. p. 2. Retrieved January 19, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "The Rattlesnake as a Symbol of America - by Benjamin Franklin". greatseal.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Top 23 Symbols of Freedom & Liberty Throughout History". Give Me History. November 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Nicholson, Katie (February 15, 2022). "From snakes to Spartans: The meaning behind some of the flags convoy protesters are carrying". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  14. ^ Miller, Matthew M. F. (November 20, 2020). "The Radical Individualism Raging Throughout America". Shondaland. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  15. ^ Robertson, Marcella (October 28, 2020). "Confederate flag along I-95 in Stafford removed, replaced with 'Don't Tread On Me' flag". WUSA9.
  16. ^ Bosso, Joe (June 25, 2012). "James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett reflect on Metallica's Black Album". MusicRadar. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Scocca, Tom. "Flag daze". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  18. ^ "Yellow Gadsden Flag Carries a Long and Shifting History". Snopes.com. January 8, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  19. ^ Neuman, Scott (August 10, 2022). "A Florida license plate has reopened the debate over the 'Don't tread on me' flag". NPR. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  20. ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; Tiefenthäler, Ainara (January 13, 2021). "Decoding the Far-Right Symbols at the Capitol Riot". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c McCandless, Byron; Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (1917). Our flag number: with 1197 flags in full colors and 300 additional illustrations in black and white. National Geographic Society. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  22. ^ Leepson, Marc; DeMille, Nelson (2006). Flag: An American Biography. Macmillan. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-312-32309-7. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  23. ^ "The Colorful History of Comic Books and Newspaper Cartoon Strips". ThoughtCo. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  24. ^ "A More Perfect Union: Symbolizing the National Union of States". Library of Congress. July 23, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  25. ^ Franklin, Benjamin (December 27, 1775). "The Rattlesnake as a Symbol of America". The Franklin Institute. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000.
  26. ^ Los Angeles Herald, 19 February 1896, p.12
  27. ^ Aron, Paul (2008). We Hold These Truths...: And Other Words That Made America. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-7425-6273-8.
  28. ^ "The U.S. Navy's Jack". www.history.navy.mil. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  29. ^ Daily national intelligencer, October 23, 1839, p.3
  30. ^ a b McDonough, Daniel J. (2000). Christopher Gadsden and Henry Laurens: The Parallel Lives of Two American Patriots. Susquehanna University Press. pp. 169–173. ISBN 978-1-57591-039-0.
  31. ^ Godbold, E.; Woody, Robert (January 1982). Christopher Gadsden and the American Revolution. The University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0-87049-362-0.
  32. ^ "United Company of the Train of Artillery (U.S.)". www.crwflags.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  33. ^ "Flag of the United Train of Artillery of Providence". The Monticello Classroom. January 28, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ Hicks, Frederick Cocks (1918). The flag of the United States. United States Government Printing Office. p. 23. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  36. ^ a b c Brodie, Laura (June 14, 2023). "The disgraced Confederate history of the 'Don't Tread on Me' flag". Washington Post. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  37. ^ The Louisville daily journal, February 27, 1863, p. 2
  38. ^ Sacramento Daily Union, 3 May, 1861, "Secession Flag"
  39. ^ "2020 Arizona Revised Statutes :: Title 28 - Transportation :: § 28-2439 Don't tread on me special plates". Justia Law. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  40. ^ Neuman, Scott (August 10, 2022). "A Florida license plate has reopened the debate over the 'Don't tread on me' flag". NPR. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  41. ^ Abad, Dylan (August 2, 2022). "Florida's new 'Don't Tread On Me' license plate stirs controversy". WFLA-TV. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  42. ^ Taborda, Noah (April 12, 2021). "Kansas Legislature endorses Gadsden flag license plate supporting state rifle association". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  43. ^ "Gadsden Pew Club license plate". Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  44. ^ "Service Organizations & Associations". Montana Department of Justice.
  45. ^ "Friends of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park". friendsofsycamoreshoals.org. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  46. ^ "Seven States Now Offer 'Don't Tread on Me' License Plates; Is Yours on the List? - Tea Party News". Tea Party. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  47. ^ Schwarz, Hunter (August 25, 2014). "States where you can get a 'Don't Tread On Me' license plate". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  48. ^ Walker, Rob. "The Shifting Symbolism of the Gadsden Flag". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  49. ^ Sawer, Marian (April 18, 2007). "Wearing your Politics on your Sleeve: The Role of Political Colors in Social Movements". Social Movement Studies. 6 (1): 39–56. doi:10.1080/14742830701251294. ISSN 1474-2837. S2CID 145495971.
  50. ^ Doherty, Brian (November 16, 2016). "Free State Project Supporter Shot in Fight That Began Over Its Porcupine Flag". Reason. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  51. ^ "Gadsden flag denied over State Capitol". New Haven, Connecticut: WTNH. May 26, 2010. Archived from the original on January 13, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  52. ^ Hayes, Ted (May 27, 2010). "'Tea Party' flag rankles some". East Bay Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  53. ^ Macedo, Diane (April 7, 2010). "Connecticut Marines Fight for 'Don't Tread on Me' Flag Display". Fox News. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  54. ^ "Gadsden Flags Flying Off the Shelves in Support of the Tea Party Tax Protest" (Press release). FlagandBanner.com. Marketwire. April 16, 2009. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2009 – via Reuters.
  55. ^ "Tea Party flag will not fly at Connecticut Capitol". NECN. April 8, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  56. ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; Tiefenthäler, Ainara (January 13, 2021). "Decoding the Far-Right-Symbols at the Capitol-Riot". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  57. ^ Melendez, Pilar (April 7, 2021). "Capitol Rioter Rosanne Boyland died from Drug-Overdose, not trampling". The Daily Beast.
  58. ^ "Death of QAnon-Follower at Capitol leaves a Wake of Pain". The New York Times. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
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  60. ^ Daly, Christopher. "The Peoples Bicentennial Commission: Slouching Towards the Economic Revolution" The Harvard Crimson April 28, 1975
  61. ^ Godfrey, Elaine (September 3, 2021). "Is This How Democrats Break Their Midterm Curse?". The Atlantic.
  62. ^ "Appeals Court Upholds Texas Law to Ban Abortion Procedure". Bloomberg.com. August 18, 2021.
  63. ^ "Watch Where You Step: "Don't Tread on Me" Used to Support Access to Abortion – Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret". sites.psu.edu.
  64. ^ "Court upholds Texas law banning common abortion method". The Guardian. Associated Press. August 19, 2021.
  65. ^ Miles, Sara (July 1, 1992). "The Fabulous Fight Back". Outlook (17): 57, 59. OCLC 17286887.
  66. ^ Collie, Robert (April 29, 1991). "Squad patrols Castro for gay-bashers". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
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  68. ^ Branson-Potts, Hailey (June 16, 2016). "West Hollywood plastered with rainbow #ShootBack signs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
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  71. ^ "Flag's Believed Ties To Tea Party Lead To Removal From New Rochelle Building". CBS 2 New York. April 22, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
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  74. ^ "Colorado Springs 12-year-old did not back down from wearing symbolic 'Don't Tread on Me' patch to school". KOAA News 5. August 30, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
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  76. ^ Kenney, Andrew (August 29, 2023). "Gov. Jared Polis defends Gadsden flag after student reportedly removed from Colorado Springs class". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  77. ^ Goñi, Uki (August 14, 2023). "Far-right outsider takes shock lead in Argentina primary election". TheGuardian.com.
  78. ^ "Argentina's newly sworn-in President Milei warns of shock adjustment to economy". PBS NewsHour. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  79. ^ Sugarman, Jacob (December 10, 2023). "The enmity and the ecstasy of Javier Milei's inauguration". Buenos Aires Herald. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
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Further reading

[edit]
  • Gaerte, Andrew. "A Rattlesnake Flag of The American Revolution." Western Pennsylvania History (2011) online
[edit]
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Gadsden flags at Wikimedia Commons

Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.

Wikipedia

Gadsden flag

The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a timber rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Beneath the rattlesnake are the words "Dont Tread on Me" [sic]. Some modern versions of the flag include an apostrophe in the word "don't". Originating in the American Revolution, the flag has in modern days become a symbol of American and international right-libertarianism, and later the Tea Party movement. The flag is named after Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolinian delegate to the Continental Congress, slaver and brigadier general in the Continental Army, who designed the flag in 1775 during the American Revolution. He gave the flag to Commodore Esek Hopkins, and it was unfurled on the main mast of Hopkins' flagship USS Alfred on December 20, 1775. Two days later, Congress made Hopkins commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy. He adopted the Gadsden banner as his personal flag, flying it from the mainmast of the flagship while he was aboard. The Continental Marines also flew the flag during the early part of the war. The rattlesnake was a symbol of the unity of the Thirteen 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 his Join, or Die woodcut in 1754. Gadsden intended his flag to serve as a physical symbol of the American Revolution's ideals. The flag has been described as the "most popular symbol of the American Revolution". Its design proclaims an assertive warning of vigilance and unity of purpose in the common defense. This has led it to be associated with the ideas of individualism and liberty. It is often used in the United States as a symbol of right-libertarianism, classical liberalism, and small government, as well as for distrust or defiance against authorities and government.

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Wikipedia

Christopher Gadsden

Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was an American politician who was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the seventh lieutenant governor of South Carolina, a merchant and slaver and the designer of the Gadsden flag. He is a signatory to the Continental Association.

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John Gadsden

John Gadsden (March 4, 1787 – January 24, 1831) was the 28th mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, serving two terms from 1827 to 1829. Gadsden was born on March 4, 1787, to Philip Gadsden (1761–1824) and Catherine (Edwards) Gadsden (1766–1816). His paternal grandfather was Christopher Gadsden, originator of the Gadsden flag, one brother was James Gadsden, notable for the Gadsden Purchase, and another brother was Christopher Edwards Gadsden, the fourth Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina. Gadsden was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1819 and was the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina from 1820 to 1831. On September 3, 1827, Gadsden was elected to a second term as intendent of Charleston, defeating N.G. Cleary by a vote of 655 to 281. He died January 24, 1831.

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Libertarianism in the United States

In the United States, libertarianism is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty. Libertarianism has been described as laissez-faire on economic issues while supporting civil liberties and personal freedom. The movement is often associated with a foreign policy of non-interventionism. Broadly, there are four principal traditions within libertarianism, namely the libertarianism that developed in the mid-20th century out of the revival tradition of classical liberalism in the United States after "liberalism" associated with the New Deal; the libertarianism developed in the 1950s by anarcho-capitalist author Murray Rothbard, who based it on the anti-New Deal Old Right and 19th-century libertarianism and American individualist anarchists such as Benjamin Tucker and Lysander Spooner while rejecting the labor theory of value in favor of Austrian School economics and the subjective theory of value; the libertarianism developed in the 1970s by Robert Nozick and founded in American and European classical liberal traditions; and the libertarianism associated with the Libertarian Party, which was founded in 1971, including politicians such as David Nolan and Ron Paul. The right-libertarianism associated with people such as Murray Rothbard and Robert Nozick, whose book Anarchy, State, and Utopia received significant attention in academia according to David Lewis Schaefer. Right-libertarianism is the dominant form of libertarianism in the United States, compared to that of left-libertarianism. The latter is associated with the left wing of the modern libertarian movement and more recently to the political positions associated with academic philosophers Hillel Steiner, Philippe Van Parijs and Peter Vallentyne that combine self-ownership with an egalitarian approach to natural resources; it is also related to anti-capitalist, free-market anarchist strands such as left-wing market anarchism, referred to as market-oriented left-libertarianism to distinguish itself from other forms of libertarianism. Libertarianism includes some anarchist tendencies, although they are not as widespread as in other countries. Although all libertarians oppose government intervention, there is a division between those anarchist or socialist libertarians as well as anarcho-capitalists such as Rothbard and David D. Friedman who adhere to the anti-state position, viewing the state as an unnecessary evil; minarchists such as Nozick who advocate a minimal state, often referred to as a night-watchman state; and classical liberals who support a minimized small government and a major reversal of the welfare state. The major libertarian party in the United States is the Libertarian Party. However, libertarians are also represented within the Democratic and Republican parties, while others are independent. Gallup found that voters who identify as libertarians ranged from 17 to 23% of the American electorate. Yellow, a political color associated with liberalism worldwide, has also been used as a political color for modern libertarianism in the United States. The Gadsden flag and Pine Tree flag, symbols first used by American revolutionaries, are frequently used by libertarians and the libertarian-leaning Tea Party movement. Although libertarian continues to be widely used to refer to anti-state socialists internationally, its meaning in the United States has deviated from its political origins to the extent that the common meaning of libertarian in the United States is different from elsewhere. In the United States, right-libertarianism has become the most common referent of libertarianism since the late 20th century. Libertarians have worked to implement their ideas through the Libertarian Party, the Free State Project, agorism, and other forms of activism.

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

Greenwood / Black Wall Street

Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Who became the first Black woman to travel into space?

Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.