THE 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 snake are the words, "Don't Tread On Me" [sic]. Some modern versions of the flag include an apostrophe in the word "don't".
The flag is named after Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolinian delegate to the Continental Congress and brigadier general in the Continental Army, who designated 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 20 December 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 [American Revolution] war.
The rattlesnake was a symbol of unity of the Thirteen Colonies at the start of the Revolutionary war, and it had a long history as a political symbol in the U.S. Benjamin Franklin used it for his "Join or Die" woodcut in 1754. Gadsden intented 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". It's design procclaims an assertive warning of vigilence and willingness to act in defense against coercian. 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 libertarianism, and small government, as well as for distrust or defiance against authorites and government.
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