If you have seen a flag that is yellow with a drawing of a rattle snake that is coiled and with text written below it, the flag must be the Gadsden flag. The text that is written below the snake says “Don’t tread on me”. Just in case you have seen this flag on flagpoles, it is worth the time to know the history about the flag. There are many interesting facts about it.
First of all, the name of the flag originated from an American statesman and general Christopher Gadsden. He designed the flag during the American Revolution in 1775. The phrase “Don’t tread on Me” was the motor or cry of American Patriots during the American Revolution in their struggle for freedom from British rule. The phrase was a short way of expressing anger from the abusive and intrusive British government. The American Patriots strongly believed that they have the natural rights to individual liberty, as God given to them, but this was being treaded and trampled by the British government.
The rattlesnake is the image used to symbolize rebellion and disobedience from the British Rule. This symbolism was first used in 1751. The story behind the image started during the time when the British cleverly disposed England’s worst criminals by shipping them to American colonies. Based on the publications from Pennsylvania Gazette, Benjamin Franklin released a comment by saying that America must thank the British by sending them back to England loads of rattlesnakes. The rattlesnakes became the symbol of his campaign “Join or Die”.