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Pine Tree Flag

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An Appeal to Heaven Flag
Pine Tree Flag
A modernized redrawn version of the flag
UseOther Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion2:3
AdoptedOctober 21, 1775
DesignA pine tree with the words "AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN" written in all capital letters above the tree, and a white field behind it.
Designed byJoseph Reed

The Pine Tree Flag (or the An Appeal to Heaven Flag) was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, which featured a pine tree with the motto "An Appeal to Heaven", or less frequently "An Appeal to God", was originally used by a squadron of six frigates commissioned under George Washington's authority as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in October 1775.

The pine tree is a traditional symbol of New England. The phrase "appeal to heaven" appears in John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, where it is used to describe the right of revolution.

The flag is the official maritime ensign for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, though the script was removed in 1971. It was used by state navy vessels in addition to privateers sailing from Massachusetts.[1]

Use of the flag fell out of fashion until the 2020s, when it began to be used by supporters of former President Donald Trump among a religious strand of his "Stop the Steal" campaign.[2]

Design

An American school textbook depicting the flag alongside the Gadsden Flag, the Grand Union Flag, a colonial New England flag, the Bunker Hill flag, and the Flag of the United States
The pine tree flag with the motto "An Appeal to Heaven"
A modern rendition of the original 1901 Maine Flag

A flag with a pine tree on it, "a red flag with the cross of St. George in the canton with a green pine tree in the first quarter", was used in New England as early as 1704, and may have flown at Bunker Hill in 1775. It also appeared having a "white field with the motto 'An Appeal to Heaven' above the pine tree".[3]

A later design of the flag came from General Washington's secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed. In a letter dated October 21, 1775, Reed suggested a "flag with a white ground and a tree in the middle, the motto AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN" be used for the ships Washington commissioned.[4]

The following summer, on July 26, 1776, the Massachusetts General Court established the flag of the state navy with a resolution that stated in part: "...that the Colours be a white Flag, with a green Pine Tree, and an Inscription, 'Appeal to Heaven'."[4]

Pine tree symbolism

Colonists adopted the pine as a symbol on flags and currency in the 17th century, including variants of the flag of New England and coinage produced by the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1652 to 1682.[5] Leading up to the Revolutionary War, the pine tree became a symbol of colonial ire and resistance as well as multi-tribal support of independence.[citation needed]

The flag of Maine, the "pine tree state", featured a pine tree on a buff field with a blue star in the canton from 1901 to 1909.

Appeal to Heaven and Locke

The phrase "Appeal to Heaven" is a particular expression of the right of revolution used by British philosopher John Locke in his Second Treatise on Government. The work was published in 1690 and refuted the theory of the divine right of kings. In chapter 14:[6]

And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment. And therefore, though the people cannot be judge, so as to have, by the constitution of that society, any superior power, to determine and give effective sentence in the case; yet they have, by a law antecedent and paramount to all positive laws of men, reserved that ultimate determination to themselves which belongs to all mankind, where there lies no appeal on earth, viz. to judge, whether they have just cause to make their appeal to heaven.[7]

Locke's enlightenment-age works on the topic of the philosophy of government were well-known and frequently quoted by colonial leaders in the 1760–1776 period prior to American independence. Locke's writing that most influenced the American philosophy of government was his Two Treatises of Government, and has been used to defend the secularization of American political structures.[8] Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, saw the Declaration as being copied from that work. Locke was not only one of the most-cited political philosophers during the Founding Era (~1776 to 1779), but also the single most frequently-cited source in the years from 1760 to 1776 (the period leading up to the Declaration of Independence).[9]

Prior to Colonel Reed's suggestion and Massachusetts General Court establishing the Pine Tree flag as the standard of the Massachusetts navy, "an appeal to Heaven" or similar expressions had been invoked by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in several resolutions, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death speech, and the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. Subsequently, the phrase was used again by the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of Independence.

Modern use

The flag fell into obscurity until the 2020s, where it came to be seen as a symbol of Christian nationalism and support for President Donald Trump and his "Stop the Steal" campaign among far-right groups.[2][10] It has been described as "a symbol of right-wing extremism"[11] and a "banner of the far right."[10] In 2021, the flag was flown by several participants in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol[12] where it represented Christian nationalism.[2]

In 2023, it was flown at the New Jersey vacation home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Alito declined to comment.[2] It also hangs outside the office of Speaker Mike Johnson's office in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C..[13] Johnson said he has used the flag for as long as he can remember because of its use by Washington, and did not know it was associated with the “Stop the Steal” campaign.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Naval History Center FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq122-1.htm Archived October 4, 2012, at the Library of Congress Web Archives.
  2. ^ a b c d Kantor, Jodi; Toler, Aric; Tate, Julie (May 22, 2024). "Another Provocative Flag Was Flown at Another Alito Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024. This time, it was the "Appeal to Heaven" flag, which, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War, but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious strand of the "Stop the Steal" campaign and for a push to remake American government in Christian terms.
  3. ^ Homer, Harlan H. (1915). "The American Flag". Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association. 14: 108–121.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ a b Wyatt, Rick (2002). Washington's Cruisers Flag (U.S.). Retrieved from http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-wacr.html.
  5. ^ "Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling, "1652"". Legendary Coins & Currency. Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  6. ^ John Locke. "Second Treatise on Civil Government". - Chapter 3 Sect. 20-21 & Chapter 14 Sect. 168
  7. ^ Benner, Dave (April 16, 2017). "John Locke's Appeal to Heaven: Its Continuing Relevance". Tenth Amendment Center. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  8. ^ Littlejohn, Brad (February 23, 2021). "The Appeal to Heaven and Our New Revolutionary War }". Providence. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  9. ^ "John Locke – A Philosophical Founder of America". December 29, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Fields, Gary; Mascaro, Lisa; Amiri, Farnoush (May 23, 2024). "The 'Appeal to Heaven' flag evolves from Revolutionary War symbol to banner of the far right". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Sarnoff, Marisa (January 11, 2022). "Delaware Man Previously Known to FBI After 'War Crimes in Bosnia' TikTok Post Charged with Jan. 6 Crimes". Law & Crime. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Winston, Kimberly (January 6, 2021). "The history behind the Christian flags spotted at the pro-Trump U.S. Capitol 'coup'". Religion Unplugged. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  13. ^ Onishi, Bradley; Taylor, Matthew D. (November 10, 2023). "The Key to Mike Johnson's Christian Extremism Hangs Outside His Office". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 24, 2024.

External links

Media related to Pine Tree Flag at Wikimedia Commons

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