Draft:The Rebellious Stripes Flag
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Comment: I did some extensive copyright cleanup on this article and moved it to draftspace. The remaining prose was copied here from Stamp Act Congress. — Diannaa (talk) 12:56, 4 August 2024 (UTC)
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Other names | The Rebellious Stripes, Rebellious Stripes |
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Use | American Revolution |
Adopted | August 1767 |
Relinquished | 1775 |
Design | Nine vertically stripes – five red, and four white, arranged vertically and represent nine of thirteen British colonies: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina |
Design and origin
The nine stripes on the Sons of Liberty Flag represent the nine colonies that attended the Stamp Act Congress – (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina). (Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Georgia) did not send representatives.
The Sons of Liberty Flag Impacts The Stamp Act of 1765
In June 1765, the Massachusetts Assembly drafted a letter, which was sent to the legislatures of "the several Colonies on this Continent" to "consult together on the present circumstances of the colonies."[1] Nine of the British America continental colonies ultimately selected delegates to attend the congress: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina.[2] All of the delegates selected were members of their colonial legislative bodies.[3]
The methods by which delegates were selected were in some cases unorthodox. In Delaware, then known as the "Three Lower Counties" of the Penn proprietors, assembly members held informal meetings in each of the three counties, in each case selecting the same three delegates[4] In New York, the assembly had been prorogued and was judged unlikely to be summoned by Lieutenant Governor Colden to consider the Massachusetts letter. The assembly's committee of correspondence, consisting of its New York City delegates, discussed the letter and decided under the circumstances to assume the authority to represent the colony.[5] New Jersey's assembly politely declined to send delegates before adjourning in late June, but after political sentiment against the Stamp Act became more pronounced, Speaker Robert Ogden called an extralegal assembly (since only the governor could officially call it into session) in late September that chose three delegates. Governor William Franklin was upset at the action but took no action beyond protesting the unusual meeting.[6] Maryland's assembly, prorogued because of a smallpox outbreak, was finally called into session by Governor Horatio Sharpe to consider the Massachusetts letter on September 23, and delegates were chosen.[7]
The colonies that were not represented at the congress did not send delegates for a variety of reasons. The Virginia and Georgia assemblies were deliberately prevented from meeting by their governors.[8] New Hampshire chose not to send delegates because of an ongoing financial crisis in the colony; by the time some assembly members sought to reconsider that decision, the assembly had adjourned, and Governor Benning Wentworth refused to call it into session.[9] North Carolina Lieutenant Governor William Tryon had prorogued the assembly for other reasons, and there was apparently no action taken to request a special session despite public protests and opposition to the act by Speaker John Ashe.[10]
After the Second Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, the flag was updated to include 13 red and white stripes to represent each of the United Colonies. The stripes were changed from vertical to horizontal.
References