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Newspaper clipping from an Abolitionist paper

The Hypocrisy of This Nation!

How abolitionists viewed the American flag.
by Matthew J. Clavin via Lapham’s Quarterly on June 14, 2023
Illustration by Nilé Livingston of the many flags used throughout America as symbols of freedom, patriotism, and protest.

Scars and Stripes

Philadelphia gave America its flag, along with other enduring icons of nationhood. But for many, the red, white and blue banner embodies a legacy of injustice.
by Martha S. Jones via Philadelphia Inquirer on April 6, 2022
Painting of the American flag.

Stars, Stripes and Dollars

Michael Prodger on the artists who make huge sums for painting the US flag.
by Michael Prodger via The Critic on November 30, 2020

How the American Flag Became Sacred—and the Hottest Brand in the Nation

It took decades for the "flag cult" as we know it to get rolling.
by Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on July 2, 2019

On Memorial Day, Weaponizing the American Flag

As a young woman, civil rights pioneer Pauli Murray discovered that the flag could be used as a symbol of defiance.
by Jedediah Britton-Purdy via Scalawag on May 30, 2016
Illustration depicting Betsy Ross presenting the flag to George Washington.

How Betsy Ross Became Famous

Oral tradition, nationalism, and the invention of history.
by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich via Commonplace on October 1, 2007

I Pledge . . . Allegiance?

American law says schools must honor the Pledge of Allegiance. Schools may have other plans.
by Maggie Phillips via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on February 4, 2025
original

Our Flag Was Still There

How is the first half of the 19th century depicted in and around the nation’s capital? Ed Ayers hits the road to find out.
by Ed Ayers on July 19, 2022
A collection of flags, games, and printed matter from the Civil War

Patriotism and Consumerism in the Civil War

For a burgeoning consumer society, store-bought flags and bonnets offered proof that commercialism could go hand in hand with heartfelt emotion.
by Livia Gershon, Joanna Cohen via JSTOR Daily on July 3, 2022
Oil cloth cape, worn to protect a firefighter’s upper body from embers and water. Likely from the Shiffler Fire Hose Company No. 32, of Philadelphia, founded in 1846.

There Was an Ashli Babbitt in the 19th Century. His Story Is a Warning.

To understand the right’s plans for Babbitt, look to George Shiffler.
by Zachary M. Schrag via Slate on September 1, 2021
An image of the diary of John Claypoole, third husband of Betsy Ross.

Betsy Ross’s Husband’s Diary Turned Up in a Garage. Here’s What it Tells Us About The Flagmaker.

The 240-year-old journal of John Claypoole, a Revolutionary War POW and later the third husband of Betsy Ross, sheds light on the flagmaker.
by Natalie Pompilio via Retropolis on July 12, 2021

When Is a Nazi Salute Not a Nazi Salute?

Were the celebrities in this 1941 photograph making a patriotic gesture or paying their respects to Hitler?
by Matt Seaton via New York Review of Books on July 25, 2020
Two men talking, one with an American flag and one with a 'thin blue line' flag.

The Short, Fraught History of the ‘Thin Blue Line’ American Flag

The controversial version of the U.S. flag has been hailed as a sign of police solidarity and criticized as a symbol of white supremacy.
by Maurice Chammah, Cary Aspinwall via The Marshall Project on June 8, 2020
Students from Ramstein Middle School recite Pledge of Allegiance during a Sep. 11 commemoration ceremony

Why Do We Pledge Allegiance?

Few democracies require children to make a daily declaration of fealty to country.
by Jack David Eller via Boston Review on September 6, 2018
Drawing of soldiers in combat uniforms.

The Good War

How America’s infatuation with World War II has eroded our conscience.
by Mike Dawson via The Nib on January 10, 2018

The Artifacts of White Supremacy

Why fiery crosses, white robes, and the American flag were seized upon by the 1920s Klan in its campaign for white nationalism.
by Kelly J. Baker via Religion and Culture Forum on June 14, 2017

The Pledge of Allegiance's Creepy Past

Seventy-four years ago today, lawmakers passed an amendment to the U.S. Flag Code.
by Stephen A. Smith, Jordan G Teicher, Cecilia O'Leary, Tony Platt, Mary Tierney Coutts, Laura Bell Everett via JSTOR Daily on December 22, 2016
1999 Yugoslavian stamp depicting a NATO jet launching a missile at an oil refinery.

Stamps Capture Unchanging Face of U.S. Violence Abroad

Countries have also used their postal systems to fight back against aggression.
by Matin Modarressi via Foreign Policy in Focus on January 6, 2025
Ella Watson in American Gothic, photographed by Gordon Parks.

She Was No ‘Mammy’

Gordon Parks’s most famous photograph, "American Gothic," was of a cleaning woman in Washington, D.C. She has a story to tell.
by Salamishah Tillet via The Atlantic on May 8, 2024
Photograph of firefighters raising an American flag in the rubble of 9/11.

The Real Story Behind This Iconic 9/11 Photo

How does an image become “iconic?” And when it does, will its meaning change?
via The Bigger Picture on September 6, 2022
A group of anti-gay activists protests a parade during a Pride event in support of LGBTQ rights in Seoul on July 16.
partner

The White Christian Understanding of the U.S. Has a Global History

Missionaries spread the idea that Christianity accounts for American success throughout the world.
by Chanhee Heo via Made By History on August 31, 2022
Lithograph of African Americans in prayer as Liberty lays a wreath on Charles Sumner’s casket. By Matt Morgan, from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1874.

Reconciliation Process

When Charles Sumner died in 1874, a bill he had sponsored two years earlier threatened to overshadow his legacy.
by Sarah J. Purcell via Lapham’s Quarterly on April 13, 2022
James H. Sweet

From Inclusive Public Schools to Divisive Concepts

Some personal reflections from American Historical Association president James H. Sweet on the recent wave of "divisive concepts" laws.
by James H. Sweet via Perspectives on History on December 15, 2021
A Union soldier sitting with his family

The Problem With Patriotism

I can’t ignore what this country has done to Black people. How do I find my place in it?
by Sasha Banks via The Atlantic on May 6, 2021
Hendrix performing at Woodstock

Rewinding Jimi Hendrix’s National Anthem

His blazing rendition at Woodstock still echoes throughout the years, reminding us of what is worth fighting for in the American experiment.
by Paul Grimstad via The New Yorker on January 26, 2021
Wabanaki people paddling canoes near bridge

The Myth of Native American Extinction Harms Everyone

Cluelessness about Native people is rampant in New England, which romanticizes its Colonial heritage.
by Mali Obomsawin via Boston Globe Magazine on September 15, 2020
New York workers, angered by the Mayor's apparent anti-Vietnam-War sympathies, wave American flags as they march in a demonstration near City Hall in New York City on May 15, 1970.

The 'Hard Hat Riot' of 1970 Pitted Construction Workers Against Anti-War Protesters

The Kent State shootings further widened the chasm among a citizenry divided over the Vietnam War.
by Angela Serratore via Smithsonian on May 8, 2020
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on moon with American flag.

Should the Moon Landing Site Be a National Historic Landmark?

Some archaeologists argue it’s essential to preserve the history of lunar exploration. But would it represent a claim of U.S. sovereignty over the moon?
by Sophie Fessl via JSTOR Daily on July 10, 2019

The Fourth of July Has Always Been Political

The question is which vision of America it’s being used to advance.
by David Waldstreicher via The Atlantic on July 4, 2019
partner

The Ugly History of the Pledge of Allegiance — and Why it Matters

Requiring displays of patriotism have often been tied to nativism and bigotry.
by Christopher F. Petrella via Made By History on November 3, 2017
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