Gadsden flag
Revolutionary rattlesnake banner
The Gadsden flag is a yellow banner featuring a coiled rattlesnake above the words "Don't Tread on Me." Designed during the American Revolution, it symbolized colonial resistance to British rule.
The flag has been revived as an emblem of libertarian politics and opposition to government overreach, prominently displayed at Tea Party rallies and by advocates of gun rights and individual liberty.
Colonial separation from Britain
- Continental CongressColonial era legislature
- 1775Year revolution started
- colonial AmericaBritish North Atlantic settlements, pre-1776
- founding fathersMale originators of institutions
independence movement · Philadelphia · Charleston · minutemen · Continental Army · Declaration of Independence · Sons of Liberty · colonial resistance
Viper with segmented tail noisemaker
- Tea PartySmall-government advocacy movement
- Second AmendmentConstitutional gun rights clause
- bumper stickerAdhesive vehicle message
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
Absence of unjust constraint
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- individual rightsFreedoms held by persons
- limited governmentOfficially bounded political authority
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
sovereignty · autonomy · civil liberties · constitutionalism · self-reliance · nonintervention · individualism · states' rights
American Revolution
Colonial separation from Britain
- Continental CongressColonial era legislature
- 1775Year revolution started
- colonial AmericaBritish North Atlantic settlements, pre-1776
founding fathers · independence movement · Philadelphia · Charleston · minutemen · Continental Army · Declaration of Independence · Sons of Liberty · colonial resistance · Thirteen Colonies
rattlesnake
Viper with segmented tail noisemaker
- Tea PartySmall-government advocacy movement
- Second AmendmentConstitutional gun rights clause
- bumper stickerAdhesive vehicle message
defiance · motto · iconography · insignia · device · ensign · standard
liberty
Absence of unjust constraint
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- individual rightsFreedoms held by persons
- limited governmentOfficially bounded political authority
self-determination · sovereignty · autonomy · civil liberties · constitutionalism · self-reliance · nonintervention · individualism · states' rights · self-governance