History of Flag Desecration

The flag that we know of today has evolved over time. In 1777 the Continental Congress approved the design, but it lacked enthusiasm and strict standardization as well. In 1912 the establishment of the flag was not only motivated by a need for national identity but for practical concerns as well. During the Mexican war in 1846 the military started carrying the U.S. flag as a symbol into battle. It wasn’t until the civil war that the flag had generated attention and deployed symbolic political protests. http://www.usa-flag-site.org/history.shtml.

The civil war marks the beginning as what is known as the flag desecration phenomenon. During the civil war the flag was increasingly politicized and as a result of civil religion, it was granted sacred meaning by government supporters. The newly enshrined status of the flag cued protesters that the symbolic power of the flag could easily be reversed by desecration that punctuated criticism of government.

The confederate or rebel flag quickly became a rival to the U.S. flag http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/63/flags/main.html. Shortly after the flag became an emblem of the Union, government and military elites developed tactics to defend it. As the war erupted, Old Glory was publicly desecrated in many southern states. What is believed to be the first political protest of its kind, a flag was burned in Liberty, Mississippi. In the North, vigilantes coerced citizens and businesses to drape the flag in support of the Union, due to those formal and informal activities, the nation had become much more than flag conscious. http://www.filsonhistorical.org/news_v3n1_cwenv.html.

By the 1890s the flag was being used to promote political parties and their candidates. http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/mckinley.html. William McKinley in 1896 was the first to place the flag at the center of his campaign. The strategy was designed to make opposing candidate William Jennings Bryan seem less patriotic. It was McKinley’s campaign that founded the first annual nation Flag Day. During the 1896 election there were about 20 incidences in which the flag was defaced, torn, and burned.