Sunday Favorites: The Symbolism Behind the State Flag
1845 State Flag. 1845 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory
Posted
Merab Favorite
Our state flag is a record of Florida created to represent different aspects of Florida's history and culture. Every part carries some meaning, from hoist to fly end. Here's the story
Florida's flag has changed dramatically over the years. In 1793, when Florida was controlled by Spain, the Spanish flew a war flag that featured three red and gold stripes. However, for most of the latter part of the 18th Century and the first half of the 19th Century, there was no official flag in the state.
On June 25, 1845, a blue, red, and white flag was unfurled at the inauguration of William D. Moseley, Florida's first governor. The flag was approved by the Florida House but objected to by the Senate because it included the uncouth motto ""Let Us Alone"". But, on December 27, Florida Senators came around, adopting the flag with the unconventional slogan A technical issue prevented it from ever being officially recognized. Because the House acted through a joint resolution and the Senate through a simple one, the flag was never officially adopted even though it received the approval of both houses of the legislature, according to the State Archives of Florida.
In the 1860s, prior to the beginning of the Civil War, a lone star and stripes, like the Texas flag, were used temporarily. Then, when Florida officially joined the Confederacy on February 28, 1861, and 5,000 Floridians joined the Confederate Army, three separate Confederate banners were flown across the state, according to the article ""The Role of Florida in the Civil War,"" by Dr. Angela M. Zombek.
After the Civil War, Florida was the first southern state to design its own flag, but it changed several times before the current design was adopted in 1900.
From 1868 to 1900, Florida's state flag consisted of an all-white background with the state seal in the center. During the late 1890s, Gov. Francis P. Flemming suggested that a red diagonal cross be added so the flag did not appear as the white flag of surrender when hanging still on a flagpole, according to the Florida Department of State's website.
In 1900, Florida voters ratified a constitutional amendment to add diagonal red bars in the form of the St. Andrew's cross to the flag, the website said.
St. Andrew was one of the Apostles who was crucified by the Romans in A.D. 60 on a cross that was shaped like an X. The X-shaped cross, often represented by the color red, became a symbol across Europe and was frequently flown by early Spanish settlements like St. Augustine, according to the Florida Department of Military Affairs.
Some historians believe the addition of the red saltire was a commemoration of Florida's contributions to the Confederacy, noting that Flemming himself served in the Confederate Army and may have been promoting an antebellum agenda. The addition was also made during a period when the state passed new Jim Crow and segregation laws, and could have been meant to marginalize African Americans.
The states Mississippi and Alabama also adopted new state flags around the same time they in discriminating laws, according to the book ""The Confederate Flag; America's Most Embattled Emblem, by John M. Coski.""
But not all historians agree with these associations. They believe the addition of the St. Andrew's cross is a nod to Florida's heritage, noting that the original flags the Spanish flew in the 16th Century also bared a red cross. Canter Brown Jr., a well-respected Florida historian, was quoted as saying he's ""seen no specific evidence linking the Florida flag to the Confederate one,"" according to a 2020 Miami Herald article ""Historians Differ on whether Florida Flag Echoes Confederate Banner.""
On May 21, 1985, the flag was again altered after the state seal was adapted to be more historically accurate. The revised Great Seal of the State of Florida corrected several errors. A Seminole Native American woman was depicted, replacing the Western Plains Native American that was previously featured, an early steamboat is more historically accurate, and a cocoa palm was replaced with a sabal palm.
As time goes on, one can imagine that the origins of the state flag will continue to be a topic of discussion, interpreted differently by people with conflicting ideologies and records. As with most debates on political matters, we'll just have to agree to disagree. After all, one of the things that makes our state unique is its inability to avoid controversy.
Comments
No comments on this item
Only paid subscribers can comment
Please log in to comment by clicking here.