What Does “Don’t Tread On Me” Mean?

“Don’t Tread On Me” is one of the oldest mottos in American history. Paired with a coiled rattlesnake, it is a warning: leave me alone, and I will leave you alone, but step on me and I will strike back. It first showed up during the American Revolution as a message of colonial defiance toward Britain. Since then it has been carried by sailors, Marines, libertarians, Tea Party activists, sports fans, and musicians. Each group has read something a little different into it.

This page explains where the phrase came from, why a rattlesnake, why it is often spelled “Dont,” and how its meaning has changed over nearly 250 years. For the full story of the flag itself, see our Gadsden Flag history guide.

The Short Answer

At its core, “Don’t Tread On Me” is a defensive warning. The rattlesnake it comes with is not an aggressor. It does not hunt people, and it rattles before it bites. The motto says the same thing in words: we are not looking for a fight, but we will not be trampled. In 1775 the “we” meant the thirteen American colonies facing British power. Today it most often stands for individual liberty and resistance to government overreach. Some people also read other, more contested messages into it, which we cover below.

Before the Motto: Franklin’s Rattlesnake

The rattlesnake was an American symbol before anyone wrote “Don’t Tread On Me” under it. In 1754, during the French and Indian War, Benjamin Franklin printed his famous “Join, or Die” woodcut in the Pennsylvania Gazette. It showed a snake cut into pieces, each one labeled with a colony. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service describes it as the first political cartoon published in an American newspaper. Its message was unity: separated, the colonies were as helpless as a severed snake.

Twenty years later, as the conflict with Britain grew, the image came back. In 1774 Paul Revere added Franklin’s snake to the nameplate of Isaiah Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, where it was shown fighting a British griffin. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service notes that by the Revolutionary War the rattlesnake “showed up on drums, military buttons, and battle flags.”

The “American Guesser” Letter (1775)

The clearest early explanation of the motto comes from a letter printed in the Pennsylvania Journal on December 27, 1775. It was signed “An American Guesser,” and its author has been identified as Benjamin Franklin. The writer describes seeing the device on a drum:

“I observed on one of the drums belonging to the marines now raising, there was painted a Rattle-Snake, with this modest motto under it, ‘Don’t tread on me.’”

He then sets out to “guess” why a rattlesnake was chosen, and his answers have shaped how Americans read the symbol ever since:

• It is uniquely American. He wrote that the rattlesnake “is found in no other quarter of the world besides America.”
• Vigilance. “She has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.”
• Courage without aggression. “She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.”
• Fair warning. “She never wounds ’till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.”
• Unity. Counting the rattles, he found “just thirteen, exactly the number of the Colonies united in America.” He added that one rattle alone “is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living.”

That last idea is the heart of the original meaning. “Don’t Tread On Me” was not a slogan of one lone individual. It was the collective warning of thirteen colonies that, standing together, could not be safely pushed around.

From Drum to Flag: Christopher Gadsden

The motto’s best-known home is the yellow flag named for Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina, a delegate to the Continental Congress who served on the committee outfitting the new Continental Navy. Commodore Esek Hopkins flew a yellow rattlesnake banner as his personal standard after it was raised on the flagship Alfred in December 1775. The Continental Marines, the same “marines now raising” in Franklin’s letter, also carried the design early in the war.

On February 9, 1776, Gadsden presented an example of the flag to the South Carolina Provincial Congress. Its journal recorded “a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattlesnake in the middle in the attitude of going to strike and these words underneath, ‘Don’t tread on me.’” Read the full history of the Gadsden flag.

Why “Dont” Has No Apostrophe

Many Gadsden flags read “DONT TREAD ON ME,” with no apostrophe. That is not a modern typo. In the 18th century, contractions were often written without an apostrophe, and the classic flag design follows that older style. Other early sources, including the South Carolina journal and Franklin’s letter as usually transcribed, print “Don’t.” Today you will see both versions. Neither is “wrong”: the apostrophe-free spelling signals historical styling, and the apostrophe follows modern English.

How the Meaning Evolved

The Revolution: Defiance of Britain

In the 1770s the meaning was direct. Historian Marc Leepson, quoted in The New Yorker, put it simply: the origins of “Don’t Tread On Me” “were completely, one hundred percent anti-British, and pro-revolution.” The snake was the colonies, and the boot was Parliament.

The Civil War: A Contested Symbol

The motto’s meaning has been fought over before. Between 1860 and 1862, versions of the rattlesnake flag were used by secessionists, including at a pro-secession rally in Savannah, Georgia, and a variant was flown by the Confederate Navy. Union imagery answered with pictures of snakes being stomped or eaten by eagles. Eventually the Confederacy moved on to other flags.

The U.S. Navy: The First Navy Jack

The phrase also lives on in the U.S. Navy through the First Navy Jack, a rattlesnake stretched across thirteen red and white stripes above the words “Dont Tread on Me.” It served as the Navy’s jack in 1975–1976 for the Bicentennial. Starting on September 11, 2002, the Navy flew it again on its ships as a symbol of the fight against terrorism. On June 4, 2019, the Navy returned to the traditional blue Union Jack, though the First Navy Jack remains in limited use on the oldest active warship. To compare the two designs, see our First Navy Jack vs. Gadsden Flag guide.

Libertarians and the Tea Party: Limited Government

In the 1970s, libertarians began using the Gadsden flag to represent individual rights and limited government, according to The New Yorker. Its bright yellow became closely tied to that movement. That marked a shift: a symbol of thirteen colonies uniting against an outside empire became a symbol of individuals standing up to their own government.

Starting in 2009, the flag became a staple at Tea Party rallies. In March 2010, NPR reported that as the House prepared to vote on the health care overhaul, Republican lawmakers unfurled a large “Don’t Tread on Me” flag from a Capitol balcony to rally supporters below. Since then the motto has been widely used to stand for opposition to taxes, regulation, and federal mandates, and for support of gun rights.

Pop Culture, Sports, and License Plates

The motto has also spread well beyond politics as a general sign of defiance. Metallica recorded a song called “Don’t Tread on Me” for its 1991 self-titled album, whose cover shows a coiled snake like the Gadsden snake. The New Yorker notes the design has been used to promote U.S. Soccer and streetwear brands. Several states, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, offer Gadsden or “Don’t Tread on Me” specialty license plates.

The Controversy

Because the motto has been carried by so many different groups, people disagree about what it signals today.

The best-known example is a 2014 workplace complaint at the U.S. Postal Service in Denver. A Black employee said a co-worker repeatedly wore a cap with the Gadsden flag. The Postal Service dismissed the complaint. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reversed that dismissal and asked for a fuller investigation. In doing so, it wrote that “it is clear that the Gadsden Flag originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context,” while also noting that the symbol is “sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts.” News reports wrongly described this as a ruling that the flag was racist. The EEOC published a page clarifying that it had made no such finding.

The flag was also visible during the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, which led some commentators to tie it to anti-government extremism. Many others, including the people who fly it at home, at Charleston historic sites, or on their license plates, see it purely as a patriotic, historical symbol of liberty.

The fairest summary is the one The New Yorker offered: no symbol’s meaning “is locked in time.” The motto’s origin is clear and revolutionary. What it means in a given moment depends largely on who is flying it, where, and why.

What It Means Today

For most people who fly it, “Don’t Tread On Me” still carries Franklin’s three ideas: vigilance (stay alert), restraint (never start the fight), and resolve (never surrender once it starts). Add the thirteen rattles and you get a fourth: strength in unity. Whether aimed at a king, a foreign enemy, or an overreaching government, the motto says the same thing it said in 1775: respect my rights, and there will be no trouble.

Want to fly it yourself? Browse Gadsden flags and gear at the Our Gadsden Flag store, and learn the full backstory in our Gadsden flag history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “Don’t Tread On Me” mean?

It is a warning against aggression: leave me alone and I will leave you alone, but step on me and I will strike back. It began as colonial defiance of British rule and today usually stands for individual liberty and limited government.

Who first said “Don’t Tread On Me”?

No single author is known. The earliest well-documented description is a December 27, 1775, letter in the Pennsylvania Journal signed “An American Guesser,” attributed to Benjamin Franklin. It describes the motto painted under a rattlesnake on a drum of the newly raised Marines.

Why is a rattlesnake used with the motto?

Franklin’s letter argued that the rattlesnake is native to America, has no eyelids (vigilance), never starts an attack but never surrenders (courage), and warns before it strikes. Its thirteen rattles were read as the thirteen colonies.

Why is “Dont” spelled without an apostrophe?

In the 18th century, contractions were often written without an apostrophe, and many versions of the flag keep that historical styling. Versions with the apostrophe are also common and equally accepted.

Is the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag racist?

Its origin is not. The EEOC itself wrote that the flag “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context.” The EEOC also noted it is sometimes interpreted to carry racially tinged messages in some contexts, and it never ruled that the flag is a racist symbol.

Does the U.S. military still use “Don’t Tread On Me”?

The Navy flew the First Navy Jack, with the motto, on its ships from 2002 to 2019 before returning to the Union Jack. It remains in limited use, and the motto stays popular in military culture, but it is not an official motto of any branch today.

Sources

1. “The Rattlesnake as a Symbol of America,” letter of “An American Guesser,” Pennsylvania Journal, December 27, 1775 (transcription). https://greatseal.com/symbols/rattlesnake.html
2. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, “Don’t Tread on Me.” https://www.fws.gov/story/dont-tread-me
3. Wikipedia, “Gadsden flag.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag
4. Wikipedia, “First Navy Jack.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Navy_Jack
5. Rob Walker, “The Shifting Symbolism of the Gadsden Flag,” The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-shifting-symbolism-of-the-gadsden-flag
6. NPR, “Tea Party Adopts ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ Flag” (March 25, 2010). https://www.npr.org/2010/03/25/125184586/tea-party-adopts-dont-tread-on-me-flag