Polls, Quizzes, Myths, Totems, and the Cult of Betsy Ross

Abstract

This chapter explores why Betsy Ross achieved enduring fame despite historians’ persistent skepticism. Using quantitative studies of historical fame, opinion polls, classroom surveys, and free-association exercises, the chapter measures both the rise of Ross’s celebrity and its decline since the 1980s. Drawing from scholarship in anthropology, religious studies, and memory studies, it argues that Betsy Ross functions as a sacred mother within American civil religion. The Betsy Ross flag creation story mirrors the Nativity of Christ, with Washington and Ross as the father and mother who give symbolic birth to a nation, represented by the flag, without sin. The chapter concludes that Betsy Ross endures because patriotic belief rests on faith rather than evidence, and that her future depends on how well her story resonates within the evolving contours of American civil religion.