Standing Up for Betsy Ross

Abstract

This chapter examines how Betsy Ross became a potent symbol in America’s intensifying culture wars from the 1980s through 2025. It traces the rise of Christian nationalism and the evangelical “Christian Patriot” movement that recast Ross as a devout, godly woman whose life testified to the nation’s biblical foundations, a vision promoted through heritage tours, textbooks, and homeschooling networks. The chapter then explores how, in the 2010s, Ross’s name and the thirteen-star flag were taken up by white nationalist groups, militias, right-wing populists, and supporters of Donald Trump, and became flashpoints in controversies over flag desecration, consumer culture, and political symbolism—from the Nike sneaker controversy of 2019 to Donald Trump’s embrace of Ross for inclusion in his proposed National Garden of American Heroes. Circulating simultaneously as merchandise, grievance symbol, and political banner, Betsy Ross emerged as a contested weapon in polarized America. Against this backdrop, the Betsy Ross House pursued a divergent, professional reinterpretation centered on women’s labor and history.