“The American Flag Bunco Game … Played to Get the Dimes of Deluded Patriots,” 1900–1906

Abstract

As Betsy Ross’s fame spread, rival claims to the location of the house in which she purportedly sewed the first American flag drew national attention and intensified doubts about her story and the authenticity of the Old Flag House. This chapter examines the impact of explosive accusations published by Philadelphia’s North American newspaper, which accused the John Quincy Adams & Company–led fundraising campaign to purchase 239 Arch Street of financial mismanagement, inflated expenses, and outright theft. The exposé nearly derailed the Betsy Ross Memorial Association’s effort to save the house and exposed growing public unease over commercial exploitation of patriotic symbols. Situating the scandal within broader developments, including the flag-protection movement and Betsy Ross’s appearance in novels, plays, and sheet music, the chapter concludes by documenting how more than one million Americans contributed to the purchase of 239 Arch Street, the mortgage was retired, and the Betsy Ross House was secured as a national shrine.