The Future History of Betsy Ross

Abstract

This epilogue provides a summary recapitulation of the history of Betsy Ross, the Betsy Ross House, and the Betsy Ross flag explored in this book and speculates on the uncertain future of Betsy Ross as one of the most durable figures in American civil religion. It revisits the rapid transformation of a brief and fragile family reminiscence into a national origin myth, amplified by art, schooling, mass media, and the marketplace. It reminds readers of how for more than a century, Betsy Ross was a highly adaptable cultural symbol—at once a model of female patriotism, a commercial brand, and a contested political emblem—capable of serving divergent and even antagonistic patriotic communities. It then follows her continuing mobilization in twenty-first-century culture wars and commemorations, while asking whether her symbolic power can endure. Ultimately, it argues that Betsy Ross’s future fame will depend less on historical evidence than on the evolving needs of Americans to locate meaning, faith, and identity in their nation’s past.