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Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism

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Three times a year without fail when I was a kid - Labor Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day - my dad would hang a large American flag from a portable wooden pole off of the wrought iron banister of our suburban front porch in a little town 1 hour north of New York City.

He did so quietly and without fanfare, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we lived on a dead-end road that saw few cars pass by on any given day, let alone holidays. I mentioned this to him in passing when I was older, and he agreed with a nod, but continued to hang the flag until the day he died of cancer in the bedroom he lived in with my mom for almost thirty years. I never did get a direct answer out of him regarding his relationship to "Old Glory. My dad kept his cards close to his chest, and wasn't much of a "rah rah" guy about anything organizational, though he wore the courage of his convictions in a million different ways through living a life of quiet devotion to family, close friends, a professional career, and a spiritual walk that remained until the end.

It is testament to Vermont-based historian Woden Teachout's new book Capture The Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism (Basic Books, 2009) that I begin with this story of my father and "Old Glory," for Teachout's wonderful new work is at once deeply personal and historically ambitious. A professor of graduate studies at Union Institute and University, Teachout seeks nothing less than to unpack the ways in which Americans' complex and evolving relationship to "Old Glory," the American flag, illuminates conflicting and deeply felt notions of patriotism itself.

Using synechdoche - a time-honored historical technique in which a historian uses a small moment to represent larger historical trends (think Bernard DeVoto's 1846: Year of Decision, for example) - Teachout selects eight moments in U.S. history and deftly unpacks them to show the reader how Americans debated (sometimes violently) "Old Glory's" meaning within larger discussions about patriotism itself. Her skill as a narrative historian is first rate - while the book exudes a nice blend of scholarly authority (her work is based on doctoral research), she never sacrifices accessibility. At her best, Teachout is a fine storyteller, able to paint a convincing picture of life among the "rowdy boys" who inhabited the 18th century New England wharfs, the fall of Fort Sumter, or life inside the early 20th century Ku Klux Klan.

Even more impressive, however, is her ability to graft these moments into larger historical debates about the meaning of patriotism in American life. Broadly speaking, Teachout identifies two kinds of patriotism in both the book's introduction and a helpful footnote:

The first [kind of patriotism] is a sentiment that privileges commitment to ideas and values, usually humanitarian, to a commitment over nation; the second is a sentiment that seeks to promote one's nation politically, socially, or economically within the context of other nations.

The first she refers to as "humanitarian" patriotism, the second, "nationalist" patriotism. And wisely, she doesn't take sides here, choosing instead to focus on the interplay between both within the context of 18th century revolutionary America (Flag of Resistance); the 1844 Philadelphia riots (Flag of Nativism); Fort Sumter's fall and the coming of the so-called "Civil War" (Flag of War); the 1896 McKinley presidential campaign (Flag of Capitalism); the KKK's early 20th century resurgence (Flag of Race); the mid-20th century civil rights movement (Flag of Equality); and the Vietnam War's Hard Hat Riots (Flag of Class). She ends with a passing nod to the Reagan years, and Barack Obama's 2008 election - still fresh in the minds of her readers.

In combining synechdoche, fine narrative, and scholarly analysis, Teachout manages to do something very few historians can do. In short, she brings a fresh eye to historical terrain we think we've already mapped, and she does so deftly, confidently, and concisely (the book clocks in at just over 200 pages). I read and absorbed Capture the Flag in three sittings, but felt infinitely wiser as a result of Teachout's gifted storytelling.

I have only two critical observations. First, the addition of images would greatly enhance the book's written analysis. When Teachout writes, for example, about the famous 1867 "First Vote" painting depicting Old Glory flying over the heads of newly freed slaves voting (in the context of the 20th century civil rights movement), readers would benefit from actually seeing the image. "Old Glory" images abound - why not leverage them in the book?

Secondly - and this is purely selfish on my part - I wanted more. Teachout deals with "Old Glory" and the so-called Reagan "Revolution" of the 1980s in a mere four pages. Certainly, Team Reagan's compelling televisual use of the American flag certainly demands its own chapter. And the women's rights effort is completely absent from Teachout's analysis - a curious omission, given the suffragettes' extensive use of Old Glory as a rallying symbol for their cause.

Criticisms aside, however, Teachout has crafted a thoughtful new book about the meaning of patriotism at a deeply important moment for the United States. "Secession talk" abounds in thirty states across the country. Here in Vermont, there are a growing number of us who have forsaken "Old Glory" and chosen, instead, to wear the Vermont independence flag - 13 white stars on a blue field embossed on a sea of green - to indicate our status as Vermont Patriots deeply disturbed by the policies of the United States Empire. As "Old Glory's" meanings continue to morph, Teachout's book stands as a powerful reminder of a flag that (once?) stood for what she calls a "shared political culture of liberty and justice," even as many Americans redefine what it means to be a "patriot" in this, a new century.

Fair warning: this is not a flag book, but rather a study in political science viewed through the lens of evolving flag usage. Its author, Woden Teachout, explores two competing threads of patriotism--"humanitarian patriotism" (representing a commitment to democracy), and "nationalist patriotism" (proclaiming "my country, right or wrong")--as they have harnessed the ambiguity and power of the U.S. flag's symbolism.

A professor at Union Institute and University in Vermont, Dr. Teachout has taught at Harvard and Middlebury College, and often shows her own liberal political leanings: "Like the World Trade Center, [in 2003] the Constitution stood in ruins." Nevertheless, the book stands as a compact parallel to John M. Coski's "The Confederate Battle Flag" (2005), offering a narrative history of the American flag's use over time.

The flag's story is told through eight expository vignettes, with little linkage between them. They comprise the events preceding and during the Revolution, the Philadelphia Riots of 1844, the Civil War, the election of 1896, the Ku Klux Klan (1915-24), the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and Post-9/11. The book does not provide a comprehensive history (as does Coski), rather it looks through eight disparate windows to tell its story and make its points. It is more like Michael Corcoran's "For Which It Stands" (2002) than "Mark Leepson's Flag--An American Biography" (2005).

No illustrations appear in the small (5.75" x 8.5") book (aside from on its cover)--it is a series of engaging and very readable essays.

Close readers might challenge occasional problems of math (1961 was not 46 years after 1905), verb selection (few would say that Major Anderson "took" Fort Sumter in December 1860), and history (mistaking Charleston for its state's capital and misdating nationwide Prohibition). However, a fine amount of scholarship steeped in reliable flag sources pervades the book.

The jacket blub asserts: "The story of the American flag is the story of a nation in search of itself. It has been the locus of bitter conflicts over the meaning of what it means to be an American, claimed by both racists and revolutionaries; by immigrants and nativists; by the right and the left."

Dr. Teachout proves a fine story-teller, aptly using the experience of individuals to provide insight into larger events. Her compelling descriptions of the pre-Revolution "Rowdy Boys" and the nativist confrontations of 1844 bring flag usage to human scale, and expand on eras of flag use which are less frequently surveyed by historians. Her bibliography and extensive footnotes include research that echoes and quotes the scholarship of NAVA past president Prof. Scot Guenter, who has published on the 1970 Hard-Hat Riot in New York and uses this book in his classroom at San Jose State University.

Even those less interested in the book's political science focus will enjoy learning more about how the flag was displayed and interpreted at key points in the nation's history.

Edward B. Kaye
Editor, Raven, A Journal of Vexillology
North American Vexillological Association

This is a well researched historical perspective of the origins of the American flag and how different groups of Americans used the flag to symbolize their individual struggles and beliefs. A good and worthwhile read.

I love to read this sort of book because there are so many levels of history that are never told in public schools, so many stories that may only be known on a regional scale, or that were missed in a 90 second TV news blurb. When I read Capture the Flag I felt like saying, where have I been? How did I miss all this? As many other Americans would probably admit, I knew little of the years between the Revolution and the Civil War, even less about the years between the Civil War and WWI, and somehow the repressive government of the Wilson years passed me by. Even the descriptions of some of the more recent events of the Viet Nam era were eye openers. I got the sense that there is so much NOT written in the book, almost as if this was the teaser for the real thing ---- not that this isn't well done (it is), but I just get the sense that the author has got an office full of stuff she didn't use. This book is a well referenced volume, yet a fast moving, engaging read; something even non-history buffs would probably enjoy.

'Capture the Flag' narrates American history through a very compelling lens. This book educates and entertains as it inspires. I loved the stories that weave the themes together, and I came away feeling better, wiser, and prouder than ever about being an American.

I am a mother of three young children. I love to read but rarely have the time or inclination to read without falling asleep. I picked up Teachouts book because it looked interesting and I love to read books that have to do with our history and American Heritage. I was sure I would once again put myself to sleep. I was delighted when I was immediately engaged and found I could not put the book down.
Thank you, Ms. Teachout, for encouraging and inspiring all of us Americans to keep looking into the past and learning about how we got here and what to do now.
Everyone should read this book. It is a colorful,readable book that is easy to relate with, and not dry like most history books tend to be.

This isn't the type of book I normally read. And yet, I quickly found myself drawn in by the extremely well-written, thought-provoking stories of events about which I knew little and, even more so, by Teachout's reflections on the flag itself. As I read accounts of the role of the flag in the early expressions of patriotism among the sailors imprisoned by the British, in the violent Philadelphia riots, in the Civil Rights Movement and more, I began to more fully appreciate Teachout's point that we need to recapture the flag in the fullest sense of its meaning, as a symbol that transcends our differences and divisions as a nation, one that captures and expresses the promise of our country, not the ways we have fallen short.

This book is narrative history at its best. Since reading it, I am more reflective about my own feelings about the flag, more willing to consider what that symbol means to others, and more open to the possibility of finding common ground. The book left me feeling inspired and hopeful, which is not always the way reading history makes me feel.

Teachout has a wonderful eye for detail and is a gifted story-teller. This book would be an excellent choice in courses on American history, American politics, and narrative non-fiction. I highly recommend it!

A great read. Found this book very relevant having spent 2007-08 working with a political campaign. Teachout puts some animated and appealing context behind commonly used symbolism and rhetoric. Loved the stories-a great delivery of this fascinating history.
This book is an eloquent exploration of where we have come from and what it means to be a patriot.

Great summer non-fiction! A must read for anyone who considers themselves a patriotic American.

This is not the type of book that would normally catch my eye - a positive and lenghty Wall Street Journal review brought it to my attention - it did not let me down. An engaging journey, intellectually stimulating and even, at times, funny. Branch out and buy a copy, I did and feel rewarded by the opportunity.