Who Stole Our American Hat?

This originally appeared (minus some revisions and additions) on July 4, 2005, after yet another of Bush’s “captive audience” military speeches at Fort Dunderhead, Fort Brazen or Fort Indenture, I can’t recall which. You see, THIS is my “American hat” that I’ve been told to put on all week by God’s Own Party:

A LITTLE STORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
or HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY
July 4, 2005 from “Skiing Uphill”

Behind Mr. Bush on the podium Tuesday night was a strange insignia: it wasn’t the flag of the United States Army, which is blue on a white field, with the number “1775″ below. No: it is the “new” seal of the Army, which has been altered recently. It used to have “1778″ in roman numerals at the bottom.

The original War Office seal was authorized by the Continental Congress on May 8, 1779. The Army flag was given to the Secretary of the Army by Vice President Nixon on June 13, 1956.

But you probably didn’t notice on that Seal a sword upraised in the center, on top of which is something that looks like a red stocking cap or a red Smurf cap.

What, you might ask, the heck is THAT thing?

So glad you asked: This is a very ancient symbol of Freedom. It is called the “Phrygian Cap” or a “Liberty Cap.” You might recognize it from the French Revolution.

But, for the United States, it is very special part of our heritage. Originally, it was worn by the Goddess of Liberty, and she wears the Liberty Cap on our first national coin, the “Liberty Cap Penny.”

The Sons of Liberty in Boston popularized the Liberty Cap: It was a symbol of Freedom that a “Classical” culture could understand. The metaphor, and the importation of the Roman Goddess of Liberty were important symbols during the Revolution. Why? The Phrygian cap was worn during Roman Empire by former slaves who had been emancipated by their master (or had bought their freedom) and whose descendants were therefore considered citizens of the Empire.

Libertas was a goddess whose image was on the denarius coin — which was a day’s wages for a laborer. She was symbolized by a broken jug — to show she shattered confinement — with an independent cat at her feet, and she wore the Phrygian Cap. It is a very old association.

One of the most famous Phrygian Cap symbols is on a Roman silver denarius minted  in commemoration of the assassination of Julius Caesar on the 15th (Ides) of March, 44 BC by Brutus — one of the assassins, famously. “Et tu, Brute” is that famous line in Shakespeare’s play. It represents the freedom cap between two daggers (with the date Eid Mar, as in March — remember, Caesar gave us our modern calendar, with July for Julius and August for his ward, Augustus):

The political metaphor of freedom from slavery represented by the Phrygian cap was, even at the assassination of Caesar, an old one.

By 1855, combined with several parallel images, the Goddess Libertas would morph into “Lady Freedom” whose statue would top the U.S. Capital dome — but not before her Liberty Cap was removed and replaced by a (pretentious and tacky, in my humble opinion) warrior’s helmet at the demand of Secretary of War (and future President of the Confederacy) Jefferson Davis:

Until that day, and until the Statue of Liberty was erected, Lady Liberty always wore the Phrygian cap (which MAY actually be buried under all that gunk). For some reason, we have forgotten it — the French Revolution was so impressed that they borrowed it from OURs!*

So maybe this is a good Fourth of July to remember the Liberty Cap and the Goddess of Liberty, and what they actually mean.

Or, you could just drink a lot of beer.

Courage.

==============

* NOTE: Virtually all French websites have conveniently forgotten the American connection of the Liberty Cap to the French Revolution, a salutary example of the manner in which history is rewritten according to the emotional needs of the audience. France, as the last “classical” culture in Europe is very proud of their connection to Rome. The American connection is, in this case, a national inconvenience. Still, it is NOT worth boycotting French goods or eating “liberty fries.” The land of Phrygia, by the by, lies on the northern, Black Sea coast of modern Turkey, and from it we derive the story of the “Gordian Knot” and the tale of an early king of Phrygia, King Midas. There is an implication that the Phrygian cap was created to hide Midas’ donkey ears (from the last part of the legend).
.

Posted by: hart wms  7/04/2005 11:15:00 AM

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized