January 11, 1861, the ladies of Montgomery, Alabama presented the secession convention with a flag for the new republic. Alabama resumed her sovereign powers delegated to the US Compact of 1789, under the 10th Amendment. The Convention accepted the flag and resolved it "be raised upon the Capitol". Symbols of Independence, the American Revolution, and King Cotton were incorporated into the flag's design by Montgomery painter Francis Corra. On one side of the flag, a representation of the Goddess of Liberty, holding in her right hand a sword unsheathed, and in her left, a small flag with one star. In an arch just above this figure are the words, "Alabama-Independent Now and Forever." On the reverse side of the flag are the images of a cotton plant, with a rattlesnake coiled at its base. Immediately below the snake are the words "Noli Me Tangere." "Noli Me Tangere" is Latin meaning "Touch Me Not". It is another meaning for "independent, free and sovereign". The State of Alabama's contract with the Union was over.
No comments:
Post a Comment