What is a patriotic symbol?

A patriotic symbol is an object, image, song, ritual, or place that represents national pride and the values, history, or identity of the United States, and that prompts allegiance, respect, and shared identification among citizens. American patriotic symbols overlap with national symbols (formally designated emblems of the country), but the category is broader and includes both official designs and widely recognized informal symbols.

Examples include the flag of the United States (the Stars and Stripes), the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, Uncle Sam, the Great Seal, the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner), patriotic songs (such as America the Beautiful, God Bless America, This Land Is Your Land, and My Country, 'Tis of Thee), the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, Mount Rushmore, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Arlington National Cemetery, as well as the colors red, white, and blue used in patriotic display.

Patriotic symbols are deployed in public ceremonies, military and civic rituals, sporting events, naturalization ceremonies, election campaigns, and personal expressions of allegiance such as flags flown on private homes, lapel pins, and bumper stickers. The federal Flag Code (4 U.S.C. sections 1 through 10) provides guidance on respectful display of the flag. The Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem are codified by federal statute.

The Great Seal, the bald eagle, the rose (national floral emblem), the oak (national tree), and the bison (national mammal) are designated by law as official national symbols. Other symbols, such as Uncle Sam, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell, are recognized by long usage rather than by single statutes.

The Supreme Court has held that the use of patriotic symbols in expressive speech, including burning the flag (Texas v. Johnson, 1989) and refusing to recite the Pledge (West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 1943), is protected by the First Amendment. Patriotic symbols therefore play a double role in American life: they unite citizens around shared identity, and they are also the subject of ongoing constitutional debates about what loyalty and dissent require.