Here's why Rep. Eric Burlison says 'An Appeal to Heaven' flag shouldn't be controversial

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has received attention recently for flying a flag at his summer home bearing the words “An Appeal to Heaven” above a pine tree.

House Speaker Mike Johnson displays the same flag outside of his office in the U.S. Capitol building, according to reporting from the Associated Press. Rep. Eric Burlison, Missouri's 7th District congressman, also displayed one in a recent post on X.

But why has this flag become such a topic of attention?

Some observers have linked the flag to support for white Christian nationalism or claims that the results of the 2020 election were wrong, due to the fact that protestors were seen waving the pine tree flag, among others, at the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

However, Burlison thinks that these people need to brush up on their American history, arguing that the flag holds a deeply historical meaning concerning the founding of the United States of America.

“It's the first flag that was commissioned by George Washington,” Burlison said in an interview with the News-Leader. "It’s the very first American flag, if you think about it.”

According to American Flags, the flag was designed by Colonel Joseph Reed, a personal secretary to Washington. In 1775, it was adopted for use on six military cruiser ships, and in 1776, it was declared the official Massachusetts navy flag.

“Whenever the Revolutionary War was beginning, they needed a flag to rally and to carry with them,” Burlison said. “There’s so much symbolism in the flag, it's really an amazing thing. A lot of the stuff that's in that flag are parts of history that most people have forgotten.”

The inspiration for the flag comes from the words of John Locke, a philosopher whose ideas contributed to the spirit of the American Revolution.

The key quote from Locke that is credited with the inspiration for this flag is as follows: “And where the Body of the People, or any single Man, is deprived of their Right, or is under the Exercise of a power without right, and have no Appeal on Earth, there they have a liberty to appeal to Heaven, whenever they judge the Cause of sufficient moment.”

It was this spirit in his writings that laid the foundations for the early colonists to start their revolutionary movement against the King of England that eventually led to the formation of the United States.

“If your king has wronged you, the only place you can appeal is to heaven,” Burlison said. “The colonists at that time really rallied around that concept and the really brilliant political work that was produced by John Locke.”

The eastern white pine, long used to build merchant ships, was used as the symbol for colonial resistance below the words. Because these pines were critical to producing ships for the King, he would not allow any colonists to cut down these trees, even on their own property. This led to the “Pine Tree Riot,” which acted as an early catalyst of the American Revolution.

“It's not a conservative thing. It's not a Republican thing or a Democrat thing,” Burlison said. “If you love the history of the United States of America, you should like the story of that flag. It has nothing to do with any particular politics. We didn't want to continue to be ruled by Britain, which I don't think is controversial today.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Rep. Eric Burlison explains meaning of 'An Appeal to Heaven' flag