I observed on one of the drums belonging to the Marines… that there was painted a rattlesnake, with this modest motto under it, ‘Don’t tread on me.’ It occurred to me that the rattlesnake, being found in no other quarter of the world besides America, might therefore be chosen to represent her. Having frequently seen the rattlesnake, I ran over in my mind every property by which she was distingushed. I recollect that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders; she is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. …[she] never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her. …She strongly resembles America in this, that she is beautiful in youth and her beauty increaseth with her age, ‘her tongue also is blue and forked as the lightning, and her abode is among impenetrable rocks.’
–Benjamin Franklin, letter to the Pennsylvania Journal, Dec. 27, 1775, from The Compleated Autobiography (Mark Skousen, ed.) pp. 112-113.
The bolded elements above put me in mind of the lyrics to Metallica’s excellent Don’t Tread on Me from the Black Album:
…Liberty or death, what we so proudly hail
once you provoke her, rattling of her tail
never begins it, never, but once engaged…
never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage
…Love it or leave it, she with the deadly bite
quick is the blue tongue, forked as the lighting strike
shining with brightness, always on surveillance
the eyes, they never close, emblem of vigilance
Too close for coincidence, methinks. Metallica’s quoting 18th-century political discourse from a Founding Father!
Pretty heady stuff for a metal band.