The 'Don't Tread On Me' meaning is an expression of freedom and liberty that first originated on the Gadsden Flag, depicting a coiled Rattlesnake getting ready to attack, and used as a cry for independence for the American Colonies when fighting the British. In 1775, as the American Revolution began, South Carolina politician Christopher Gadsden expanded on Franklin's idea, and possibly the red-and-white flag as well, when he created the yellow flag with a coiled rattler and the same phrase: “Don't Tread On Me.”
