U.S. 34 Star "Our Policy the will of the People"

34 Star U.S. Flag "OUR POLICY THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE", Sovereignty slogan.
The motto on this flag, 'Our Policy - The will of the People', was a slogan associated with the Popular Sovereignty movement in the United States. Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the state is created by the will or consent of its people, who are the ultimate source of all political power. The concept was widely aired in the late 1840s and widely popularized by Stephen A. Douglas in 1854. Douglas, who coined the term, thought the settlers should vote on their status early in territorial development.

Popular sovereignty was invoked in the Compromise of 1850 and later in the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). The tragic events in Bleeding Kansas exposed the doctrine's shortcomings. Popular sovereignty was often termed 'squatter sovereignty' by its critics, which included pro-slavery Southerners and many New Englanders.

This enormous flag bearing the inscription, Our Policy: The Will of the People, is an early and striking example of the flag being linked with partisan political discourse. While they are not altogether certain about it, researchers suggest that the inscription may have been a political slogan related to the Kansas Free Staters or Jayhawkers in the struggle over slavery in new states before the Civil War.

This 34-star flag's exact history is unknown; but it was formerly part of the acclaimed collection of noted antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai and his wife Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai, formerly of New York City, and later Amagansett, Long Island. Their collection was the result of fifty years of collecting, research and study by the late husband-wife team. Mastai, started collecting in the early 20th century and amassed the greatest private flag collection in the United States; which he detailed in his landmark book 'The Stars and The Stripes; The American Flag from Birth of the Republic to the Present' which was published by Alfred Knopf, New York 1973, and hailed as a revolutionary redefinition of the American Flag as both folk art and social history.

This is a large flag. For comparison the Star Spangled Banner at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. is 360" X 408" (30 by 34 feet or [9.1 by 10 m]). It was originally 30 by 42 feet (9.1 by 13 m).
The sizes of two United States flags, used at Fort Sumter in 1861 were 420" X 432" for the garrison flag, and 96" X 168" for the storm flag.


Exhibition History:

Mastai Exhibition
The Evolution of the American Flag
Amon Carter Museum
Fort Worth, Texas
October November 1972
Exhibit # 104

Flag Day Reception
Flown at The Presidio of San Francisco, during the exhibition "The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict" at the Officers Club.
San Francisco, California
June 14, 2003

Presidential Debate
Washington University at St. Louis
October, 2004

Publication history:
Depicted in Mastai (1973), p. 205
Depicted in American Flags, p. 43

ZFC Significant Flag


Provenance:

• Acquired by Mr. & Mrs. Boleslaw & Marie-Louise D'Otrange Mastai, New York City, and Amagansett, NY, The Mastai Collection, until 2002.
• Sold via Sotheby's Auction in New York City to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 2002.


Souces:

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Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973.

Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, Our Unknown Flag: Almost 250 Flags and Artifacts from the famous Mastai Collection, New York, , Amagansett, Exhibited 14 June -28 July 1978, US Customhouse, Plaza Lever, 6 World Trade Center, Boleslaw Mastai, 1978.

Druckman, Nancy, American Flags: Designs for a Young Nation, New York, Harry Abrams, Inc. 2003.

Popular Sovereignty, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_sovereignty

Missouri Compromise, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Compromise

Stephen A. Douglas, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_A._Douglas

Compromise of 1850, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850

Kansas-Nebraska Act, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas%E2%80%93Nebraska_Act

Bleeding Kansas, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas

Jayhawkers, Wikipedia, 8 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayhawker

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	222
Length of Fly	360

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	121
Length of Union/Canton	134

Stars
Comments on Star Measurements	Cotton, muslin, single thickness.
Size of Stars	10.5

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	17.75
Width of 3rd Stripe	17.75
Width of 8th Stripe	18
Width of Last Stripe	18
Size of Hoist	13

Frame
Is it framed?	no

Stars
Number of Stars	34
How are the stars embeded?	Sewn
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes
Star Pattern	7-7-6-7-7 horizontal rows

Stripes
Number of Stripes	13
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	34 Star U.S. FLAG/Message Header added.

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Wool
Comments on Fabric	Canvas header, Cotton stars. Bunting

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Rings

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Fair
Damage	Used, soiled, stained, some color migration from being folded or stored while still wet. Possible election of 1864 political banner, some holes from wear and tear some net holes. Trending To Good.
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1861-1863

Exhibits
Exhibition Copy	St. Louis Exhibition 2004 (ZFC0692) 34-Star United States Flag Our Policy: The Will of the People (1861-1863) This enormous flag bearing the inscription, Our Policy: The Will of the People, is an early and striking example of the flag being linked with partisan political discourse. While they are not altogether certain about it, researchers suggest that the inscription may have been a political slogan related to the Kansas Free Staters or Jayhawkers in the struggle over slavery in new states before the Civil War
Exhibition Images	Washington University 2004 Presidential Debate Poster

Publications
Publication Copy	Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973, pp.205-205. "THE FLAG IN POLITICS Political demonstrations in the United States have always been distinguished, from their equivalents in European lands, by what might easily seem redundant display of the national flag. The justification for this is that, from the start, the Stars and stripes has not merely been the national emblem but, as well, "the flag of the free," the guardian of American liberties. … a great flag of thirty-four stars bears an admirable - but still unidentified - motto to end all political mottos. [Our Policy The Will of the People] (Standing beside it [the flag], author Boleslaw Mastai." {See image in photo gallery} Druckman, Nancy, Jeffery Kohn, The American Flag: Designs for a Young Nation, New York, Abrams, 2003.P.43.
Flag Books	The Stars and The Stripes - Mastai