THE DEMOCRACY OF AMERICA IN TAYLOR CALDWELL'S THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

In Taylor Caldwell's 1955 novel, The Devil's Advocate, the United States of America has been transformed into the Democracy of America, a collectivist, oligarchical, military dictatorship with fascist and communist features. She describes the flag of this polity as "bloody of background and bearing a single bloated white star." Here I imagine what some of the other flags of the Democracy might have looked like. The naval jack is red with the national coat of arms. This is adapted from the real-world emblem of the US Department of Defense, an appropriate choice since the Democracy is a military dictatorship. The flag of the National Capital District (formerly the District of Columbia) is diagonally divided, red and white. The four stars symbolize the four branches of government: the Presidency, the Senate, the Supreme Tribunal and the Armed Forces. For the ruling People's Democracy Party (the only legal political party) the flag is red with a white star at the upper hoist and the party emblem, a clenched fist, centered. The service flag of the armed forces is blue with the eagle of the national coat of arms bearing the emblem of the Armed Forces. The Picked Guard is a branch of the Armed Forces somewhat analogous to Saddamite Iraq's Republican Guard: a specially recruited, politically reliable guardian of the regime. Caldwell describes the uniform of the Picked Guard as dark green with red piping; thus the color of its service flag. The emblem replicates the Picked Guard's cloth shoulder insignia and metal collar insignia.

Imagess Added April 2020

Naval Jack  •  Armed Forces Service Flag
 

POSITIONAL COLORS

For the President of the Democracy I designed a color with a red field, white stars in the corners and white fringe, bearing the coat of arms of the state. Over the eagle's head is the emblem of the Armed Forces within a wreath, denoting the president's status as Supreme Commander. For the Vice President the color scheme is reversed and the armed forces emblem is omitted. For the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the field is blue with four white stars arranged in a diamond pattern. The shield replicates the emblem of the armed forces, which is worn as a cloth shoulder insignia or metal and enamel badge by military personnel assigned to the Joint Supreme Command. For the Commandant-General of the Picked Guard, the color is dark green field with red fringe. The shield replicates the cloth shoulder insignia and metal collar insignia of the Picked Guard.

Commanding officers of Sections, which replaced the states, have a color diagonally divided, blue over white, with the insignia of the Section on the Eagle's breast. This shield is worn as a cloth shoulder insignia or metal and enamel badge by military personnel assigned to the military headquarters commands of the Section. Each Section also has a Military Police Command, responsible for the maintenance of order; troops are assigned to it as necessary. The MP Command Color is vertically divided, green and white, the Military Police Corps colors, with stars and flaming grenades in the corners, the latter being the corps insignia. Section VII embodies the former states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The National Color of the Democracy of America, a fringed version of the national flag, is always carried or displayed with these positional colors.
 

NATIONAL & PRESIDENTIAL COLORS OF THE DEMOCRACY OF AMERICA

THE MINUTE MEN

The Minute Men constitute the underground resistance movement, dedicated to the overthrow the Democracy and restoration of the United States. Caldwell describes its flag as white with a white crescent and crossed rifles in white on a blue shield. I have depicted it with the rifles in the style of the US Army branch insignia for Infantry, with the traditional four stars, fringe and 3:4 proportions of a departmental flag.