In this article:
- “Sic semper tyrannis” is a Latin phrase translating to “thus always to tyrants.”
- Possibly originating in 44 BC, the phrase’s first recorded usage was during the assassination of Julius Ceaser, the Roman emperor widely regarded as a tyrant.
- When John Wilkes Booth later used “sic semper tyrannis” in reference to his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, though, the intended meaning of the phrase was distorted.
- Today, it’s been co-opted by conservative protestors as a catch-all phrase hurled at any politician they disagree with, regardless of whether that politician actually fits the definition of tyrant or not.
Throughout human history, โsic semper tyrannisโ has been linked to some of the most famous instances of political revolution. The Latin phrase, which translates literally to โthus always to tyrants,โ is meant to express a feeling of revolution and the inevitable demise of tyrannical rulers.
The phrase is very flexible in usage. It can be a prediction of inevitable future events, an expression of motive, or a simple statement of fact.
It’s been used by political opponents to characterize rulers as tyrannical as well as to express the idea that all tyrants must and will be overthrown. The phrase has a long, interesting, and at some points contradictory history.
Itโs been used by protestors, assassins, and even by state and military officials as a slogan.
It resurfaced in 2020 as a protest chant when “sic semper tyrannis” was heard outside of the Kentucky State Capitol at a rally in May. The chants were accompanied by a disturbing demonstration that involved the hanging of an effigy of the stateโs governor.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have condemned these actions as reprehensible and claimed that the Latin phrase was grotesquely misused in this instance.
The Origin of Sic Semper Tyrannis
Historians do not know exactly when the phrase was first invented, but the first historical account of the phrase was during the assassination of Julius Caesar in March of 44 BC.
Some historians claim that Marcus Junius Brutus, a close confidant of Caesarโs and one of the senators present at his assassination, announced the phrase to a crowd after Caesar had been slain.
It is a matter of great dispute, however, whether or not Brutus actually said this, or if it was just a fabricated added to the story later for dramatic effect.
Plutarch, an ancient Greek historian, claimed that Brutus would not have had a chance to say anything, or if he had that no one would have heard him, because all of the senators fled the scene as soon as Caesar was killed.
Regardless of the historical accuracies of the story, the motives behind Caesarโs assassination clearly demonstrate the meaning of โsic semper tyrannis.โ
In the years before his death, political actors in Rome believed that Caesar was becoming too powerful, and feared that he was trying to replace the Roman Republic with an Imperial system with himself as king.
Concerned that Caesar represented a threat to the democratic system of Roman government, a group of senators congregated and conspired to kill Caesar on the Ides of March.
Rome had experienced many tyrants before the time of Caesar, many of whom were overthrown and killed due to their lusts for power. Romans believed that a tyrant was not only bad for Rome, but that tyrannical power could not and would not survive the test of time.
In the story of Caesarโs assassination, โsic semper tyrannisโ is used as both an expression of motive and as a proclamation that a prophecy has been fulfilled.
Sic Semper Tyrannis on the Virginia Seal
In 1776, the year the United States was founded, Virginia adopted โsic semper tyrannisโ as a part of its seal. The phrase was meant to capture the revolutionary fervor felt by Virginians after declaring their independence from Great Britain, rulers that they saw as being tyrannical in many ways.
The seal includes the Latin phrase, and also depicts a bare-chested woman standing over the dead body of a tyrant with her foot on his neck.
There is a running joke thatโs believed to date back to the Civil War that โsic semper tyrannisโ actually means โget your foot off my neck.โ This image, as well as the Latin phrase, appear on the Virginia state flag as well as on all official documents in the state of Virginia.
John Wilkes Booth’s Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
While โsic semper tyrannisโ has been a part of U.S. history since the country was created, it became especially associated with the events of April 14, 1865, when John Wilkes Booth killed President Abraham Lincoln.
On this day, Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head at the Peterson House across from Fordโs Theatre in Washington D.C. Booth was a well-known stage actor at the time, but his opposition to Lincoln’s push for voting rights for Black Americans led him to conspire against the president.
In a plot to kill Lincoln as well as several other prominent political figures, Lincoln was the only one who was successfully taken out. In the diary of John Wilkes Booth, it is written that Booth cried out โsic semper tyrannisโ after killing the president.
It is unclear exactly what motivated Booth to use the phrase. It was used in a line in Maryland, My Maryland, a pro-Confederate Civil War song, and Booth was known to sympathize with the Confederate cause.
President Lincoln didn’t fit the definition of a tyrant. He was democratically elected and it’s difficult to argue that advocating in favor of extending voting rights to Black Americans was a tyrannical move.
Even so, confederate sympathizers like John Wilkes Booth tended to view the President’s treatment of the Southern states as cruel and oppressive.
Sic Semper Tyrannis in Modern American History
The first major event when โsic semper tyrannisโ seemed to come back into the American public eye was after the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, an act of domestic terrorism carried out by Timothy McVeigh.
McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people and injuring 680 more. He claimed that he was exacting revenge against the government for the Waco siege of 1993 as well as their foreign policy in general.
He viewed the United States government as a tyranny that should be overthrown, and his act of terrorism as the start of a rebellion.
When McVeigh was arrested on April 19, 1995, the same day as the bombings, he was wearing a t-shirt that depicted Abraham Lincoln and the phrase โsic semper tyrannis.โ
It seems that McVeigh may have identified with the revolutionary motivations of John Wilkes Booth, and was using the t-shirt both as a way to show support for the actions of Booth as well as justify his own actions.
The most recent instance of the use of this phrase in the United States political sphere was in May 2020. Protestors outside the Kentucky State Capitol hung an effigy of Governor Andy Beshear from a tree with โโsic semper tyrannis’ written nearby.โ
The protestors gathered for what was supposed to be a second amendment rally, according to a Facebook group, but the gathering quickly grew hostile toward Governor Beshear, who has expressed his support for a โred flagโ law that would increase the governmentโs ability to confiscate guns.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have condemned the actions of the protestors, saying that the act โreeks of hate and intimidationโ and calling it โbeyond reprehensible.โ Governor Beshear lives with his wife and children just a short walk from the Capitol.
While the phrase โsic semper tyrannisโ has its origins as an opposition to tyrannical rule, peopleโs definitions of what constitutes tyranny can vary substantially.
In the United States, the anti-tyranny phrase has been used to justify some of the most deplorable acts this country has ever seen, and yet it was fundamental to the very foundation of our country.
โSic semper tyrannisโ is in itself a polarizing phrase. Itโs flown proudly on the Virginia state flag, but itโs also been connected with two of the greatest acts of domestic terrorism in American history.
The United States of America was born of revolution, and our right as citizens to question our rulers is at the heart of our countryโs spirit and runs deeply through our Constitution.
However, it is important to understand the essential differences between tyranny and democracy when using the phrase โsic semper tyrannis.โ A politician who doesnโt share your beliefs isnโt necessarily a tyrant, and a government that doesnโt do what you want it to isnโt necessarily a tyranny.
Mr. Sherwood, you might want to brush up on your U.S. history – President Lincoln died in the Peterson House, but was not shot there. Such an obvious error throws the facts of your entire essay into question.
Your historical lies show your ignorance and obvious liberal leaning. That was redundant, wasn’t it.
You could have saved a lot of time here by saying “conservatives can’t oppose tyranny because of my own personal bias”.
Conservatives use this phrase like liberals use โracist,โ โnazi,โ โsexist,โ โhomophobic,โ โxenophobic,โ etcโฆ