Question: What did Florida voters approve in 1900 that changed the appearance of the state’s flag to prevent it from looking like a white flag of surrender?
Answer: A red diagonal cross—the St. Andrew’s cross, or saltire.
In 1900, Florida voters ratified a constitutional amendment (based on an 1899 joint resolution of the state legislature) adding the red diagonal bars to what had been a plain white flag with the state seal in the center. Between 1868 and 1900, Florida’s state flag consisted of a white field with the state seal in the center. During the late 1890s, Governor Francis P. Fleming suggested that a red cross be added, so that the banner did not appear to be a white flag of truce or surrender when hanging still on a flagpole.
