Tag Archives: state flag

New Hampshire State Flag “Live Free Or Die”

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This Video has a lot of information about the New Hampshire flag and the Live Free or Die motto.

 

NH Live Free Or Die Flag

Live Free Or Die

Although the general design used on New Hampshire’s NH flag had been in use since 1784, , with slight changes made in New Hampshire’s flag in 1931. it became official in 1909 The New Hampshire state seal is the focus of this flag, depicting an optimistic rising sun behind the Raleigh, which was a ship built for use in the Revolutionary War. It is surrounded by a wreath of laurel, an ancient symbol of fame, honor, and victory. The nine stars within the wreath show that New Hampshire was the ninth state to join the Union. The water stands for the harbor of Portsmouth, and in the lower left corner is granite, a strong and sturdy rock, representing the New Hampshire/s rugged landscape and the sturdy character of the people. New Hampshire’s nickname is the Granite State. New Hampshire State Flag Adopted: 1909

In 1996, HB 552 proposed a blue flag with the state seal, but only a half circle of wreathe & stars over the seal, while there would be a banner below the seal with the words “Live Free or Die” on it.
In 2000, SB 423, introduced by Sen. Lou D’Allesandro D-Manchester, sought to replaced the seal with a representation of the Old Man of the Mountain. Above and to the left of the Old Man were the words “New Hampshire,” and a banner below the Old Man read “Live Free or Die
In 2001, SB 94 (also introduced by Sen. D’Allesandro) divided the flag into two halves; one half featured the Old Man, and the other half
showcased the state seal. Below the two symbols was the phrase “Live Free or Die.”

There were two attempts in 2004. HB 1231 would have changed the flag to show “Live Free or Die” and the Old Man of the Mountain, while SB 319 would have removed the state seal and replaced it with the Great Stone Face.
In 2005, HB 123 would have simply added “Live Free or Die” to the current flag.
Back in 1978, the New Hampshire Sunday News and The Union Leader conducted a “just for fun” state flag contest. Several hundred people offered suggestions. The winning entry, submitted by Melvin Whitcomb Jr., of Concord, also had nine stars around the state seal and the “Live Free or Die” motto, but his seal featured the Old Man of the Mountain. Of 195 votes, Whitcomb’s design received 77 out of 195 votes, beating out seven other finalists to earn a $25 prize.  Mitchell’s new designs were unsolicited, and there are no current plans to replace any state flags.

 

 

Arizona State flag1

Arizona State Flag

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Hi Folks Patrick Page with Flag-Works.com here….Originally part of the United Mexican States, Arizona  became part of the New Mexico Territory after the Mexican War, then became its own territory and finally a separate state.  The idea for a state flag arose because the Arizona rifle team realized it was the only team at national matches without a flag.  Colonel Charles W. Harris, adjutant general and chief administrative officer of Arizona, designed the flag.   He used four colors on the flag-Arizona’s colors, blue and gold; and Spain’s red and yellow, to symbolize the first white men who came to Arizona.  The 13 red and yellow rays of sun stand for the first 13 states, and the copper-colored star represents Arizona’s place as the largest produce of copper in the country.  The blue matches that of the American flag. 
Arizona State Flag Adopted:  1917

Arizona State flag1

Flags: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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A little opinion piece about what makes a flag design a good one or a bad one.

California State flag

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Who knows whom William Todd is?

Hi Folks, Patrick Page here… The first flag of California was hastily created by a group of American settlers who revolted against Mexican control in California.  After capturing the town of Sonoma, they tore down the Mexican flag and replaced it with one they constructed from odds and ends of cloth and materials.  Legend tells that the white field and red stripe were made from women’s petticoats.  William Todd, cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, drew a single red star, the words “California Republic” and a sketch of a grizzly bear, that the rebels met as they fought the Mexican army.  It was also a symbol of the settlers determination to gain independence.  That original California state flag was kept in San Francisco until it was  destroyed in an earthquake.  The California design has remained basically the same throughout the years. California State Flag Adopted:  1911

Colorado State Flag

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Hi Folks  The Colorado State Flag was designed by Andrew Carlisle Johnson and adopted by the Colorado General Assembly on June 5, 1911.The field is comprised of three alternate stripes, the two outer stripes colored blue and the middle stripe white. At one fifth the length of the flag from the staff end is the letter “C”. The color of the “C” is red. The diameter of the letter “C” is two thirds the width of the flag, the inner line of the letter being three fourths the width of its body and the outer line double the length of the inner line of the letter. The center of the letter “C” is filled with the color gold. It was also stipulated that the flag should have an attached cord of gold and silver intertwined with gold and silver tassels.

It seems that certain specifications for the flag were not clear and some controversy arose over the precise shades of red and blue to be used in the flag. This issue was resolved by the General Assembly on February 28, 1929 when it stipulated that the red and blue colors in the flag were to be the same as the national flag.Again controversy developed over the specifications for the flag. This time at issue was the size of the letter “C”. The General Assembly addressed this on March 31, 1964, revising the 1911 legislation to stipulate the diameter of the letter “C” and its distance from the staff.

The colors used in the Colorado State Flag represent environmental features of the state. The gold represents the abundant sunshine enjoyed by the state. The blue symbolizes the clear blue skies of Colorado. White represents the snow capped mountains of the state and red represents the color of much of the state’s soil.

State Flags

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Each of the 50 united states, along with territories such as Puerto Rico and the United States
Virgin Islands have separate and distinct flags.

Some state flags such as that of the Commonwealth of Virginia (Four states are officially
organized as commonwealths, not states: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Kentucky.)
have Latin mottos emblazoned on flags, others have mottos in English, some are just colorful
combinations. Every state – and commonwealth – has a flag which somehow reflects either
history of the state or is specifically representative of the state.

The dark blue Virginia flag has the round state seal in the middle, with the Latin motto “Sic
semper tyrannis” at the bottom, which translates to “Thus Always to Tyrants,” and the figure in
the seal shows triumph over a defeated king. The flag was adopted by the Virginia legislature in
January of 1861, three months before seceding from the Union in April of 1861 at the beginning
of the Civil War.

It took the state of Arizona five years to create an official flag after statehood was awarded in
1912. In 1917, a flag with a dark blue bottom, a large copper colored star in the middle, and 13
bands suggesting rays of sunshine was chosen, making the Arizona flag one of the most unique
and colorful of the state flags.

Even though all of the original 13 colonies which later formed the United States of America were
British colonies, Hawaii, the last state to join the Union in August of 1959 is the only U.S. state
which incorporates the British Empire Union Flag into its design.

The flag was originally introduced in Hawaii in 1845 when the islands were under British
influence, but the various flags of Hawaii changed as control of the islands changed. When
statehood was attained in 1959, the 1845 design, which was subsequently re-adopted by the
Republic of Hawaii from 1894 to 1898, then used as a U.S. territorial flag from 1898 to 1959,
simply transitioned to the official state flag.

On display, state flags are always second to the national colors, but rank above flags of lesser
political subdivisions such as cities and counties. Flags of separate organizations, such as
universities, religions, or private organizations/companies also rank below state flags when on
display.