The Iowa state flag was designed in 1917 by the Daughters of the American Revolution in response to requests from the National Guard. It features a tricolor background with an eagle carrying blue banners featuring the state motto. The flag was officially adopted in 1921 and must be flown every school day in Iowa.
Unlike other Iowa symbols such as the state seal and flower, the Iowa state flag was not styled until the early 20th century. Less than 20 years after Iowa joined the Union, the American Civil War was waged, after which citizens of the state felt that the national flag was all that was needed. The flag was designed in 1917 in response to requests from National Guard members for an emblem to represent them. After a brief period of use for this purpose, the design as the state flag was officially adopted by the state General Assembly in 1921.
Iowa joined the Union as the 29th state in 1846. Between then and 1917, several groups had called for a flag to represent the state. Detractors, however, believed that designating Iowa a state flag served to minimize the importance of the national flag of the United States. This feeling was especially evident in the years following the Civil War, as the nation had recently been reunited and Iowans did not want to appear as if they were seceding from the Union.
In 1917, Iowa National Guard units joined those of other states serving along the US-Mexico border. The Guards noticed that the other regiments had state flags to represent them and expressed a desire for a flag of their own. Governor William L. Harding requested the design of an Iowa state flag, a project that was undertaken by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). DAR member and Knoxville, Iowa resident Dixie Cornell Gebhardt was responsible for the flag’s final appearance.
Gebhardt chose a tricolor background for the Iowa state flag, with equally sized vertical stripes of blue, white, and red. This color scheme was a nod to the state’s French background, which was acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase from France. The colors also have separate meanings, with blue representing justice, loyalty, and truth, white symbolizing purity, and red representing courage.
The blue and red stripes are solid, with no design present on them. The white stripe contains an eagle, the national bird of the United States, carrying blue banners in its beak. These banners feature the Iowa state motto, “We reward our freedoms and will uphold our rights.” By combining the national symbol with the state motto, Gebhardt sought to demonstrate that Iowa was a part of the United States, not a separate entity. The final feature of the Iowa state flag is the state name in red capital letters below the eagle.
After the Iowan National Guards used the flag in World War I, the state officially adopted it as the Iowa state flag on March 29, 1921. State regulations govern the proper size and display of the flag, including a provision that all schools in the state must fly the flag every school day. The US Flag Code sets guidelines for display with the national flag.
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