The Kansas state flag features a coat of arms and state seal, with symbols representing the state’s history and identity. It was adopted in 1927 and has remained largely unchanged, with the state name added in 1963. The seal, created in 1861, includes 34 stars, a rising sun, a farmer, a steamboat, prairie schooners, and American Indians hunting bison, along with the state motto “Ad astra per aspera.”
The Kansas state flag was adopted in 1927 and contains a coat of arms along with the official state seal. Kansas became an official state of the union in 1861, but it wasn’t until 1927 that a state flag was adopted. Displayed at the top of the flag is the state coat of arms, with meaning dating back to Kansas’s creation as a state. The Kansas State Great Seal occupies the center of the flag and depicts several symbols important to the state’s history and identity.
In 1927, the state legislature adopted the original design for the Kansas state flag. It has a blue background with the state coat of arms at the top, the state seal in the middle, and “Kansas” in gold capital letters on the bottom. This flag was first used by Governor Ben Paulin at Fort Riley and for the Kansas National Guard. The design has remained largely the same since it was first adopted, but originally only had the seal and crest. The state name was added to the bottom in 1963.
Some important symbols of Kansas history are shown in the coat of arms which is displayed at the top of the Kansas state flag. The top of the crest is a sunflower, which is the official state flower. Below the flower is a bar of blue and gold stripes, meant to symbolize the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803, when President Thomas Jefferson purchased 828,000 square miles (1,332,536.83 sq km) of land west of the Mississippi River from France. This land doubled the area of the United States and allowed for the creation of several new states, one of which was Kansas.
Long before the Kansas state flag was designed, the seal was created during the first session of the state legislature in 1861. The seal has 34 stars representing Kansas’s place as the 34th state to join the Union, and the background depicts the hills near Fort Riley, where the flag was first used, and a rising sun in the east. A farmer plowing fields in front of his cabin is meant to represent the agriculture of the state, while a steamboat floating down the Kansas River represents the commerce of the state. Pictures of prairie schooners and American Indians hunting bison represent part of Kansas history. At the top of the seal is the state motto, Ad astra per aspera, which means “Soaring Through Troubles.”
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
