Nevada’s state motto, “All for Our Country,” has uncertain origins, but it is believed to be related to the state’s entry into the Union during the Civil War. The popular myth that Nevada was admitted to the Union for its mineral wealth is debunked by former state archivist Guy Rocha. Nevada’s flag displays the nickname “Battle Born” and a silver star, reflecting the state’s history of silver mining. Silver is the state’s official metal.
There is no authoritative story of how “All for Our Country” became the state motto of Nevada, but there are theories. The leading theory centers around the fact that Nevada became a state in 1864, near the end of the Civil War. A popular and oft-repeated, albeit incorrect, tale says that Nevada was inducted into the Union as the 36th state because Union forces needed Nevada’s mineral wealth, including silver.
Former state archivist Guy Rocha, who retired in 2009, has written about the many flawed myths surrounding the state, including this one. He called her the state’s “number one legend.” He said Nevada was brought into the Union more for politics than minerals at the end of the bloody Civil War, which is how the then-federal territory went on to later earn Nevada’s official state motto, “ Everything for our country”, as well as his nickname, “Battle Born”. Mr. Rocha said, “So Nevada was, indeed, the ‘Battle Born’ state because of its entry into the Union during the Civil War, but not for the reasons we find in popular mythology.”
Unlike many other states’ mottos, Nevada’s state motto is not included in its flag. The flag, which is bright blue, instead displays the nickname “Battle Born” in the upper left corner. A five-pointed silver star is placed below that nickname and above “Nevada”.
The story that the Union wanted the Nevada Territory’s mineral wealth has factual foundations, even if it did not lead to the choice of the official Nevada state motto. The United States bought Nevada’s silver and its gold to support its legal tender. Mr. Rocha argues that Nevada’s territorial status since 1861 ensured that the territory’s mineral wealth and taxes would both go to the union, whether it became a state or not. Abraham Lincoln, the US president at the time of the Civil War, appointed a territorial governor to ensure that there would be no support in Nevada for opposing Confederate forces.
Silver mining has played a huge part in Nevada’s history, so much so that “The Mining State” and “The Silver State” have also become nicknames for Nevada. Silver is the state’s official metal, thanks in part to the enormous vein of silver discovered in 1859, known as the Comstock Lode. In 2006, Nevada trailed only another state, Alaska, in silver production.
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