Tennessee’s state motto is “Agriculture and Commerce,” adopted in 1987 from the Tennessee Great Seal. The seal was first created in 1801, and the current version was introduced in 1869. Tennessee’s unofficial nickname is “The Volunteer State,” and it has various state symbols, including the thrush, raccoon, and zebra swallowtail.
Tennessee’s state motto is “Agriculture and Commerce.” It is one of the most recent mottos adopted by a state in the United States. Derived from an inscription on the Tennessee Great Seal, the motto was adopted in 1987.
The seal has a circular shape with an inscription at the top that reads: “The Great Seal of the State of Tennessee.” At the bottom, the date “1796” is engraved and in the center are the words that make up the state motto of Tennessee: “Agriculture” and “Commerce”. It also has the Roman numeral “XVI,” which represents Tennessee entering the United States as the 16th state.
When the state of Tennessee was created, the 1796 constitution provided for the creation of a seal. Subsequently, successive constitutions followed the same pattern and also provided for a state seal. Despite these efforts, no further action was taken to actually create a seal for the state until September 25, 1801. It was on this date that representatives of both the Senate and the House of Representatives formed committees to select a design for a seal and to actually cut the seal for use by the state.
The seal was first prepared and used on April 24, 1802. This seal was used by seven governors until 1829 when another seal was introduced. The second seal was used until 1869, when the seal now used in Tennessee was introduced during the administration of Governor William Brownlow. This seal bears the words of the state motto of Tennessee, adopted by the 95th General Assembly in 1987.
Aside from Tennessee’s state motto, an unofficial nickname is “The Volunteer State.” The origin of this nickname comes from the War of 1812, when many men from Tennessee heeded Governor Blount’s request to enlist. “The Mother of Southwester Statesmen” is a nickname referring to Tennessee’s influence in national government, specifically the fact that three presidents were from Tennessee. “The Big Bend State” is a reference to the Indian name of the Tennessee River – “The River With The Big Bend”.
Some official state symbols other than the state motto and the Tennessee state seal include the thrush, which is the state bird, the raccoon, which is the state wildlife animal, and the zebra swallowtail, which is the state butterfly. Tennessee has two state bugs, the firefly and the ladybug. The state reptile is the eastern box turtle, while the state amphibian is the Tennessee cave salamander.
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