 | |
| Use | Civil and state flag    |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | May 1, 1981 [1] |
| Design | A blue field charged with the state coat of arms below the word Wisconsin in white at the top and the year 1848 in white at the bottom. |
The flag of Wisconsin is the official flag of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The flag was first adopted in 1863, and was modified in 1979. It is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms of Wisconsin.
The flag field is navy blue with the Wisconsin coat of arms in the center, and the words "Wisconsin" in all capital letters above and "1848" below the seal in a bold white font. On the top of the coat of arms, there is a badger, and the state motto "Forward". In the center, on the shield, there is a plow to represent farming, a pick and shovel to represent mining, an arm and hammer representing manufacturing, and an anchor representing navigation. In the center of the shield is the United States coat of arms. The shield is supported by a sailor and a yeoman, both representing labor on land and on water. On the bottom there is a cornucopia, representing prosperity, and there are 13 lead ingots representing both mineral wealth and the original 13 colonies of the United States.
The state flag is officially described by law as:
(a) Relative dimensions of 2 to 3, hoist to fly. (b) A background of royal blue cloth. (c) The state coat of arms, as described under. 1.07, in material of appropriate colors, applied on each side in the center of the field, of such size that, if placed in a circle whose diameter is equal to 50 percent of the hoist, those portions farthest from the center of the field would meet, but not cross, the boundary of the circle. (d) The word “WISCONSIN" in white, capital, condensed Gothic letters, one-eighth of the hoist in height, centered above the coat of arms, midway between the uppermost part of the coat of arms and the top edge of the flag. (e) The year “1848" in white, condensed Gothic numbers, one-eighth of the hoist in height, centered below the coat of arms, midway between the lowermost part of the coat of arms and the bottom edge of the flag. [2]
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) conducted a survey in 2001 that ranked Wisconsin's flag as one of the worst in design. Amongst the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags, Wisconsin's ranked 65th (8th worst). [3] NAVA criticized the unoriginality of "[state] seal on blue bed-sheet" design, which is currently used by nearly half of the flags of U.S. states; Wisconsin is one of 22 U.S. states that use a blue flag with the state arms or seal on them.
The flag of Wisconsin was adopted in 1863, following requests from Civil War regiments for battlefield use. The legislature formed a committee to choose the specifications for the flag, which was the state coat of arms centered on a field of dark blue. This design was similar to the ones in use by regiments. In 1913, it was formally added to the Wisconsin Statues, which specified the design of the state flag. [4]
In 1941, Carl R. Eklund reported that he raised the state flag over Antarctica, at the behest of Wisconsin Governor Julius P. Heil, about 500 miles north of the South Pole and 620 miles into a previously unexplored area. [5] In 1958, Eklund flew another flag over Antarctica which he presented for display in a state museum. [6] In 1953, state assemblyman William N. Belter of Wautoma criticized the flag as too costly because of the details. [7]
Astronaut James Lovell, who grew up in Milwaukee, carried Wisconsin flags with him on at least two of his space flights; one aboard Gemini 7 in 1965 and another on Apollo 13. [8] [9] The Gemini 7 flag was presented to Governor Warren Knowles in a ceremony at the state capitol the following year, and the Apollo 13 flag was sold at auction in 2021.
In 1973, when the state senate was attempting to add the word Wisconsin to the flag, it was criticized as already too cluttered. [10] In 1975, some state flags were being sold that improperly had the state seal on them instead of the state coat of arms. Wisconsin Secretary of State Douglas J. La Follette noted that the correct state flag did not have the banner of thirteen stars at the bottom. [11]
In order to distinguish it from the many other blue U.S. state flags, Wisconsin's flag was modified in 1979 to add "Wisconsin" and "1848", the year Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. [12] [13] The legislation specified that the new design was to take effect on May 1, 1981, and all Wisconsin state flags manufactured after that date were required to use the modified design. [1]
State flag from 1866 to 1913
State flag from 1913 to 1981
Unofficial 1913 to 1981 variant featuring a banner of stars on the bottom.
Unofficial 1913 to 1981 variant featuring the coat of arms on a white disc.
Unofficial 1975 variant featuring more of the state seal.
The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Missouri in the center. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Oliver, the red and white stripes represent valor and purity, respectively. The blue stripe represents the permanency, vigilance, and justice of the state. The three colors also highlight the French influence on the state in its early years. The Missouri flag was established on March 22, 1913, when governor Elliot Woolfolk Major signed the State flag act making it official.
The coat of arms of the state of New York was formally adopted in 1778, and appears as a component of the state's flag and seal.
The flag of Georgia is the flag of the U.S. state of Georgia. Its current iteration was adopted on February 19, 2003. The flag bears three horizontal stripes and features a blue canton containing a ring of 13 white stars that encircle the state's gold-colored coat of arms. The ring of stars that encompass the state's coat of arms represents Georgia as one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
The flag of Belize was adopted on 21 September 1981, the day Belize became independent. It consists of the coat of arms of Belize on a blue field with red stripes at the top and bottom.
The flag of the Dominican Republic represents the Dominican Republic and, together with the coat of arms and the national anthem, has the status of a national symbol. The blue on the flag stands for liberty, the white for salvation, and the red for the blood of heroes. The civil flag follows the same design, but without the charge in the center. The flag was designed by Juan Pablo Duarte.
The national flag of Spain, as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name la Rojigualda (red-weld).
The flag of Delaware consists of a buff-colored diamond on a field of colonial blue, with the coat of arms of the state of Delaware inside the diamond. Below the diamond, the date December 7, 1787, declares the day on which Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution. The colors of the flag reflect the colors of the uniform of General George Washington.
The flag of the State of Maryland is the official flag of the U.S. state of Maryland and the 17th-century heraldic banner of arms of Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of the arms of his father George, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), quartered with those of his grandmother, heiress of the Crossland family. The flag was officially adopted by the Maryland General Assembly in 1904.
The flag of Pennsylvania consists of a blue field on which the state coat of arms is displayed.
The flag of West Virginia is the official flag of the U.S. State of West Virginia and was officially adopted by the West Virginia Legislature on March 7, 1929. The present flag consists of a pure white field bordered by a blue stripe with the coat of arms of West Virginia in the center, wreathed by Rhododendron maximum and topped by an unfurled red ribbon reading, "State of West Virginia." It is the only state flag to bear crossing rifles, meant to illustrate the importance of the state's fight for liberty during the Civil War as the southern unionist 35th state.
The Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin is a seal used by the Wisconsin Secretary of State to authenticate all the governor's official acts, except laws. It consists of the state coat of arms, with the words "Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin" above it and 13 stars, representing the original states, below it.
The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the U.S. state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of Illinois. The flag of the state of Illinois consists of the seal of Illinois on a white background, with the word "Illinois" underneath the seal. The present seal was adopted in 1869, the flag bearing the central elements of the seal was adopted in 1915, and the word Illinois was added to the flag in 1970. In a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association, the flag of Illinois was ranked 49th out of 72 different flags of states and territories, mainly in the US and Canada.
The seal of the Territory of Idaho was adopted in 1863 and redrawn several times before statehood in 1890. The first state Great Seal was designed in the 1890s by Emma Edwards Green, the only woman to design a U.S. state seal. That seal was used until 1957, when the seal was slightly redrawn by Paul B. Evans and the Caxton Printers, Ltd. at the request of the state government, in order to add more anthropocentric elements to the centered shield.
The flag of Pittsburgh is a triband flag featuring vertical bands of black and gold and Pittsburgh's coat of arms in the center.
The flag of the president of the United States consists of the presidential coat of arms on a dark blue background. While having the same design as the presidential seal since 1945, the flag has a separate history, and the designs on the flag and seal have at different times influenced each other. The flag is often displayed by the president in official photos, or flown next to the casket of a former president in official funeral processions, and flown on the president's motorcade. The flag is not flown at half-staff since there is always an incumbent president in office. The current flag is defined in Executive Order 10860:
The Color and Flag of the President of the United States shall consist of a dark blue rectangular background of sizes and proportions to conform to military and naval custom, on which shall appear the Coat of Arms of the President in proper colors. The proportions of the elements of the Coat of Arms shall be in direct relation to the hoist, and the fly shall vary according to the customs of the military and naval services.
The coats of arms of the U.S. states are coats of arms, that are an official symbol of the state, alongside their seal. Eighteen states have officially adopted coats of arms. The former independent Republic of Texas and Kingdom of Hawaii each had a separate national coat of arms, which are no longer used.
Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states date back to the admission of the first states to the Union. Despite the widely accepted practice of determining early statehood from the date of ratification of the United States Constitution, many of the original colonies referred to themselves as states shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July 1776. Committees of political leaders and intellectuals were established by state legislatures to research and propose a seal and coat of arms. Many of these members were signers of the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, and United States Constitution. Several of the earliest adopted state coats of arms and seals were similar or identical to their colonial counterparts.
The flag of Austin is the official municipal flag of Austin, Texas. The flag simply consists of a white field with the seal of Austin without the surrounding circle of text. Below the seal of Austin is the text "CITY OF AUSTIN", written in blue and arched upwards.
The flag of Columbus is the official municipal flag of Columbus, Ohio. Its current design is a yellow, white, red vertical triband with the city seal on a blue field. Officially, the flag was adopted in 1929, although it is unknown if the flag was ever flown when it was first adopted.
The flag of El Paso is the official municipal flag of El Paso, Texas. The current design, an augmentation of El Paso's seal in the center of a dark blue field, has been in place since 1962.
The department of administration shall ensure that all official state flags that are manufactured on or after May 1, 1981 conform to the requirements of this section. State flags manufactured before May 1, 1981 may continue to be used as state flags.
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