Kansas State Flags

What Is Kansas State Flag Called?

The Kansas flag includes a blue field containing the state's seal. Simply above, sits a sunflower on a gold and blue bar while the state's name, "Kansas" appears in strong letters beneath the seal.

Inside the seal appears a terrific landscape that illustrates a flowing river, steamboat, plowman, cabin, bison, American Indians, and wagons against a backdrop of rising mountains. Above the landscape sit thirty-four stars sheltered by the words, "Ad Astra per aspera."

What Is The Meaning Of The Kansas State Flag?

The state crest which includes the blue and gold bar represents the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This was when the United States got Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana from the French. The sunflower sitting on top of the bar is shown torn from its stem with some believing it exhibits the valiancy with which Kansas fulfills her problems and fixes them. The sunflower is thought to represent open frankness.

The state seal which is the most comprehensive part of the Kansas flag tells the historical story of Kansas itself. The thirty-four stars represent Kansas as the 34th state. Above the stars is the slogan 'Ad Astra per aspera' which is Latin for 'to the stars through problems'.

The rolling hills around Fort Riley, a crucial military base in Kansas's history, are shown in the seal while American Indians are revealed searching bison on the grassy fields. Wagons shown heading west with their oxen mirror the expanding frontier and its opportunity. Farmers raking their fields before cabins represent Kansas's agricultural properties. Steamboats browsing the Kansas River are providing supplies to Manhattan and Fort Riley revealing the commerce that is within the state.

What Do The Signs On The Kansas State Flag Mean?

According to the ancient laws of heraldry a sunflower represents that simply as the flower turns toward the sun, so the bearer turns to the light and splendor. The image of the seal represents the landscape of the land the markets that emerged throughout its early history. It likewise portrays a wagon train, log cabin and steamboat reflecting the transport and life of the pioneers and early inhabitants. The color blue represents vigilance, fact and commitment, determination & justice. The color yellow or gold is a symbol of the sun, generosity and wealth.

When Was Kansas State Flag Embraced?

Embraced on May 21, 1927 the Kansas state flag was generated to change the banner that had been used in between 1925 and 1927 which included a big sunflower and the word Kansas on a blue field. The change was made due to the banner being turned down as a state sign that could be hung in Washington DC. The embraced flag itself was customized in 1961 to add the state name in gold capitals providing us the flag we understand today.

Who Made The Kansas State Flag?

The Daughters of the American Revolution held a flag design contest in 1916. The winner of the contest was Esther Northrup. The flag included three stripes of red, white and blue on the field, and a dark blue canton consisting of the state seal with a gold sunflower in the upper left corner. In 1917, the legislature declined to embrace her style for the main state flag.

Although the state did not embrace an official flag at that time, it did embrace a state banner in 1925. It was created by Hazel Avery and used for the very first time in a Lincoln, Kansas, Fourth of July parade. The banner was hung from a horizontal bar instead of mounted on a pole. Lots of companies and residents were dissatisfied with the legislature's choice to embrace a banner instead of a flag.

Washington, D.C. declined to show the banner together with other state flags. As a result of that rejection and of continuing dispute over embracing a banner instead of a flag, an official state flag was embraced was lastly embraced in 1927. It was reported to have actually flown for the first time at Fort Riley for the soldiers at the fort and for the Kansas National Guard.

The state flag law was changed in 1961 by adding the state name at the bottom of the flag. Other than that change, the Kansas state flag has actually remained the same design as it was when it was first adopted in 1927.