Michigan 

Home Up Flags of Michigan 

 

The present flag of Michigan was adopted in 1911. The flag has the Michigan Coat of Arms on a field of blue. Because of the colors the design is very hard to distinguish. The Governors flag has the Coat of Arms on a white background.

The State of Michigan also has its own pledge of Allegiance:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, two beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal."

 

This is the Official description from the State of Michigan

Michigan’s Great Seal was chosen by Lewis Cass. Mr. Cass was Michigan’s second governor, while it was still a territory. He used the art from the seal of the Hudson Bay Fur Company. The seal was shown to the Constitutional Convention of 1835. It was approved by them on June 2, 1835, as the Great Seal of Michigan.

At the top of the Seal are the words, "E Pluribus Unum." These words come from our national motto meaning, "From many, one." Or, in other words, forming one nation from many states.

Below is the American Eagle, our national bird. This symbolizes the superior authority and jurisdiction or control of the United States. In his claws he holds three arrows and an olive branch with 13 olives. The arrows show that our nation is ready to defend its principles. The olive branch means we want peace. The olives stand for the first 13 states.

"Tuebor," meaning, "I will defend," refers to Michigan’s frontier position.

The shield is held by two animals representing Michigan...the elk on the left and the moose on the right.

Michigan is on an international boundary, and the figure of the man shows his right hand raised in peace. The left hand holds a gun to say that although we love peace, we are ready to defend our state and nation.

"Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice" means, "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you." Evidently this refers to the Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula was added in 1837, to pay for the loss of a strip of land on our southern border, given to Ohio when Congress made Michigan a state.

The words, "The Great Seal of the State of Michigan, A.D. MDCCCXXXV," complete the State Seal. When you take away these words and border, this becomes the Coat of Arms of the State of Michigan. The Coat of Arms, unlike the Great Seal, can be used by anyone as the official symbol of the State of Michigan. It is simply a design, not an official approval of a document.

Changes in the Great Seal have been made from time to time. However, in 1911, the Legislature adopted the present Seal. It has remained unchanged since then.

It is against the law to use the Great Seal in commercial advertising.

 

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