State Mottos, Ranked
What's In A Motto? (As it turns out: a lot.)
The Interweb Dictionary (I’m assuming Dictionary.com or some such website is where these are drawn from) defines motto this way:
A short sentence or phrase chosen as encapsulating the beliefs or ideals guiding an individual, family, or institution
I decided to dive into State Mottos because State Seals are too damn similar, and you’d need a microscope to get down to the details of some of them. (Plus, right now, Minnesota has the best one, so it’s an easy list.) Flag news is hard to come by in a way that I can spin out into a post, though I guess Massachusetts is looking at a redesign?
So, I’m getting creative. I’m going to start digging around for symbols and little things that we overlook in our everyday existence out there and seeing if that provides me with more fertile ground for posts! (Don’t worry, I’ll still talk about flags!)
Iowa: ‘Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain’. Yes, I’m biased, but as mottos go, this one is hard to top. Declarative, to the point, and yes, it’s on our state flag, which is a no-no, but it works on our state flag, so I don’t care.1
Kansas: ‘Ad astra per aspera.’ It seems like the Latin state mottos either run to the verbose or the pithy. Kansas manages to find a nice balance between the two, and it’s hard to argue with the aspirational notions of ‘To the stars through difficulties.’
Wisconsin: ‘Forward’ Wisconsin has the best one-word motto of any state… It’s simple, aspirational, and what more can you want?
New York: ‘Excelsior’, Latin for ‘ever upward’, The Empire State nudges out Maine for the best one-word Latin motto of any state.
New Hampshire: ‘Live Free or Die’, You could make an argument for this being the best English motto of any state, but I still like Iowa’s more. This one gets points for being able to fit on a license plate, though.
Connecticut: ‘Qui transtulit sustinet’, ‘He who transplanted still sustains.’ Adopted back in 1662, I honestly didn’t know the State Motto of the Nutmeg State, but I like this one.
Maine: ‘Dirigo’, Latin for ‘I lead’… simple, accurate (in the sense that the sun rises over the United States first in Maine, so they lead us into every day, in one sense) and to the point. Can’t argue with it.
Idaho: ‘Esto perpetua’— A perfect motto, Latin for ‘Let it be perpetual’ because it’s aspirational and should strike fear into the hearts of the Potato State’s Enemies.
Hawaii: ‘Ua mau ke ea o ka’aina i ka pono’ which has a couple of different translations from Hawaiian. King Kamehameha said it in July 1843, and it was translated as “The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness,” but the State of Hawaii translates it as “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” ‘Ea’ in Hawaiian means life and sovereignty, so that leads to the slight difference in translations. I like that it’s in Hawaiian (what else would it be in?) and as a motto, it works too.
Nevada: ‘All for Our Country’— I like this one. It’s not particularly fancy, but in many ways, it’s perfect. Simple, to the point, and an actual motto.
California: ‘Eureka’ Greek, for ‘I have found it’, I kind of like this one because you can be aspirational, (beaches, a beautiful coastline, scenery and climate second to none), historical (gold) and cynical (the best deal on a U-Haul to move to any other state because this one is so damn expensive).
Missouri: ‘Salus populi suprema lex esto,’ Latin for ‘Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law.’ This was adopted in 1822, so historically has a good chance of being free of any historical context that might call it into question, but I also like the sentiment. (I don’t know if residents of Missouri would agree the state is living up to its motto, but that’s another story.)
South Carolina: A twofer! They’ve got, ‘Dum spiro spero,’ Latin for ‘While I breathe, I hope’ and ‘Animis opibusque parati’ which is Latin for ‘Ready in soul and resource.’ Adopted in 1777, I dig both of these- the Latin works really well here.
Colorado: Should have offered to trade their motto to Rhode Island. ‘Nil sine numine’ is Latin for ‘Nothing without providence.’
North Carolina: ‘Esse quam videri’ which is Latin for ‘To be, rather than to seem.’ I have no idea what this means, but it won’t leave my brain either. Truly, the most thought-provoking of the state mottos. Also, what was in that tobacco?
Massachusetts: ‘Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem’, Latin for ‘By the sword, we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.’ A little bit wordy, but the Latin is badass.
West Virginia: ‘Montani semper liberi’, Latin for Mountaineers are always free, I would accept arguments for ranking this one higher, to be honest. Nice.
Maryland: ‘Fatti maschi, parole femine’, +1 for Italian, and it means ‘Strong deeds, gentle words’. I would be curious as to the origin story on this one.
Oregon: ‘Alis volat propriis’, Latin for ‘She flies with her own wings.’ Creative, but… who is she? (I mean, it is the Beaver State, but… surely not.)
New Mexico: ‘Crescit eundo’, Latin for ‘It grows as it goes.’ Sure? Why not…? (But it’s also… not growing? I mean, maybe economically or population-wise, but not geographically.)
North Dakota: A twofer! ‘Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseperable.’ I like this one— I like the rhythm to it, ‘A and B, C and D, E and F’ and the sentiments work. They’ve also got a Latin one: ‘Serit ut alteri saeclo prosit’, which means ‘One sows for the benefit of another age.’ And to be honest, I might like that a little better. Solid work from North Dakota.
Michigan: ‘Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice’, Latin for ‘If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.’ I find this to be oddly hilarious… very Midwest-nice energy here. ‘You asked for a peninsula, and here we are!’
Arkansas: ‘Regnat populus,’ Latin for ‘The people rule.’ This one is hard to argue with. Decent stuff.
Virginia: ‘Sic semper tyrannis’, Latin for ‘Thus always to tyrants’, there’s a good historical tradition with Patrick Henry (‘Give me liberty or give me death!’), and Thomas Jefferson (‘The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants’) giving quotes in a similar vein, but the whole John Wilkes Booth thing kind of pushes this one down the rankings a bit.
Alaska: ‘North to the Future’… It’s not bad, but you can’t go much further north than Alaska— so have they already reached the future? Is the future the North Pole? I have questions.
Mississippi: ‘Virtute et armis’, Latin for by valor and arms, it was adopted in 1894, so post-Civil War and pre-1920s ‘Birth of a Nation’ type of era, but still… historical side eye to this one. What exactly does ‘by valor and arms’ refer to?
Arizona: Ditat Deus, Latin for ‘God Enriches.’ Not bad, but… [shrug emoji]
Vermont: Another twofer, it’s boring: Freedom and Unity (sentiments, not mottos) and ‘Stella quarta decima fulgeat’ which is Latin for ‘May the fourteenth star shine bright’— both are largely ‘meh.’
Minnesota: ‘L’Etoile du Nord’, +1 for the French (though why isn’t Louisiana in French?) but also- and I hate to say this, because I have a lot of love for the Medium White North… it’s kind of more of a branding statement than a motto. (People up there have mixed feelings about their new flag, but the new seal is awesome.)
Oklahoma: ‘Labor omnia vincit.’ Labor conquers all things? Patently untrue given the state of unions in this country.
Wyoming: ‘Equal Rights’ Historically appropriate, but strikes me as less of a motto and more of a sentiment.
Ohio: ‘With God, all things are possible.’ Presumably, the rest of the sentence reads, ‘because, hey, just look at Ohio?’ Adopted in 1959, it’s largely okay.
Alabama: ‘Audemos jura nostra defendere’ Latin for ‘We dare defend our rights,’ and the key here is to look at when Alabama adopted this motto. It’s a shame because the Latin is genuinely badass, but when you adopt this motto in 1923, I have to ask, what rights in particular are we talking about defending, Alabama? Do tell.
Pennsylvania: ‘Virtue, Liberty and Independence.’ Three very nice words, and also adopted in 1875, which seems late to the game for one of the original thirteen colonies. Given the history of Pennsylvania (and who founded it), a missed opportunity here, I think.
Louisiana: ‘Union, Justice, Confidence.’ Three very nice words, but not really a motto. (And a shame, because their flag/state seal is pretty hardcore with actual blood on it.)
Washington: Al-ki or Alki, an unofficial motto that Wikipedia characterizes as ‘Chinook Jargon’ it’s translated as ‘By and By.’ +1 for the Chinook, but it also tells me nothing about Washington and I’m unclear what the sentiments we’re going for are.
South Dakota: ‘Under God the People Rule’: I don’t hate it, but it seems more like a statement than a motto.
Kentucky: Has two! ‘United we stand, divided we fall,’ adopted in 1942, is… okay, but not exactly descriptive of the state or what it’s about. ‘Deo gratiam habeamus’ or ‘Let us be grateful to God’ was adopted in 2002 and is a little better, in my opinion.
Georgia: ‘Wisdom, Justice, Moderation’ — adopted in 1798, it begs the question about how much of all three Georgia has shown as a state hence.
Nebraska: ‘Equality before the law’ — less a motto and more of a legal sentiment?
Rhode Island: ‘Hope’ — Points for adopting this in 1664, but also… that’s all? (Plus, there’s a strong case to be made that you should steal Colorado’s state motto: ‘Nil sine numine’.)
Delaware: ‘Liberty and Independence’ —The first state didn’t get a motto until 1847?
Florida: ‘In God We Trust’ —You know how Montana’s state motto is in Spanish; if any state should be using Spanish, it’s probably Florida. Seems like you’re copying the homework and using the National Motto, but ‘In God We Trust’ went national in 1956; you adopted this in 1868, so I’ll allow it.
Illinois: ‘State sovereignty, national union.’— Okay, Land of Lincoln.
Montana: ‘Oro y plata’ — Points for using Spanish, as it’s the only state that does, but also tells me absolutely nothing about Montana.
New Jersey: ‘Liberty and prosperity’ — A bit boring and adopted in 1928, which seems ridiculously late in the game for a state that was one of the original thirteen colonies.
Tennessee: ‘Agriculture and Commerce’ — Again, not what I spring to mind when I think of Tennessee. Can’t y’all even work something about Volunteers into Latin? Tres Concordes, Semper Voluntarii (Three United, Always Volunteers), Tria In Concordia, Voluntate Perpetua (Three In Harmony, With Enduring Resolve). You’re welcome, Rocky Top.
Texas: ‘Friendship’ — The state with the biggest personality out of all 50, and this is the best you got? Hard pass. Not a motto, more of a noun.
Utah: ‘Industry’— When I think of Utah, ‘Industry’ is not the first word that springs to mind. Plus, not a motto, more of a noun.
Indiana: ‘Crossroads of America’— less a motto and more of a geographical description, and not a particularly accurate one.
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The Midjourney prompt I used for this post’s image: ‘a visual representation of ‘our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain’ but in the style of Grant Wood with Midwest landscape/pastoral scenes.