Coat of arms of the U.S. state of Texas
Coat of arms of the State of Texas
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Adopted
| Republic of Texas:
1839
State of Texas:
1992
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Shield
| The state arms are a five-pointed white star, on an azure background, encircled by olive and live oak branches.
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Use
| Official state purposes
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Related Usage
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Seal of Texas
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Texas Army National Guard Crest
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Texas is one of eighteen states that have adopted an official
coat of arms
. The current coat of arms is the same as the original coat of arms used by the Republic of Texas before its
annexation
into the United States.
Blazon
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The state arms are a five-pointed white star, on an azure background, encircled by olive and live oak branches.
[1]
History
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With its independence from
Mexico
in 1836, the new
Republic of Texas
was in need of its own
national emblems
. A “lone” star had been a common symbol of the independence movement, featuring in various
flags
such as Captain Scott's Flag, the De Zavala Flag, the
Harrisburg
Volunteer's Flags and others. The Congress of the Republic adopted legislation on January 25, 1839, that established the official symbols of the republic, including the flag, which is still in use as the state
flag of Texas
, the great seal and the
coat of arms
, all of which featured a lone star.
The new coat of arms of the
republic
was described as “a white star of five points on an
azure
ground encircled by
olive
and
live oak
branches.”
[2]
However, two elements of the arms can be considered as being open to interpretation. The “azure ground” has been variously interpreted as either a traditional
heraldic shield
or, more commonly, a circular background. The placement of the olive and live oak branches was not specified, either. Though commonly depicted as charges along with the star on the azure background, they could also be interpreted as belonging outside of the shield as supporting elements.
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Coat of arms of the Republic of Texas, “azure ground”
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Coat of arms of the Republic of Texas, traditional heraldic shield
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Unstandardized version with
post oak
leaves instead of
live oak
leaves.
Statehood
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Upon joining the
United States
in 1845, the
state of Texas
retained its national flag and seal as emblems of the new state, but there were no provisions for a state coat of arms. The three main elements of the 1839 act, the five pointed white star and olive and live oak branches, remained the basic emblems of Texas as represented in the state seal.
[3]
However, many different variations of the seal emerged over the years containing incorrect or superfluous items such as decorative stars and
diamonds
and the incorrect type of oak leaves. By 1991, nearly twenty different versions of the seal were being used on various state documents and
letterhead
. The Texas State Seal Advisory Committee was appointed to develop uniform standards for the state seal based upon a description as opposed to an art design. Recognizing the star, olive and live oak branches as the basic historic elements representing Texas, the official design of the Texas State Arms was approved as well, and adopted in June 1992.
[4]
In essence, the coat of arms of the state of Texas is the same as the coat of arms of the Republic of Texas without the azure background.
See also
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References
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