State of New York
|
|
Use
| Civil
and
state flag
|
---|
Proportion
| 1:2
|
---|
Adopted
| April 2, 1901
; 123 years ago
(
1901-04-02
)
(modified in April 2020)
|
---|
Design
| A state coat of arms on a blue field.
|
---|
|
|
|
|
Proportion
| 3:5
|
---|
|
Coat of arms of the State of New York
|
---|
|
|
Great Seal of the State of New York
|
|
---|
Armiger
| State of New York
|
---|
Adopted
| 1882, modified 1896, 1901, and 2020
|
---|
Crest
| An American eagle with wings displayed, surmounting a globe displaying the Atlantic hemisphere
|
---|
Shield
| Azure, in a landscape, the sun in fess, rising in splendor a river, bordered below by a grassy shore fringed with shrubs, all proper.
|
---|
Supporters
| Liberty
and
Justice
|
---|
Motto
| Excelsior
E Pluribus Unum
|
---|
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
shield
displays a masted ship and a
sloop
on the
Hudson River
(symbols of inland and foreign commerce), bordered by a grassy shore and a mountain range in the background with the smiling sun rising behind it. The
unheraldic
nature of the Hudson River landscape reveals the modern origin of the design.
The shield has two
supporters
:
A banner below the shield shows the motto
Excelsior
, a Latin word meaning "higher", "superior", "lordly", commonly translated as "Ever Upward." Following the adoption of the 2021 State Budget in April 2020, a secondary motto,
E pluribus unum
,
appears.
[1]
[2]
Flags bearing the pre-2020 coat of arms (i.e. without the motto
E pluribus unum
) are still widely used so long as serviceable.
The shield is surmounted by a
crest
consisting of an
eagle
surmounting a world
globe
.
The
flag of New York
is the coat of arms on a solid blue background and the state
seal of New York
is the coat of arms surrounded by the words "The Great Seal of the State of New York." It is one of nine U.S. state flags to feature an eagle, alongside those of
Illinois
,
Iowa
,
Michigan
,
Missouri
,
North Dakota
,
Oregon
,
Pennsylvania
and
Wyoming
.
Blazon
[
edit
]
The official
blazon
for the coat of arms is:
- Charge
.
Azure
, in a landscape, the sun in
fess
, rising in splendor or, behind a range of three mountains, the middle one the highest; in base a ship and
sloop
under sail, passing and about to meet on a river, bordered below by a grassy shore fringed with shrubs, all
proper
.
- Crest
. On a wreath azure and or, an
American eagle
proper, rising to the Dexter from a two-thirds of a globe terrestrial, showing the
north Atlantic ocean
with outlines of its shores.
- Supporters
. On a quasi compartment formed by the extension of the scroll.
- Dexter
. The figure of
Liberty
proper, her hair disheveled and decorated with pearls, vested azure, sandaled
gules
, about the waist a
cincture
or, fringed gules, a mantle of the last depending from the shoulders behind to the feet, in the dexter hand a staff ensigned with a Phrygian cap or, the sinister arm embowed, the hand supporting the shield at the dexter chief point, a
royal crown
by her sinister foot dejected.
- Sinister
. The figure of
Justice
proper, her hair disheveled and decorated with pearls, vested or, about the waist a cincture azure, fringed gules, sandaled and mantled as Liberty, bound about the eyes with a
fillet
proper, in the dexter hand a straight sword hilted or, erect, resting on the sinister chief point of the shield, the sinister arm embowed, holding before her scales proper.
- Motto
. On a scroll below the shield
argent
, in
sable
, two lines. On line one, Excelsior and on line two,
E pluribus unum
.
Interpretation
[
edit
]
According to Joseph Gavit in New York History, Volume XXXI, the seal symbolizes the following:
- In the center, a shield reveals the sun rising behind
Mount Beacon
over the Hudson River. "The shield symbolizes in the full sun the name and idea of Old York and the old world; the mountains, river and meadow, with the ships, convey the name and idea of New York in the new world."
- To the right, Justice is ready to fight tyranny with her sword held high.
- Liberty, on the left, holds her foot on the overthrown English crown. "This New York is supported by Justice and Liberty, and discards monarchy."
- The world globe is displayed above the shield. "By exhibiting the eastern and western continents on the globe, the old and new are brought together;"
- Above the world globe soars the eagle. "while the eagle on the crest proclaims," Westward the course of empire takes its way."
- The bottom ribbon exclaims "Excelsior", which means "still higher" or "ever upward".
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Late 18th century rendition of New York's coat of arms, using a semi-globe and rounded shield.
Late 19th century rendition of New York's coat of arms, using a semi-globe and rounded shield.
Coat of arms of New York from 1896 until the addition of second motto in 2020.
The first version of the coat of arms on the state flag was adopted in 1778 and has been slightly redesigned over the years. The present flag itself is a contemporary variant of an American Revolutionary War-era flag. The original is at the
Albany Institute of History & Art
.
The flag was formally adopted in 1896; the legislature changed the field of the flag from
buff
to blue by a law enacted on April 2, 1901.
[4]
In 2001, the
North American Vexillological Association
(NAVA) surveyed its members on the designs of the 72
U.S. state
,
U.S. territorial
, and
Canadian provincial
flags. After the survey was completed, NAVA members chose the flag of New York to be ranked 53rd out of the 72.
[5]
In April 2020, the 2021 state budget was passed, modifying the coat of arms to include "E Pluribus Unum" as a secondary motto beneath "Excelsior".
[1]
[6]
The state seal and flag were also updated as well to reflect the change.
[7]
[8]
Historical flags of New York State
-
State flag from 1778 to 1901
-
State flag from 1901 to 2020
Other flags
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Campbell, Jon (April 3, 2020).
"10 things to know about New York's new $177B budget deal"
.
Democrat and Chronicle
. Retrieved
June 27,
2020
.
- ^
Chip, Rowe (October 3, 2020).
"How They Voted"
.
The Highlands Current
. Retrieved
October 6,
2020
.
- ^
"State Seal New York"
. nysenate.gov
. Retrieved
February 23,
2014
.
- ^
"New York (U.S.)"
. Crwflags.com
. Retrieved
December 29,
2013
.
- ^
"2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey - NAVA.org"
(PDF)
.
nava.org
.
- ^
"Description of the arms of the state and the state flag"
.
NY State Senate
. April 18, 2020
. Retrieved
May 21,
2020
.
- ^
Hern, Sunny; Ahern, Ez | (January 15, 2020).
"Gov. Cuomo seeks to change 138-year-old NY state flag"
.
syracuse
. Retrieved
June 27,
2020
.
- ^
Campbell, Jon (January 14, 2020).
"New York's flag has been the same for a century. Why Andrew Cuomo wants to change it"
.
Democrat and Chronicle
. Retrieved
June 27,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]