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Flag of Kansas
U.S. state flag From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The flag of the U.S. state of Kansas was adopted in 1927. The elements of the state flag include the Kansas state seal and a sunflower. This original design was modified in 1961 to add the name of the state at the bottom of the flag. A state banner also exists with a similar design that is an official alternative to the flag.
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Official description
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The official flag of Kansas is defined by law as:[1]
The official state flag shall be a rectangle of dark-blue silk or bunting, 3 feet on the staff by 5 feet fly. The great seal of the state of Kansas, without its surrounding band of lettering, shall be located in the center of the flag. The seal shall be 17 inches in diameter. Above the seal shall be a sunflower on a bar of twisted gold and blue. The sunflower shall be 6 inches in diameter, and the bar shall be 9 inches in length. The top of the sunflower shall be located 2 inches beneath the top side of the flag. The letters KANSAS shall be imprinted in gold block letters below the seal, be 5 inches in height, and be imprinted with a stroke 1 inch wide. The first letter K shall commence with the same distance from the staff side of the flag as the end of the last letter S is from the fly side of the flag. The bottom edge of the letters shall be 2 inches above the base side of the flag.
The official banner of Kansas is defined by law as:[2]
The official banner shall be of solid blue and shall be of the same tint as the color of the field of the United States flag, whose width shall be three-fourths of its length, with a sunflower in the center having a diameter of two-thirds of the space of the banner, enclosing and surrounding with its petals of gold, a brown center having a diameter of two-fifths the size of the sunflower.
Design of the seal
The state seal centered on the flag tells the history of Kansas and his figures representing pioneer life. The seal contains:
- Landscape with a rising sun (the east)
- River and steamboat (commerce)
- Settler's cabin and a man plowing a field (agriculture)
- Wagon train heading west (American expansion)
- Indians hunting American Bison (the buffalo are fleeing from the Indians)
- Cluster of 34 stars (top of the seal, representing Kansas's admission as the 34th state)
- State motto "Ad Astra per Aspera" - Latin : "To the Stars through Difficulties" (above the stars)
The thirty-four stars clustered at the top of the seal identify Kansas as the 34th state to be accepted into the Union of the United States.[3] Kansas state law provides that the flag is to be used on all occasions when the state is officially represented.[4]
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History
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31-star U.S. flag flown during Bleeding Kansas[5]
Esther Northrup's proposed flag for Kansas (1916)
During Bleeding Kansas, an unknown party made a 31-star U.S. flag with the letter "K" in the top right of the canton. The "K" stood for Kansas and was flown when the area was still a territory. It is unknown whether the flag was used in support or opposition to slavery in the territory, but it is known that the party supported Kansas statehood.[5]
During the 1884 republican national convention, delegates from Kansas flew a large square banner. It was carried throughout the conventions halls during the candidate voting.[6] The design of the banner is not known.
In 1891, a third party was holding a Convention in Cincinnati hoping to rival the Republicans and Democrats. Every state in the country sent their delegates to the convention. After the convention was over a huge parade was held in the city, with it being led by Kansas's delegates carrying with them a state banner.[7] The banner's design was never described.
In 1916, the Daughters of the American Revolution organised a contest to create a flag for Kansas. The winner was Esther Northrup of Lawrence, whose design consisted of three horizontal stripes of red, white and blue, with a gold sunflower on a blue background in the canton, and the state seal in the center of the sunflower. The proposed flag was submitted to the Kansas legislature in 1917, but was ultimately not adopted.[8]
A 1917 issue of National Geographic Magazine on U.S. state flags featured an unofficial flag of Kansas. The flag was used by the state's National Guard and contained a blue field with the state's seal in the center. Unlike the 1927 flag, it did not bear the sunflower on top.[9]
State banner
.svg)
From 1925 to 1927, Kansas used a "state banner" instead of a flag. The banner, which consisted of the state seal surrounded by the petals of a sunflower beneath the word "Kansas", was intended to be hung from a horizontal bar rather than a vertical flagpole. It was given a unique design to avoid "competition" with the United States flag. However, after the banner was rejected for display in Washington, D.C., and generated complaints for its awkward method of hanging, the state legislature adopted a state flag to replace the banner. The current state flag retains most of the design from the state banner.[10]
The original copy of the state banner still exists in good condition. The banner was initially held in the Kansas Museum of Art,[10] but it is now currently on display at the Kansas State Capitol.[11][12]
On June 30, 1953, the state adopted a simplified version of the banner, consisting simply of a sunflower on a blue field. This banner was designed by Kansas Adjutant General Joe Nickell. The banner is an official alternative to the state flag. A copy of the flag is maintained in the governor's office, and the Kansas National Guard uses the banner.[13][14][2]
Current flag
.svg)
Flags similar to the current state flag have been used as early as 1917. The official state flag of Kansas was designed by Hazel Avery in 1925 and first used in a Fourth of July parade in Lincoln, Kansas. Kansas Adjutant General Milton R. McLean pushed the legislation that adopted the flag. The flag was officially adopted by the Kansas State Legislature in 1927. The flag was modified on September 24, 1961, to add the word "KANSAS" below the seal.[15][13]
The flag of the Governor of Kansas is nearly identical to the state flag except for the addition of four stars, one star near each corner of the flag,
Kansas National Guard flag from 1917.
The Kansas state flag as depicted in the 1976 bicentennial postage stamp series.
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References
External links
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