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State Mottos

A list of US state slogans is available, as well as a list of US state nicknames, origin of the state names, and the state resident's names.

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New Hampshire Symbols

New Hampshire State Motto

"Live Free or Die"

Adopted in 1945.

Language: English

Focus: Liberty and Freedom

See New Hamsphire Emblem

The words "Live Free or Die," written by General John Stark, July 31, 1809, shall be the official motto of the state.

It was the 1945 Legislature that gave New Hampshire its official motto and emblem, as World War II approached a successful end.

The motto became "Live Free Or Die," as once voiced by General John Stark, the state's most distinguished hero of the Revolutionary War, and the world famous Old Man of the Mountain was voted the official state emblem.

The motto was part of a volunteer toast which General Stark sent to his wartime comrades, in which he declined an invitation to head up a 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington in Vermont, because of poor health. The toast said in full: "Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst of Evils." The following year, a similar invitation (also declined) said: "The toast, sir, which you sent us in 1809 will continue to vibrate with unceasing pleasure in our ears, "Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst Of Evils."

Statute

New Hampshire Revised Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 3, Section 3:8.

Title I: The State and Its Government.
Chapter 3: State Emblems, Flag, Etc.
Section 3:8.

3:8 State Motto. The words "Live Free or Die," written by General John Stark, July 31, 1809, shall be the official motto of the state.

Source. 1945, 152:1, eff. May 10, 1945.

New Hampshire State Emblem

Adopted in 1945.

The state emblem shall be of the following design: Within an elliptical panel, the longest dimension of which shall be vertical, there shall appear an appropriate replica of the Old Man of the Mountain; surrounding the inner panel, and enclosed within another ellipse, there shall be at the bottom of the design the words of any state motto which may be adopted by the general court; and at the top of the design, between the inner and outer elliptical panels, the words, New Hampshire, appropriately separated from the motto, if adopted, by one star on each side. Said emblem may be placed on all printed or related material issued by the state and its subdivisions relative to the development of recreational, industrial, and agricultural resources of the state.

New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (RSA) 3:1
Anderson, Leon. History. Manual for the General Court 1981.

Mottos of the States

State motto is a word, phrase, or sentence inscribed on or attached to a coin, building, or other object. A state motto expresses an important idea for a group of people within the state.

motto ('mä-(")tO)
n.

Etymology:
Italian, from Late Latin muttum grunt, from Latin muttire to mutter
Date: 15th century

1: a sentence, phrase, or word inscribed on something as appropriate to or indicative of its character or use

2: a short expression of a guiding principle