Flag of Kansas - Definition and Overview

The flag of Kansas consists of a rectangle of dark-blue silk field with the state seal at its center. A sunflower (the State floral emblem) on a bar of twisted gold and light blue (representing the Louisiana Purchase) is above the seal, and below the seal is the word "KANSAS". The state seal centered on the flag tells the history of Kansas and has 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) [foreground]
• 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)
• State motto "Ad Astra per Astera" - 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.

Kansas state law provides that the flag is to be used on every and all occasions, when the state is officially represented.

History

The flag of Kansas was designed in 1925. Officially adopted by the Kansas State Legislature in 1927 and modified in 1961 (the word "Kansas" was added below the seal in gold block lettering). First flown at Fort Riley by Governor Ben Paulin in 1927 for the troops at Fort Riley and for the Kansas National Guard.