{"id":3450,"date":"2016-07-28T08:45:14","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T12:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2025-10-16T16:04:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T20:04:38","slug":"two-state-flags-were-slow-in-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/two-state-flags-were-slow-in-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"Two state flags were slow in coming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A painting marking the entry of Colorado into the Union. (Denver Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On August 1, 1876, as the U.S. was marking the centenary of the Declaration of Independence, another U.S. \u2013 U.S. Grant, that is \u2013 was busy at his desk, putting the final touches on a document that would certify Colorado\u2019s entry into the Union.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Students<\/a>
Students prepare for a 1913 concert in which they formed a living Colorado flag. (Denver Post)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America,\u201d he wrote, \u201cdo, in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress aforesaid, declare and proclaim the fact that the fundamental conditions imposed by Congress on the State of Colorado to entitle that State to admission to the Union have been ratified\u2026and that the admission\u2026is now complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Marie<\/a>
Marie Oliver with her original Missouri flag<\/a>. (State Historical Society)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fifty-five years earlier, President James Monroe had also accepted a newcomer to the United States when Missouri became the 24th star in the American flag<\/a> \u2013 and the first state located entirely west of the Mississippi. He had previously opened the door to Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama and Maine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The dual acceptance of Maine and Missouri fulfilled the Missouri Compromise, which permitted a free and a slave state to join, thus maintaining balance on a tense issue. But the Supreme Court invalidated the compromise and triggered the Civil War.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Colorado's<\/a>
Colorado’s flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It took quite a while for Colorado, now 140 years old as a state, and Missouri, 195, to create their state flags<\/a>. The latter was especially tardy, not adopting its banner until 1913. The design was the work of Mary Elizabeth Oliver, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A woman poses before the Colorado flag during the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. (New York Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the State Historical Society of Missouri, Oliver \u201cwrote to the secretaries of state of every state,\u2026seeking information about how other states had designed their flags and had them officially adopted. Once she had gathered enough information, Oliver designed a flag that she thought would represent Missouri.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Missouri<\/a>
Missouri state flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

With red, white and blue horizontal stripes as background, she placed the state seal in the middle. While her flag was late in coming, the seal was not. It had been created in 1822 by Robert William Wells, a federal judge. According to the state, the seal \u201cis composed of two parts. On the right is the United States coat-of-arms\u2026.On the left side\u2026are a grizzly bear and a silver crescent moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Missouri’s seal sits in the middle of its state flag.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The state\u2019s motto, \u201cUnited we stand, divided we fall,\u201d also appears on the seal. Two more grizzlies that stand on either side of the seal represent strength. A Latin inscription is translated as \u201cLet the welfare of the people be the supreme law.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s state flag<\/a> wasn\u2019t chosen until 1911. Unlike Missouri\u2019s banner, its design is very simple. It, too, has three horizontal stripes, but they are blue, white and blue. The left-center of the state flag consists only of a large red \u201cC,\u201d in the middle of which rests a golden disk.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/a>
Three men, including her son (right), show off Marie Oliver’s original hand-sewn silk Missouri state flag. (State Historical Society)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The banner is also the handiwork of one person: Andrew Carlisle Carson. When he died in 1921, his casket was draped with \u2013 what else? \u2013 the Colorado state flag<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On August 1, 1876, as the U.S. was marking the centenary of the Declaration of Independence, another U.S. \u2013 U.S. Grant, that is \u2013 was busy at his desk, putting the final touches on a document that would certify Colorado\u2019s entry into the Union.   \u201cI, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[370,372,369,342,371],"class_list":["post-3450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-colorado-flag","tag-james-monroe","tag-missouri-flag","tag-state-flags","tag-ulysses-s-grant"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo state flags were slow in coming - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/two-state-flags-were-slow-in-coming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two state flags were slow in coming - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On August 1, 1876, as the U.S. was marking the centenary of the Declaration of Independence, another U.S. \u2013 U.S. Grant, that is \u2013 was busy at his desk, putting the final touches on a document that would certify Colorado\u2019s entry into the Union.   \u201cI, Ulysses S. 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