User:TheTaraStark/sandbox/Flag of Pennsylvania

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See also: Coat of arms of Pennsylvania
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
UseCivil and state flag
Proportion27:37 (2:3 and 3:5 in use)
AdoptedJune 13, 1907; 116 years ago (June 13, 1907)
DesignCoat of Arms of Pennsylvania on a blue field

The flag of Pennsylvania is an official emblem of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, alongside the seal and the coat of arms. The flag was first adopted in 1798, and was standardized in 1907. It is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms of Pennsylvania.

Design[edit]

The flag of Pennsylvania is a blue background (by law, the same blue as the flag of the United States) charged with the Pennsylvania coat of arms.

Symbolism[edit]

The Pennsylvania coat of arms features a shield adorned with symbols of Pennsylvania's strengths—a ship carrying state commerce to all parts of the world; a clay-red plough, a symbol of Pennsylvania's rich natural resources; and three golden sheaves of wheat, representing fertile fields and Pennsylvania's wealth of human thought and action. An olive branch and cornstalk cross limbs beneath—symbols of peace and prosperity. The state motto, "Virtue, Liberty and Independence", appears festooned below. The shield is flanked by horses. Atop the coat of arms is a North American bald eagle, representing Pennsylvania's loyalty to the United States.[1][2]

History[edit]

Originally authorized by the state in 1798, the current design was enacted by law on June 13, 1907,[3] specifically standardizing the field of blue to be the "same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States".[4]

NAVA Ranking[edit]

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 100 of its members and 337 members of the general public on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked Pennsylvania's flag 57th out of the 72.[5] This was believed to be due to both the complexity of its design, and its inability to stand out among a sea of similar “seal-on-a-bedsheet” designs common to more than half of U.S. state flags flags.[6]

Attempts to change the flag[edit]

Between 2004 and 2014, several attempts were made to add the word "Pennsylvania" to the state flag. According to former State Representative Tim Solobay (who introduced the first set of bills), this was intended to make Pennsylvania's flag more unique and identifiable.[7]

While the bill failed to leave committee in the first two sessions it was introduced,[8][9] a 2006 survey offered by Solobay's office[10] to help refine the defined design may have swayed legislators to act on the bill, which was amended on May 7th, 2007.[11] On June 11th, 2007, The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill, 164–31.[7] The Senate State Government Committee never considered the bill, which died at the end of the Pennsylvania General Assembly's two-year session.

The bill was reintroduced by Solobay in 2009,[12] and on the next session day, a second similar bill was introduced by former State Representative Gary Haluska with a competing definition of the design.[13] Neither bill was raised in committee that session. Haluska's proposal was reintroduced alone in both the 2011-12[14] and 2013-14 sessions,[15] and died in committee both times.

  • Proposals to change the flag between 2004-2014
  • 2004 Proposal, interpreted to mean "Pennsylvania" is written below the Coat of Arms
    2004-2007 Proposal,[8][9]Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag adding "the word 'Pennsylvania' to be embroidered upon the flag in yellow silk."
  • 2007-2010 Proposal,[11][12] adding the words "Commonwealth Of" to the top and "Pennsylvania" to the bottom of the flag in yellow silk, and arching the lettering around the Coat of Arms
    2007-2010 Proposal,[11][12]Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag adding the words "Commonwealth Of" to the top and "Pennsylvania" to the bottom of the flag in yellow silk, and arching the lettering around the Coat of Arms
  • 2009 Proposal,[13][14][15] adding the word "Pennsylvania" in yellow silk "centered within a symmetrical red festoon, similar to that containing the State motto; and the festoon to be centered above the bald eagle on the coat of arms."
    2009 Proposal,[13][14][15]Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag adding the word "Pennsylvania" in yellow silk "centered within a symmetrical red festoon, similar to that containing the State motto; and the festoon to be centered above the bald eagle on the coat of arms."

Flag of the governor[edit]

Standard of the Governor of Pennsylvania
See also: Flags of governors of the U.S. states

The flag of the governor of Pennsylvania contains the Coat of Arms of Pennsylvania on a field of white. Above the coat of arms, the flag displays a red ribbon with "The Governor" written in gold sans serif lettering. Below the coat of arms, the flag displays another red ribbon with "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" in gold lettering.

Historical depictions of the Pennsylvania flag, and flags associated with Pennsylvania[edit]

Flags that need captions and citations[edit]


See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "World Flags 101 - Pennsylvania Flags". Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  2. ^ "Symbols of Pennsylvania". Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  3. ^ "Status of the Wisconsin was her Flag". 2007-09-12. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  4. ^ "Act of Jun. 13, 1907, P.L. 560, No. 373 Cl. 38 - FLAG OF PENNSYLVANIA DESIGNATED". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  5. ^ "2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey - NAVA.org" (PDF). nava.org.
  6. ^ Kaye, Edward B. (2001). "Good Flag, Bad Flag, and the Great NAVA Flag Survey of 2001" (PDF). Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. 8 – via Philosophy Documentation Center.
  7. ^ a b "House passes Solobay bill adding 'Pennsylvania' to state flag". Office of State Rep. Tim Solobay. Archived from the original on 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  8. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2003-2004 House Bill 2808". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  9. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2005-2006 House Bill 149". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  10. ^ "Pennsylvania (U.S.) 'Proposal for change to the flag'". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  11. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2007-2008 House Bill 179". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  12. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2009-2010 House Bill 143". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  13. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2009-2010 House Bill 179". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  14. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2011-2012 House Bill 722". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  15. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Regular Session 2013-2014 House Bill 578". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  16. ^ Allen, Francis Olcott (1894). "The Provincial or Colonial Flag of Pennsylvania". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 18 (2): 249–252. ISSN 0031-4587.
  17. ^ "Pennsylvania Colonial/Revolutionary War Flags (U.S.)". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  18. ^ Thorpe, Francis Newton (1902). The government of the people of the state of Pennsylvania. The Library of Congress. Philadelphia, Eldridge & brother.

External links[edit]

Category:Symbols of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsylvania

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