The coat of arms of

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

consists of a shield containing a picture of a 19th-century ship arriving in Liberia. The ship represents the ships which brought the freed slaves from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to Liberia. Above the shield, the national motto of Liberia appears on a scroll: ''The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here'', and below the shield another scroll contains the official name of the country, Republic of Liberia. The plow and the shovel represent the

dignity of labor The dignity of labour is the philosophy that all types of jobs are respected equally, and no occupation is considered superior and none of the jobs should be discriminated on any basis. Regardless of whether one's occupation involves physical work ...

and hard work through which the nation will prosper. The rising sun in the background represents the birth of a nation.Liberia Crest/Flag Meaning
World Atlas The palm tree, the nation's most versatile source of food, represents prosperity. The white dove with a scroll represents the breath of peace.

History

On July 22, 1974, the

Legislature of Liberia The Legislature of Liberia is the bicameral legislature of the government of Liberia. It consists of a Senate – the upper house, and a House of Representatives – the lower house, modeled after the United States Congress. Sessions are held ...

passed an act giving authorization to the president to establish a commission to give consideration to possible changes to a number of national symbols, including the national seal and motto. President

William Tolbert William Richard Tolbert Jr. (13 May 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until 1980. Tolbert was an Americo-Liberian and trained as a civil servant before entering the House of ...

appointed 51 members to the Commission on National Unity. The commission was headed by McKinley Alfred Deshield Sr., and was also called the Deshield Commission. The commission sought to reexamine the symbols, and remove divisive or uninclusive aspects of them. The commission submitted their report on January 24, 1978. The report recommended changing the motto from "The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here" to "Love, Liberty, Justice, Equality". The proposed change to the motto was never made.

Older versions

File:Coat of arms of Liberia in 1889.svg, 1847-1889 File:Coat of arms of REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA in 1921.jpg, 1889-1921 File:Coat of arms of REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA in 1963.jpg, 1921-1974

Description

The coat of arms of Liberia has no heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

. According to David Kazanjian's article ''The Speculative Freedom of Colonial Liberia'', the national device of Liberia was adopted at the 1847 constitutional convention. The article quotes the following description as the design guidelines:The Speculative Freedom of Colonial Liberia, David Kazanjain, JSTOR
/ref> ''Seal: A dove on the wind with an open scroll in its claws. A view of the ocean with a ship under sail. The sun just emerging from the waters. A palm tree, and in its base a plough and spade. Beneath the emblems, the words REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA and above the emblems, the national motto: "THE LOVE OF LIBERTY BROUGHT US HERE".''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of Liberia

National symbols of Liberia