The Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was adopted in December 1792. Since that time, it has undergone several revisions. The current seal depicts two men, one in buckskin, and the other in more formal dress. The men are facing each other and clasping hands. The outer ring of the seal is adorned with the words "

Commonwealth of Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

", and within the inner circle is the state motto "

United we stand, divided we fall "United we stand, divided we fall" is a phrase used in many different kinds of mottos, most often to inspire unity and collaboration. Its core concept lies in the collectivist notion that if individual members of a certain group with binding ide ...

." The official colors of the seal are blue and gold. A version of the seal appears on the

flag of Kentucky The flag of the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, was adopted on March 26, 1918. History The flag was designed by Jesse Cox Burgess, an art teacher in Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort, the state capital. It was adopted by the Kentu ...

History

Kentucky state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876)

Provision for the creation of a seal for the Commonwealth was made during the first session of the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in ...

. On December 20, 1792, the Assembly passed an act, reading: "That the Governor be empowered and is hereby required to provide at the public charge a seal for this Commonwealth; and procure the same to be engraved with the following device, viz: Two friends embracing, with the name of the state over their heads and around about the following motto: United we stand, divided we fall." According to John Brown, Kentucky's first Senator, the original seal was to have depicted "two friends, in hunter's garb, their right hands clasped, their left resting on each other's shoulders, their feet on the verge of a precipice." This depiction would represent a literal rendering of the state motto. Lexington

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...

David Humphries was charged with designing the seal in 1793. Instead of hunting apparel, Humphries' version depicted two men in swallowtail coats, and instead of a handshake, the two friends share a full embrace. This original seal was destroyed in a fire that destroyed the state capitol in 1814. Because the description originally adopted by the General Assembly does not specify what the "two friends" should look like or how they should be embracing, several variants of the state seal were created subsequent to the destruction of the original. Different depictions of the seal have the friends outfitted in various clothing from coats and top hats to Roman

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

s. The embrace is shown as clasped hands, a hug, or a handshake combined with hands on one another shoulders. It has even been speculated that certain die-makers have intentionally designed strange and unnatural poses to represent that the two friends were drunk on Kentucky bourbon or were demonstrating a secret handshake or symbol from a fraternal order. In 1857, an anonymous artist was commissioned to paint the seals of the various states in the skylights in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

' chamber. This artist's depiction showed one man in buckskin boots and a hat and another in formal attire. The two are standing in front of a row of columns and wearing garments resembling togas as overcoats. A 1952 article in ''

The Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Net ...

'' opined that "They stand in a halfhearted embrace, as if each startled the other with his gesture." One particularly odd-looking version of the seal had one of the friends joining his left hand to the other's right, which commissioner of conservation Henry Ward said made the two appear to be dancing an Irish jig. In 1954, Ward asked

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

native Ernie Giancola to redesign the seal. Using a neighbor as a model, Giancola created a more natural-looking handshake for the friends. In 1962, the General Assembly further clarified the look of the seal to minimize variation in the future. They prescribed that the seal should depict "a pioneer meeting a gentleman in a swallowtail coat." The current version of the seal was designed by artist and former mayor of Hazard, Kentucky, Nan Gorman.

Symbolism

Popular belief claims that the buckskin-clad man on the left is

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, who was largely responsible for the exploration of Kentucky, and the man in the suit on the right is Henry Clay, Kentucky's most famous statesman. However, the official explanation is that the men represent all frontiersmen and statesmen, rather than any specific persons. The motto "United we stand, divided we fall" comes from the lyrics of "

The Liberty Song "The Liberty Song" is a pre-American Revolutionary War song with lyrics by Founding Father John Dickinson (not by Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren of Plymouth, Massachusetts). The song is set to the tunes of "Heart of Oak", the anthem of the Royal Navy of th ...

", a patriotic song from the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

Historical versions

File:Original seal of Kentucky circa 1800.gif, The original seal of Kentucky from a document circa 1800 File:Seal of Kentucky used during the Civil War.jpg, A version of the seal of Kentucky used during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

File:Seal of Kentucky (Confederate shadow government).svg, Seal used by the

Confederate government of Kentucky The Confederate government of Kentucky was a shadow government established for the Commonwealth of Kentucky by a self-constituted group of Confederate sympathizers during the American Civil War. The shadow government never replaced the elect ...

during the Civil War

References

External links

The Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Kentucky Symbols of Kentucky

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...