The State Flag of Michigan
On a light blue shield flaunting a “Tuebor” inscription, and guarded by an elk and a moose caught in a proud attitude, the sun rises over a lake. On a peninsula, a man raises his right hand while holding a gun in his left. Above the shield, the proud image of the American Eagle holding an olive branch and three arrows is topped by a red ribbon, on which the “E Pluribus Unum” Latin motto is inscribed. On the lower side of the blue background, two white ribbons read “Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice.” This is the flag of Michigan, the 26th state of the American union, boasting its coat of arms on a blue base.
Symbolism
Each element of the Michigan state flag holds a specific and definite meaning. The elk and moose are symbols of Michigan, great animals of this state, while the bald eagle represents the United States and the union's authority over Michigan. The arrows and the olive branch are symbols of peace and war, as powers invested in Congress, but the eagle is looking in the direction of the olive branch, suggesting the belief that peace holds a greater power. The man's peaceful but determined position, is the symbol of both his desire for peace and the ability to defend his rights. “Out of many, one,” the red ribbon reads, adopting the well-know United States motto. The blue shield promises “I will defend,” while the message on the white ribbon is a both welcoming and self-assertive official state motto, “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.”
History
The current Michigan state flag was not the state's first. While the Michigan coat of arms appeared on the state's two-sided flag in 1837, it also depicted the first elected governor of Michigan, Stephen Thomas Mason, on the other side. In 1865, after the Civil War, the governor's image was replaced with the United States coat of arms. The current one-sided, blue flag of the state of Michigan was adopted on August 1, 1911, and depicts only the state's coat of arms.
The Michigan state flag brings together symbols related to the history and beliefs of both the union and the state. The suggested desire for peace and the determination to hold its ground and defend itself, makes this flag a proud symbol of the great state of Michigan.