Catalog

Year adopted: 1925.

Nebraska was admitted to the Union in 1867 as the 37th state.

The area of Nebraska was annexed to the United States with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The Nebraska Territory, which included the Dakotas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, was formed with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The Nebraska Territory was subsequently reduced in size as the Dakota, Colorado and Idaho territories were organized separately. The Homesteader Act of 1862 brought rapid and widespread settlement to the current state area, and Nebraska became a state within five years.

Nebraska’s state flag was designated by legislative action in 1925. It consists of a reproduction of the state seal, charged on the center in gold and silver on a field of national blue. Legislation creating the original state seal was passed in 1867.

The seal’s design is as follows: On the right, a steamboat is ascending the Missouri River. The Rocky Mountains are on the left. In the background, a train of cars is heading toward the Rocky Mountains. The mechanical arts are represented by a smith with hammer and anvil. Agriculture is represented by a settler’s cabin and sheaves of wheat. In the top of the circle is the state motto: “Equality Before the Law.” The circle is surrounded with the words, “Great Seal of the State of Nebraska, March 1st, 1867. (ref nebraskalegislature.gov, Nebraska State Symbols)