Flag of Michigan

State of Michigan

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	August 1, 1911 (1911-08-01)
Design	A state coat of arms on a blue field.
Designed by	Caroline Campbell
Flag of the governor of Michigan
Use	Flag of the governor of Michigan
Adopted	August 1, 1911 (1911-08-01)
Design	Coat of arms of Michigan on a white field

The flag of the U.S. state of Michigan is a coat of arms set on a dark blue field, as set forth by Michigan state law. Michigan has had three state flags, and the current flag was adopted on August 1, 1911. The governor has a variant of the flag with a white field instead of blue one. The state has an official flag month from June 14 through July 14.

Design

The state coat of arms depicts a blue shield, upon which the sun rises over a lake and peninsula, and a man with a raised hand, representing peace and holding a long gun, representing the fight for state and nation as a frontier state.

As supporters, the elk and moose are derived from the Hudson's Bay Company coat of arms, and depict great animals of Michigan. The bald eagle represents the United States, which formed the state of Michigan from the Northwest Territory.

The design features three Latin mottos. From top-to-bottom they are:

1. On red ribbon: E Pluribus Unum ('Out of many, one'), a motto of the United States.
2. On light blue shield: Tuebor (transl. I will defend)
3. On white ribbon: Si Quæris Peninsulam Amœnam Circumspice (transl. If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you), the official state motto.

The Michigan flag is one of nine U.S. state flags to feature an eagle, alongside those of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

History

First flag

Also known as the Brady Flag, the first flag of Michigan was commissioned after the founding of the state in 1837. The flag was made by a prominent Detroit artist named Alvin Smith.

A photograph of the flag.

Digital recreation of the flag of Michigan (1827–1865, obverse)

Digital recreation of the flag of Michigan (1827–1865, reverse)

On the obverse side of the flag was the coat of arms on a white field. The coat of arms was flanked with the figure of a woman that represented the "allegory of Michigan", and a U.S. solider in the uniform of the time holding a flintlock musket. Below the coat of arms was a banner that read "PRESENTED BY STEVENS MASON FEBRUARY 1837." On the reverse side of the flag was a portrait of Michigan's first governor Stevens T. Mason with his horse on a white field. Below the portrait of the governor was a banner that read "ORGANIZED BRADY GUARD MAY 1836."

The flag had been missing for a long time since its last use, and it was thought that all information about the flag was lost. However, in 1912, the flag was rediscovered in the basement of the Michigan State Capitol building. It was found in a general's office wrapped in a dusty package in the back of a filing cabinet. The flag was discovered by Caroline Campbell, the wife of a Michigan state senator. She was a known historian of the Civil War and of early Michigan history. The flag upon discovery was in very poor condition. The flag was made of fine silk, and due to being tightly rolled and bound in a package for years, the folds in the fabric had hardened, which would have severely torn the flag if unfurled. The flag was sent to the Kent Scientific Museum in Grand Rapids with special permission to restore the flag. Due to textile conservation being in its infancy during this time, the flag had received several tears. What was more successful was the oil treatment that was used to clean the flag which had restored the flag's original colors. Later in 1912, the flag was put on permanent display in the ground floor rotunda in the state capitol building. It was pressed between two pieces of glass and placed upright so that both sides could be viewed.

Despite being described as the state flag, it was also described as the governor's flag and as the Brady Guard standard. The flag was meant to be the standard for the Brady Guard. On February 22, 1837, a special ceremony was held in Detroit where Stevens Mason presented the flag to the Brady Guard as their own military standard. In regards to the flag, the governor called it a "token of my regard... I am confident it will never meet dishonor whether in the calm of peace or amid the storm of war." The flag was used in 1861 by Company A of the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. In 1877, the Michigan adjutant general John Robinson in his book "The Flags of Michigan" mentioned that the flag was in the state's possession.

On January 19, 1931, a fire broke out at a news stand on the ground floor of the state capitol building. The fire had destroyed the flag beyond repair. In 2002, a Michigan man who was trying to get a historical marker for his home had sent a box to his son who was a Michigan politician. In the box was an envelope that contained two photographs of the flag as well as a small fragment of the flag. The two photographs are the only known photographs of the flag, and the small fragment is the only remaining piece of the flag. The flag fragment is currently being held in the capitol building.

Second flag

The second flag, adopted in 1865, displayed the state coat of arms on one side and the United States coat of arms on the other. On August 4, 1886 the flag was carried in a parade in San Francisco by a group of Michiganders.

Digital recreation of the flag of Michigan (1865–1911, obverse)

Digital recreation of the flag of Michigan (1865–1911, reverse)

Current flag

The Michigan flag flying under the U.S. flag.

The Michigan state flag as depicted in the 1976 bicentennial postage stamp series.

The current flag of Michigan was adopted on August 1, 1911. The movement to adopted the current state flag was done by Caroline Campbell, the same person who rediscovered the first state flag. In memory of the first state flag, Cambell also advocated for the adoption of the current governor's flag. The governor's flag shares design elements from the first state flag.

The North American Vexillological Association, in its 2001 survey of U.S. state, U.S. territorial, and Canadian provincial flags rated the current Michigan flag 59th out of 72 flags evaluated. The survey respondents gave an average score of just 3.46 out of a possible 10 points.

Attempts to change the flag

In November 2016, a bill was introduced in the Michigan state legislature by Senator Steven Bieda that would have provided for a flag commission to head up a public design contest to change the current state flag, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. Establishing a flag commission was proposed again in 2021, by Representative Andrea Schroeder. The measure was referred to committee, where no action was taken on it.

In 2023, representative Phil Skaggs proposed a bill to redesign the state flag. It was introduced as House Bill 6190, on November 26, 2024, read a first time and referred to the Committee on Government Operations. The Bill seeks to form a commission of 6 local university artists, 3 professional artists or state historians selected by the Michigan Historical Commission and 8 political appointees to establish a contest to receive public design submissions between January 26, 2025 and July 26, 2025. The flag commission would have selected a winner by September 26, 2025, and the winning submission would have replaced the current state flag on January 1, 2026. As no action was taken on HB 6190 before the end of the legislative session, this bill was also unsuccessful.

Pledge

Michigan's pledge of allegiance to the state flag was written by Harold G. Coburn and was officially adopted in 1972.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, two beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal.

See also

• List of Michigan state symbols
• Flags of governors of the U.S. states

External links

• State of Michigan
  • "Michigan state flag details and how to buy a flag"