Kentucky State Motto: United We Stand, Divided We Fall
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
The motto appears on the state seal of Kentucky
- Motto
- United We Stand, Divided We Fall
- Language
- English
- On Seal Since
- 1792
- Origin
- The Liberty Song, 1768
Kentucky State Motto
Kentucky's state motto is United We Stand, Divided We Fall. It has appeared on the Kentucky state seal since 1792, the year Kentucky became the 15th state of the Union.
The phrase was already well known before Kentucky became a state. It circulated widely during the American Revolution as a rallying idea, and its presence on the Kentucky seal tied the new state to that founding-era spirit.
Kentucky State Motto Meaning
The motto carries a straightforward warning: people who stay together are strong; people who split apart are weak. The two halves of the phrase work as a pair — the first is the promise, the second is the consequence of breaking it.
For the founders of Kentucky in 1792, the idea had practical weight. Kentucky was carved out of Virginia and admitted as its own state in a period when the young United States was still figuring out how its parts would hold together. A motto about unity was a statement about what the state believed in.
The phrase has stayed relevant in ways the founders could not have predicted. It was used again in the Civil War period, when Kentucky — a border state — faced real pressure to split its loyalties between North and South.
History of Kentucky's State Motto
The phrase goes back at least to 1768, when Pennsylvania lawyer and statesman John Dickinson wrote The Liberty Song for the patriot cause. The song's chorus included the line: By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall. The phrase spread quickly in colonial America as a shorthand for the argument that the colonies had to act together.
When Kentucky became a state on June 1, 1792, the motto appeared on its state seal from the beginning. The seal was designed to show unity visually as well — two men from different walks of life meeting each other as equals.
The motto is one of the oldest in the United States, predating Kentucky's statehood by more than two decades. It carried the memory of the Revolution into the seal of a state that had not yet existed when the Revolution was fought.
"United We Stand, Divided We Fall" on the Kentucky State Seal
The motto encircles the central image of the Great Seal of Kentucky. The seal shows two men shaking hands: one in frontier buckskin and one in the formal dress of a statesman. The image represents the different people and backgrounds that came together to form Kentucky.
Because the Kentucky state flag displays the state seal at its center, the motto also appears on the flag. Official state documents, government buildings, and publications use the seal with the motto as part of its design.
Kentucky State Motto Facts
- Kentucky's state motto is "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" — one of the few state mottos written entirely in plain English.
- The phrase traces to John Dickinson's 1768 song "The Liberty Song," written during the lead-up to the American Revolution.
- The motto has appeared on the Kentucky state seal since 1792, when Kentucky became the 15th state.
- Kentucky joined the Union on June 1, 1792, after separating from Virginia.
- The state seal shows a frontiersman and a statesman shaking hands, with the motto running around the edge.
Can You Match All 50 State Mottos?
Some questions show the original motto — Latin, Italian, Chinook — and ask which state it belongs to. Others give you the English translation and ask you to work backward. Both directions are harder than they look.
Take the State Mottos QuizQuick Answers
What is the Kentucky state motto?
What does Kentucky's state motto mean?
Where does Kentucky's motto come from?
When did Kentucky adopt its state motto?
Sources
Kentucky State Symbols
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