Kentucky State Motto: United We Stand, Divided We Fall
Fact-checked • Updated December 2, 2025
OFFICIAL STATE SEAL
"United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
N/A - English phrase
About This Motto
Kentucky adopted United We Stand, Divided We Fall as part of its state seal on December 20, 1792. Phrase comes from Revolutionary War song. Appears on state flag and official documents. First Kentucky General Assembly included motto when creating Commonwealth seal just six months after statehood.
What the Motto Means
United We Stand, Divided We Fall speaks to strength through cooperation. The phrase needs no translation because it uses plain English to capture a simple truth: groups working together succeed, while divided groups fail.
Real threats surrounded Kentucky in 1792. Danger came from multiple directions on the frontier. Native American conflicts hadn't ended, and British forces still held northwestern forts. Survival depended on mutual support among settlers. Anyone going it alone risked everything.
First governor Isaac Shelby loved The Liberty Song, which John Dickinson wrote in 1768. One verse proclaimed: Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall! During the Revolution, Shelby heard those words repeatedly. They stuck with him for life.
Kentucky's seal carries the motto prominently. You see two figures clasping hands, with Commonwealth of Kentucky arcing above their heads and the motto curving below. Goldenrod sprigs frame the composition.
Historical Background
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Kentucky Achieves Statehood
On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state after Virginia (which had controlled the region since colonial times) agreed to let settlers pursue independence. Congress approved the petition and President George Washington signed the admission act, creating an immediate need for official government structures.
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First General Assembly Convenes
When the First Kentucky General Assembly met in Lexington during summer 1792, lawmakers recognized the need for an official seal to authenticate government documents. On December 20, 1792, the legislature passed an act authorizing Governor Shelby to commission a seal with specific design elements.
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Seal Design Specified
The legislature described the design in detail, requiring: Two friends embracing, with the name of the state over their heads and around about the following motto: United We Stand, Divided We Fall. Because the specific wording came directly from Dickinson's song and the state needed functioning government quickly, the legislature approved it without recorded committee debates.
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David Humphreys Creates Seal
In 1793, the Governor contracted with David Humphreys, a skilled Lexington silversmith who received twelve pounds sterling to create both the seal and a press for making impressions. His original design showed two men in formal dress sharing a full embrace rather than just a handshake.
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Design Interpretation
Despite suggestions about using hunter's clothing, Humphreys preferred a dignified presentation showing both figures in formal coats with arms wrapped around each other. This design worked well for official state business and looked appropriate on government documents.
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Original Seal Destroyed
When fire consumed the capitol building in 1814, the original seal was lost in the blaze. Over subsequent decades, the state commissioned new versions with each designer interpreting the basic elements differently through choices in clothing (some showed buckskin, others formal coats) and varying hand positions.
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Seal Standardized in 1962
In 1962, the legislature passed a new law specifying one figure as a frontiersman clasping the statesman's shoulder while shaking hands, with both goldenrod sprigs appearing below. This version, which balances frontier heritage with governmental dignity, remains official today.
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Motto Codified October 1942
When the state legislature recodified Kentucky statutes in 1942, the new law went into effect October 1 with Title I, Chapter 2 containing the seal description. According to the statute: The seal of the Commonwealth shall have upon it the device, two friends embracing each other, with the words Commonwealth of Kentucky over their heads and around them the words, United We Stand, Divided We Fall.
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No Separate Motto Statute
Unlike many states that adopted mottos independently through separate laws, the Kentucky legislature never adopted the motto apart from the seal description. By integrating both elements from the start, the motto exists only within the seal statute, which made adoption automatic when the seal was created.
Meaning & Significance Today
You find the motto everywhere in Kentucky today. State flag adopted in 1918 displays it prominently on a navy blue field with the state seal at center. A goldenrod wreath surrounds the seal, with Commonwealth of Kentucky appearing below in the same design used since adoption.
Kentucky history classes use the motto as a teaching tool. Through lessons on frontier cooperation, students learn about modern civic responsibility and how working together builds stronger communities. Teachers emphasize practical applications of this principle across different eras.
During policy debates, state government officials frequently reference the motto. When discussing cooperation between eastern coal counties, western farmland, and central bluegrass regions with their different interests, legislators recognize that finding common ground requires unity. These words from 1792 continue guiding modern governance.
Natural disasters regularly test whether the motto holds true. When floods, tornadoes, and ice storms strike Kentucky, communities demonstrate unity through action rather than words. Neighbors help each other by clearing fallen trees, sharing generators, and providing shelter when power fails.
Cultural Context in Kentucky
Revolutionary War Legacy
At the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780, Isaac Shelby fought alongside patriot militia who defeated British forces in a victory that changed momentum in the southern campaign. This military experience taught Shelby what unified action could accomplish, and these Revolutionary ideals shaped early Kentucky government.
Frontier Cooperation
Because building Kentucky required teamwork, settlers cleared land together, raised barns as groups, and protected each other from raids. Isolation meant vulnerability, so communities survived by helping neighbors. Towns like Harrodsburg, Boonesborough, and Lexington started as fortified stations where families gathered inside palisades during attacks, creating bonds through shared danger.
Civil War Period
Although Kentucky stayed in the Union during the Civil War and never seceded, sympathies split sharply as some Kentuckians joined Confederate forces while others fought for the Union. Brothers fought brothers in many families, and the motto took on painful meaning during 1861 to 1865 when the state literally divided between North and South. Reconciliation after the war required remembering unity's importance.
Flag Adoption
In March 1918, the legislature adopted a state flag with a design centered on the state seal against a navy blue background encircled by a goldenrod wreath. Although the flag underwent amendments in 1928 and 1962, the basic design remained constant with the motto appearing prominently as part of the seal design you see flying over government buildings statewide.
Latin Motto Added
In 2002, Kentucky recognized a second motto when the legislature made official the Latin phrase Deo gratiam habeamus (translating to Let us be grateful to God), which comes from the preamble to Kentucky's constitution. Both mottos remain valid, with the English version appearing on the seal and flag while the Latin version exists separately.
Modern Interpretations
Today Kentuckians apply the motto broadly across contexts, from sports teams and business leaders to political campaigns that reference or invoke it. While the meaning stays flexible, the core message remains constant: unity produces strength while division produces weakness, a simple truth proven repeatedly throughout Kentucky history.
Current Law
Kentucky Revised Statutes Title I governs the state seal, with Chapter 2 addressing citizenship and emblems. According to Statute 2.020, the seal must show two friends embracing with Commonwealth of Kentucky appearing above their heads and the motto United We Stand, Divided We Fall going around them.
This statute became effective October 1, 1942, through recodification of earlier laws without any amendments to the motto wording. The Secretary of State maintains the official seal for use on commissioned documents, gubernatorial appointments, state charters, and official correspondence requiring authentication.
Interesting Facts About the Motto
Fact 1 of 20
Kentucky adopted the motto December 20, 1792, just six months after statehood.
Sources & References
This article has been researched using authoritative sources to ensure accuracy and reliability. All information has been fact-checked and verified against official government records.
Current Kentucky law describing the state seal and motto. • Accessed: December 31, 2025
Comprehensive history of seal design and motto adoption process. • Accessed: December 31, 2025
Official historical documentation by Ron Bryant explaining seal design and motto origins. • Accessed: December 31, 2025
History and usage of the phrase across different contexts and time periods. • Accessed: December 31, 2025
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