Nebraska State Motto: Equality Before the Law

Nebraska's state motto is Equality Before the Law. It was adopted on June 14, 1867, under H.R. 41 and signed by Governor David Butler, just 105 days after Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867.

The motto is in plain English, which is less common among U.S. state mottos — most states use Latin. Nebraska's choice reflected an immediate and urgent political reality: the state had just been required by Congress to guarantee equal voting rights as a condition of admission.

Nebraska first applied for statehood in 1866. Congress rejected the application because the proposed Nebraska constitution restricted voting to White men. On February 8, 1867, Congress passed an admission act requiring Nebraska to guarantee that voting rights could not be denied on the basis of race or color. Nebraska met the condition and became the 37th state on March 1, 1867.

Three and a half months later, the state legislature took up the question of a state seal. Isaac Wiles, a House member from Plattsmouth in Cass County, proposed the motto. He considered two options: Equal Rights for All and Equality Before the Law. He consulted Elmer S. Dundy, an associate justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, who preferred Equality Before the Law. Wiles included it in his seal proposal.

The phrase had an immediate source: Nebraska Republicans had adopted a platform on April 12, 1866, declaring their party owed a duty to secure liberty and equality before the law to all men. Wiles was likely drawing directly from that language. Governor David Butler signed H.R. 41 into law on June 14, 1867, establishing the state seal and its motto.