New Hampshire State Motto: Live Free or Die

New Hampshire's state motto is Live Free or Die. The New Hampshire General Court adopted it in 1945 under New Hampshire RSA 3:2. The phrase had existed for 136 years before it became the official motto.

The words come from a toast by General John Stark, New Hampshire's most celebrated soldier of the American Revolution. Stark wrote the full toast as: Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst of Evils.

On July 31, 1809, General John Stark wrote a letter to veterans of the Battle of Bennington. He was in poor health and could not attend the 32nd anniversary reunion of the battle. In the letter, he included a toast to be read in his place: Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst of Evils.

Stark had led New Hampshire troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 and commanded the American forces at the Battle of Bennington in Vermont on August 16, 1777. The Bennington victory halted the British advance from Canada and is considered one of the turning points of the Revolutionary War. Stark became known as the Hero of Bennington.

In 1945, New Hampshire was reportedly the last state in the country without an official motto. The General Court considered several candidates, including Strong and Steadfast as Our Granite Hills. The House voted 179 to 85 in favor of Live Free or Die; the Senate adopted it unanimously the same day.

In 1970, the state legislature required the motto to appear on all non-commercial license plates. That mandate led to a Supreme Court case in 1977. In Wooley v. Maynard, the Court ruled 7 to 2 that New Hampshire could not require motorists to display the motto if it conflicted with their personal beliefs — one of the few cases where a state motto directly produced a major First Amendment ruling.