Tennessee State Motto: Agriculture and Commerce
Agriculture and Commerce
Agriculture and Commerce
The motto appears on the state seal of Tennessee
- Motto
- Agriculture and Commerce
- Language
- English
- Adopted
- 1796
- Tennessee became
- 16th state, June 1, 1796
- Legislation
- Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-1-301
Tennessee State Motto
Tennessee's state motto is Agriculture and Commerce, adopted in 1796 when the state entered the Union on June 1 as the 16th state. The motto is written in plain English and describes the two economic activities that defined Tennessee at its founding.
The phrase is one of the most literal state mottos in the country. The state seal shows a plow, sheaf of wheat, and cotton plant in the upper half for agriculture, and a river with a vessel in the lower half for commerce. The motto names exactly what the seal depicts, with no symbolism added between the words and the image.
Tennessee State Motto Meaning
In 1796, Agriculture described the reality of Tennessee's frontier economy. The fertile river valleys of middle and western Tennessee produced wheat and cotton; eastern Tennessee's uplands supported grain farming and livestock. Farming was the foundation of nearly every settlement in the new state.
Commerce referred to the rivers. Tennessee's inland geography had no Atlantic coastline, so flatboats and keelboats on the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers were the only practical route to markets. Goods that left a Tennessee farm in 1796 most likely traveled by water before reaching a buyer.
Together the two words made an economic argument: Tennessee had the farmland to produce and the waterways to sell. The motto was not aspirational. It described what Tennessee already had when it became a state.
History of Tennessee's State Motto
Tennessee's General Assembly adopted the state seal and its motto in 1796, the same year Congress admitted Tennessee to the Union on June 1. The seal was designed around the state's two economic pillars, and the motto was written to name them directly. No separate legislative act for the motto exists apart from the seal statute.
The seal and its motto went through multiple re-engravings over the following century as printing standards changed, but the words Agriculture and Commerce stayed the same through every version. A standardization came in 1987 when the Tennessee legislature codified the current design under Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-1-301, fixing the proportions and rendering required for official use. The motto text was not changed.
"Agriculture and Commerce" on the Tennessee State Seal
The motto encircles the outer ring of the Great Seal of Tennessee, running around the border of the seal above and below the central imagery. Inside the ring, a plow, sheaf of wheat, and cotton plant fill the upper half; a river with a vessel fills the lower half; and the Roman numeral XVI sits at the center, marking Tennessee as the 16th state.
The seal appears on official state documents, government correspondence, and legal instruments. It does not appear on Tennessee's state flag, which uses three stars in a blue circle on a red field to represent the state's three Grand Divisions: East, Middle, and West Tennessee.
Tennessee State Motto Facts
- Tennessee's state motto is "Agriculture and Commerce" — written in plain English, not Latin.
- It was adopted in 1796 when Tennessee entered the Union on June 1 as the 16th state.
- The motto names the two halves of the state seal exactly: farming symbols above, a river and vessel below.
- The seal's current standardized design was codified in 1987 under Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-1-301.
- The motto does not appear on Tennessee's state flag — the flag uses three stars representing the state's three Grand Divisions.
- The Roman numeral XVI at the center of the seal records Tennessee's position as the 16th state.
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 Tennessee's state motto?
What does "Agriculture and Commerce" mean?
When did Tennessee adopt its state motto?
Where does Tennessee's motto appear?
Sources
Tennessee State Symbols
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