Monday, April 25, 2016

The Flag Company Inc And Kansas Flag

By Nichole Brown


Kansas, situated on the American Great Plains, became the 34th state on January 29, 1861. Its path to statehood was long and bloody: After the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 opened the two territories to settlement and allowed the new settlers to determine whether the states would be admitted to the union as "free" or"slave".

The region that is now Kansas had been inhabited by Indians for thousands of years before the first white man appeared. In 1540, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado marched north from Mexico in search of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. In New Mexico, he was told of the land of Quivira, and in 1541, he turned east and north in search of this fabled place of wealth. Coronado found no gold in Quivira but he called the country, which is now a part of Kansas, “the best I have ever seen for producing all the products of Spain.” This was 80 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

The state flag adopted on March 23, 1927, usually represented the state on official occasions. It showed the state seal without the inscriptions on its outer rim; above was the crest of Kansas as used by its National Guard a naturalistic sunflower over a heraldic wreath of yellow and blue. Complaints were raised that this flag was so close in design to those of many other states that it could not readily be identified.

Thus, in 1961, the state's name was added below the seal in large golden letters. Modifications have also been made in the seal design. In 1985, it was decided that the homesteader's cabin in the seal should no longer have smoke pouring from its chimney and that the herd of bison should comprise exactly five animals. The seal, dating from 1861, is very complex to manufacture if made in accordance with regulations.

The state crest which includes the blue and gold bar represents the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This was when the United States obtained Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana from the French. The sunflower sitting on top of the bar is shown torn from its stem with some believing it exemplifies the fearlessness with which Kansas meets her problems and solves them. The sunflower is thought to represent open frankness.

The group of 344 stars huddled in the above portion of the seal, indicates that Kansas was the 34th state admitted to the Union. The seal on the Kansas Flag represents a lush farmland, with a farmer plowing his land near a wooden cabin. The steamboat on the Kansas river is a representation of the state's growing commerce. The sunrise, hills, bison and the Native Americans depicted on the Kansas Flag stand for the rich landscape and natural wealth of the state. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of Kansas for the future.




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