States with Pledges to their State Flags

I was doing research for an article and came across something that absolutely shocked me: There are 17 states who have a pledge to their own state flag. What?! I had no idea. I thought all of us in the United States were pledging allegiance to the national flag and stopping there. That's the case for 33 states, but citizens in 17 states continue on with a state pledge. Crazy.  

If you are also surprised by this information, take a minute to guess what the 17 states are. Don't guess California - if we had a state pledge, I'd have known about it and wouldn't be writing this post. 

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OK, do you have your guesses? Check the map to see how you did. 

I'm assuming many of your guesses were Southern states - specifically, ones that seceded during the Civil War. If so, that was a good guess: 10 of the 11 Confederate states (all except Florida) now have their own state pledge. But those pledges weren't adopted in the Reconstruction era; they are all far more recent than that. 

State Flag Pledges

Texas (adopted 1933, amended 2007)

Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. 

Georgia (adopted 1935, amended 2022)

I pledge allegiance to the Georgia flag and to the principles for which it stands: Wisdom, Justice, 

Moderation, and Courage.  

 

Arkansas (adopted 1953)

I salute the Arkansas Flag with its diamond and stars. We pledge our loyalty to thee. 

 

Virginia (adopted 1954)

I salute the flag of Virginia, with reverence and patriotic devotion to the ‘Mother of States and Statesmen,’ which it represents - the ‘Old Dominion,’ where liberty and independence were born. 

 

South Carolina (1966)

I salute the flag of South Carolina and pledge to the Palmetto State love, loyalty and faith. 

 

Mississippi (adopted 1972)

I salute the flag of Mississippi and the sovereign state for which it stands with pride in her history and achievements and with confidence in her future under the guidance of Almighty God. 

 

Louisiana (adopted 1981)

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the state of Louisiana and to the motto for which it stands: A state, under God, united in purpose and ideals, confident that justice shall prevail for all of those abiding here.

 

Tennessee (1st pledge adopted 1981, 2nd pledge adopted 2006)

1) Three white stars on a field of blue, God keep them strong and ever true. It is with pride and love that we salute the Flag of Tennessee. 

2) Flag of Tennessee, I salute thee. To thee I pledge my allegiance with my affection, my service and my life. 

 

Alabama (adopted 2001)

Flag of Alabama I salute thee. To thee I pledge my allegiance, my service, and my life. 

 

North Carolina (adopted 2007)

I salute the flag of North Carolina and pledge to the Old North State love, loyalty, and faith.

Before moving on to the rest of the states that have a pledge to their state flag, I have a few comments about these. 

• I cannot believe that people in Tennessee and Alabama are pledging their LIFE to their state. That seems extreme, to say the least. 
• Mississippi's pledge refers to the state as "her." Is that a thing? I know boats are traditionally female, but states?
• Virginia's pledge desperately needs a copy editor. 
• North Carolina's pledge is an exact copy of South Carolina's. I guess I'm ok with that, given that South Carolina has my favorite of the 10 pledges and they're both Carolinas and all. 
• It is so strange that Tennessee adopted a second pledge without retiring the first pledge. It's also strange that the first one starts with a rhyme. 

Here are the other seven states that have adopted a pledge to their state flag. As with the former Confederate states, they are listed in the order in which they adopted the pledge. 

Rhode Island (adopted 1910) 

I pledge allegiance to our State Flag, and to the Republic of which Rhode Island forms a part; one Union inseparable, with honor and reverence for both State and Nation. 

 

New Mexico (adopted 1963)

I salute the flag of the state of New Mexico, the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among united cultures.

Michigan (adopted 1972)

I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, 2 beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal. 

 

Oklahoma (adopted 1982)

I salute the flag of the State of Oklahoma. Its symbols of peace unite all people.

South Dakota (adopted 1987) 

I pledge loyalty and support to the flag and State of South Dakota, land of sunshine, land of infinite variety. 

 

Kentucky (adopted 2000)

I pledge allegiance to the Kentucky flag, and to the Sovereign State for which it stands, one Commonwealth, blessed with diversity, natural wealth, beauty, and grace from on High.

Ohio (adopted 2002)

I salute the flag of the state of Ohio and pledge to the Buckeye State respect and loyalty.

Thoughts on this group of pledges: 

• Rhode Island's pledge, the first, is the only one to mention the Nation. 
• Michigan's pledge could use editing, as it is quite cumbersome. Also, note that "steel" and "ideal" rhyme, but the phrases they're in have radically different rhythms. 
• Um, Kentucky? You are not a sovereign state. 
• I love the pledges of both New Mexico and Oklahoma. Both of them "salute" the flag (rather than pledge anything) and both reference unity amongst their people. 

It's your turn to weigh in! Let me know in the comments what you think about these state pledges, either in general or specifically. What are your favorites and least favorites? Should state flag pledges even be a thing? 

The Average Color of US State Flags

Are you familiar with Terrible Maps? Most of the maps are indeed terrible (and thus hilarious) but some of the maps are not terrible at all (and thus very interesting). This is a recent map from the latter category:

As you can see, this map shows the average colo(u)r of US state flags. The idea of an average color is a bit odd, particularly when you think about distinctive flags like those of Arizona and Maryland showing up as shades of brown. But look at the way that Washington and New Mexico pop amongst the sea of blues and violets. The point of a flag is to be distinctive and immediately identifiable. 

I thought it would be fun to see how my ranking of the best and worst state flags matches up with their average color. I ranked the flags before Minnesota adopted a much better flag, so on the map below, you'll find it labeled with rest of the Top Contenders (smily hearts) and not with the Bottom of the Pack (frowny faces). 

There is definitely a correlation between my favorite state flags and how unique their average color is. Similarly, the numerous states with a state seal on a navy background (and basically the same average color) can never achieve the primary purpose of a flag: to be distinctive and immediately identifiable. The correlation isn't perfect, but it's there. 

I recommend following Terrible Maps on Facebook or the platform of your choice. There's also a book. Outdiana. Hehe. 

Terrible Maps (affiliate link)

I'm a big fan of combining hilarity and cartography. I'm glad I'm not the only one. 

Minnesota and North Carolina Craft Stick Flag Coasters

As promised, here are two more coasters featuring state flags. Today I'm sharing coasters featuring the flags of Minnesota and North Carolina. I'm especially happy to share the Minnesota project, since it is the most recently adopted of the 50 state flags. (Maine, I'm still disappointed.) Affiliate links below.   

 

Minnesota and North Carolina Flag Coasters

Materials: 

• 7 standard size (4.5") craft sticks
• painter's tape
• acrylic paint (Minnesota: navy, light blue / North Carolina: navy, red, white)
• colored pencils
• Apple Barrel Paint Pens (Minnesota: white / North Carolina: yellow, white)
• Outdoor Mod Podge
• tacky glue
• 3 mini (2.5") craft sticks

Steps (Minnesota): 

Arrange seven standard size craft sticks on a piece of painter's tape. Use a ruler and pencil to draw lines to mark the Minnesota-shaped dark blue field. Paint the field navy and the rest of the area light blue. When the paint is dry, remove the sticks from the tape and paint the edges. They will show through in your finished coaster. The back won't show, so painting that is optional. Let the paint dry. Return the sticks to the painter's tape. 

I used a white colored pencil to freehand the 8-pointed star, but it would have been infinitely easier to print and cut a template, then trace that. Use a white paint pen to fill in the star. 

When the paint is dry, seal the sticks with Outdoor Mod Podge and let that dry completely. 

Arrange three mini craft sticks vertically on your work surface and add glue. One by one, transfer the painted craft sticks onto this base. 

Steps (North Carolina): 

Arrange seven standard size craft sticks on a piece of painter's tape. Paint the left third of the sticks navy blue. Paint the right two-thirds of the top three sticks red and the bottom three sticks white. The middle stick is split, half red and half white. I recommend labeling the sections in pencil to help you. 

Remove the sticks from the painter's tape and paint the edges, as these will show. When the paint is dry, return the sticks to the painter's tape. 

It took quite a bit of trial and error to figure out the best way to do the details on this flag. I suggested starting with the N☆C, using yellow and white paint pens. Use the yellow paint pen to draw the banners above and below. When the paint is 100% completely dry, add the text using a ballpoint pen. 

Seal the sticks with Outdoor Mod Podge and let that dry completely. 

Arrange three mini craft sticks vertically on your work surface and add glue. One by one, transfer the painted craft sticks onto this base. 

You may have noticed that I didn't make coasters from amongst the Excellent state flags for crafting but instead chose flags from the Acceptable group. They were more challenging than I'd expected, so I'd steer clear of anything in the Terrible group. I have high hopes that at least some of them will update their flags eventually, like Minnesota did. 

Georgia and Indiana Craft Stick Flag Coasters

I'm trying to diversify the set of crafts I have made inspired by each state, so that people who visit each individual state's page have a wider variety of projects to choose from. I decided to make four more craft stick coasters, similar to the United States flag coaster and California's Bear Flag Coaster that I've previously posted. Today I'm sharing coasters featuring the flags of Georgia and Indiana. Affiliate links below.   

 

Georgia and Indiana Flag Coasters

Materials: 

• 7 standard size (4.5") craft sticks
• painter's tape
• acrylic paint (Georgia: navy, red, white / Indiana: navy)
• colored pencils
• Apple Barrel Paint Pens (Georgia: yellow, white / Indiana: yellow)
• Outdoor Mod Podge
• tacky glue
• 3 mini (2.5") craft sticks

Steps (Georgia): 

Arrange seven standard size craft sticks on a piece of painter's tape. Paint the sticks with a blue field and red, white, and red stripes. I recommend using a ruler and pencil to draw the lines and label the sections before painting. 

When the paint is dry, remove the sticks from the tape and paint the edges. They will show through in your finished coaster. The back won't show, so painting that is optional. Let the paint dry. 

Return the sticks to the painter's tape. Use a white colored pencil to draw where the stars will go and a yellow colored pencil to draw a simplified version of the coat of arms. Trace over each with paint pens. 

When the paint is dry, seal the sticks with Outdoor Mod Podge and let that dry completely. 

Arrange three mini craft sticks vertically on your work surface and add glue. One by one, transfer the painted craft sticks onto this base. 

Steps (Indiana): 

Paint seven standard size craft sticks navy blue. Be sure to paint the edges, as these will show. When the paint is dry, line up the sticks on a piece of painter's tape. 

Print a copy of the Indiana flag, sized to 4.5" x 3" (the approximate size of the finished coaster. Scribble on the back of the design with a white colored pencil. Place the printed flag, correct side up, on the taped craft sticks. Trace the basic lines of the design and put a dot where each star goes. This will transfer white guide lines to the navy-painted sticks. 

Trace over each of the lines with a yellow paint pen, then draw stars over each dot. Use a very sharp yellow colored pencil to write INDIANA near the top. 

When the paint is dry, seal the sticks with Outdoor Mod Podge and let that dry completely. 

Arrange three mini craft sticks vertically on your work surface and add glue. One by one, transfer the painted craft sticks onto this base. 

Tomorrow I'll share the other two coasters I made. 

A New (Old) State Flag for Maine?

Here in the US, we just had national, state, and local elections. Many of the state and local contests went the way I hoped. As for the national results... well, I don't even want to think about it, let alone talk about it. What I do want to talk about is one of Maine's state referendums. On Election Day, Mainers voted on this question: "Do you favor making the former state flag, replaced as the official flag of the State in 1909 and commonly known as the Pine Tree Flag, the official flag of the State?" 

I was hopeful they would vote yes. The current state flag is one of many state flags that features the state seal on a navy blue background. These flags are hard to differentiate from each other, are not especially attractive or attention-getting, and are difficult for crafting. Maine had the chance to vote in a flag with simple, eye-catching images (a single star and a pine tree). It would have been the only flag in the US with a buff background, making it immediately identifiable. And because it is the former flag of the state, nobody could complain about "erasing history" like you see in ignorant comments left online when other states have adopted new flags. I expected the referendum to pass. It did not. 

This is the current state flag of Maine:

The is the Pine Tree Flag, that would have replaced the current flag:

How would you have voted? Or how did you vote if you are a resident of Maine? Let me know in the comments. 

Minnesota Has a New State Flag

Minnesota has a new state flag!

I'm a bit late with the news; Minnesota's new state flag was officially adopted in May. Although, I did mention a new state flag was coming back in November when I shared my ranking of the Best and Worst State Flags. I mentioned it again in March, when I talked about the Best and Worst State Flags for Crafting. 

I really like this new flag. It is a HUGE improvement over the previous flag. I like the symbolism, the color choices, and the simplicity. It is distinct from all over state flags, and thus easily recognized as it's flying. It is a much easier flag to draw, benefitting school children and craft bloggers like myself who design state-inspired crafts. 

I've updated my website to use the new flag. This means changing the photo in four places: my Guide to US Travel; the page with travel recommendations and craft ideas inspired by Minnesota; and the navigation pages that are alphabetically on either side of Minnesota, which include Michigan and Mississippi. 

I try to keep up with any proposed flag changes that are working their way through their state legislatures. By September, Illinois will have up to 10 potential new flag designs to consider, but we won't see a new flag (if chosen) until 2025 at the earliest. I was hopeful that Michigan might adopt a new flag in 2024 or 2025, but there has been no action since the idea was last raised in April 2023. It had been brought up in 2021 with no action either, so I'm not particularly optimistic. There is a big push to change the Massachusetts flag; in May, the Senate proposed a budget item to change the Massachusetts flag, seal, and motto. The budget went to the governor on July 1, but I can't find anything more recent about its progress from there. If you've read this far in my blog post, you might be interested in checking out this site with ideas for redesigned flags. I really like some of them, but not the design for Massachusetts. There's potential though, with a little tweaking. 

Want to display the new Minnesota flag? I found some ideas for fans of the North Star State. Affiliate links below. 

    

                         Minnesota Garden Flag                   Minnesota Ornament                        Minnesota T-Shirt       

Decoupaged State Flag Heart Magnets

I still have a lot more National Scrapbook Day projects to share, but I wanted to show you a Mod Podge project first. Mod Podge is celebrating its 57th birthday this Friday, May 17. The Plaid Ambassadors are celebrating by using our favorite varieties of Mod Podge on a craft. I used Mod Podge Ultra (affiliate link here and throughout the post) to make state flag heart magnets for Washington, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Nebraska. Each of these states' flags features a design that would be way too difficult to paint like I did with the previous batch of flag magnets. Mod Podge to the rescue!

 

Decoupaged State Flag Heart Magnets

Materials: 

• salt dough hearts
• Folk Art paint
• images of state flags, printed small and trimmed to size
• Mod Podge Ultra
• magnet tape

Steps: 

Follow the instructions to make salt dough hearts. When they are completely dry, paint them to match the background color of the flag. If the flag you want to make has a white background (like Massachusetts does), be sure to paint it too, even though the salt dough is white. 

To make the images that you'll be decoupaging onto the hearts, find an image of the flag you're making and copy it. Shrink it to the desired size, then print and cut. 

When the paint is completely dry, protect your work surface (I used newspapers and a box I use for spraying). Place each heart onto a plastic lid or small container so that it is raised off the bottom surface. Follow the directions on the bottle to shake the Mod Podge and spray it onto the hearts. 

Place each cut-out onto the heart while the Mod Podge is still wet. Let it dry, then add another coat over the top. Add an extra coat when that one is dry. 

When the Mod Podge is completely dry, turn over each heart and add a strip of magnet tape. Now your magnets are ready to hang on the fridge. 

State Flag Wood Slice Ornaments

Crafting with friends is always better than crafting alone, so when Jonna came over we worked together to tackle my state craft goal, We brainstormed a bunch of ideas, then jumped right in with these wood slice ornaments, inspired by state flags. I made Alabama, Arizona, and New Mexico. Jonna made Colorado and Alaska. Affiliate links below. 

State Flag Wood Slice Ornaments

Materials: 

• wood slice ornaments
• centering ruler
• Folk Art paint
• twine
• Ultra Fine Sharpie - red (New Mexico)

Steps: 

Use a pencil and a centering ruler to sketch your design on the wood slice. Here I'm working out the stripes on the Arizona flag. If I were teaching this to students, I'd use the opportunity to pull out the protractors and practice those skills. 

Color your design with acrylic paint. Getting into those small areas was challenging with Arizona. I did all the yellow stripes, then all the red stripes. I filled in the blue area, then finished with the orange star.  

When the paint is dry, add a loop of twine so you can hang your ornament. 

For Alabama, I wanted more of a whitewashed look so that it was obvious the base was a wood slice. I watered down the white paint before painting it onto the ornament, then set it aside to dry. Apparently I watered the paint down too much, because the ornament swelled and cracked. However, once it was completely dry, the swelling went away and the crack is barely visible. You can see it around 4:00 below if you look carefully. I used undiluted red paint to add the stripes, then added the twine hanger.   

I used the same whitewashing technique for my third ornament, New Mexico. At this point, I hadn't seen that Alabama had swollen and cracked, so I didn't adjust the amount of water. This ornament has a much more visible crack, located at 7:00. I like that the woodgrain shows through, so if I were to do this again, I’d still want to do a whitewash. (Yellowwash?) I would experiment with using either less water... or a whole lot more water. I’m thinking that soaking the entire wood slice first (versus just wetting the front) might let it swell evenly and prevent cracking, but I’m not sure. Here is my finished ornament.

Jonna started with Colorado. I think she used a pen cap and a paint bottle as tracers for the circles. In the classroom, I'd pull out the compasses to give the kids practice. Kids LOVE compasses.  

This is Jonna's second ornament, Alaska. After the blue background dried, she used the back of the paintbrush to make the yellow stars. 

There aren't many other state flags that would work well for this project. Most of the rest have tiny details or type that would be way too difficult to paint without drastic modifications. For our next project, Jonna and I switched to markers, which let us make projects with more fine detail. I'll share those tomorrow. 

Designing Kid-Friendly Crafts Based on Every State

One of my Creative Resolutions for 2019 was to design at least two crafts for each of the 50 states. In retrospect, that goal was ridiculously ambitious. By the end of the year, I had at least two crafts for only 28 states, one craft for 19 states, and 3 states with no craft at all. In fact, it took me until March 2021 before I finally met the goal of having at least two kid-friendly crafts for each of the 50 states. 

I've continued to add to my collection of state-themed crafts, but not in any sort of organized or goal-oriented way. Then randomly, in December 2023, I decided that one of my 2024 goals should be to bring the total number of kid-friendly crafts for each state up to at least four. It's crazy, but it didn't occur to me to check to see how many crafts each state had before setting that goal, leaving me with no idea whether or not it was reasonable. Not only that, it took me until now to actually find out how many crafts I'd need to design in the next eight months in order to meet the goal. 

Fortunately, when I made a chart, I discovered I only need 11 crafts to meet my goal. There are 7 states that need one craft each and 2 states that need two each.  

Of course, there's a reason I've managed to create 10 or more crafts for ten of the states. For states like Hawaii, there are so many things that make you think of the state: volcanos, pineapple, sand castles, ukuleles, sharks, and tropical fish, just to name a few. Can you name six things that instantly bring Missouri to mind? I can't, despite thoroughly enjoying our time in the Show-Me State.   

"But Cindy," you might be saying. "You have nine crafts for Ohio, which is certainly not 4.5 times as distinctive as Missouri. There must be another factor." To which I say, you are correct. Ohio has done a great job choosing craft-friendly state symbols. Between their state bird (cardinal) and their state insect (ladybug), I have five crafts. Same with Minnesota. Their state fruit (apple) and their state insect (monarch butterfly) account for seven of their eight crafts. 

On Friday, I wrote about which states have craft-friendly state flags. With the exception of California, I haven't done a lot of crafts featuring state flags, so that's an untapped source for inspiration. Let's see how many of the states I need have craft-friendly flags. 

Unfortunately, only Rhode Island has a good flag for crafting. Three states in my "needs crafts" section have acceptable flags for crafting, and five have terrible flags for inspiring kids crafts. 

In addition to state flags, I have a bunch of other ideas for state-themed crafts. While my primary goal will be to boost the nine states without at least four crafts, I'll be working on crafts for other states too. Eventually, I'd like teachers or homeschool parents to be able to go to any of my state pages and find a wide variety of inspiration for crafts based on their home state to do with their students. 

The Best (and Worst) State Flags... for Crafting

Back in November, I shared my thoughts about the best and worst state flags. There was one clear winner and a 10-state tie for worst flag. Today I'm going to rank the flags again, but using a criterion I didn't even consider last time: whether or not the flag makes a good craft project for 4th graders. 

Students in the United States generally study their home state in fourth grade. They learn about their state's history, demographics, resources, and major industries. They learn about their state symbols, including their state flag. When I taught 4th grade, we always did at least one craft related to California's bear flag. Fortunately, our flag does not have any nudity, like a certain state that will remain unnamed (but linked!). 

I'm going to start by placing the flags into three groups: Excellent for Crafting, Acceptable for Crafting, and Terrible for Crafting. To make it into the top group, the flag should have bold, clear shapes and designs that are feasible to replicate in a variety of media. It's ok to have a challenging element (like California's grizzly bear), but no tiny details that are difficult to see unless you have a full-size flag in front of you. And no subject matter that would violate school policies (and/or generate a lot of parent complaints). It is also ok for the flag to be ugly or ridiculously plain. Plain designs make it possible to use more challenging art media. For example, the Alabama flag would make a challenging, but fun, weaving project for kids. 

Flags in the middle group have more detail and/or more challenging subject matter. For example, drawing George Washington is not easy, but most Washington 4th graders could successfully make state flag artwork if the teacher did a directed drawing lesson. Flags may have a lot of small text. The crafting possibilities for flags in this group are limited to media that, like colored pencils, can handle small details. Flags in this category may need to be simplified for crafting, like removing the state seal from the center of the bison on Wyoming's flag. 

The flags in the bottom group all featured detailed state seals. Unlike Wyoming's flag, these states' flags don't have a distinct design if you were to remove the seal. 

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State Flags that are Excellent for Crafting

    

    

    

    

    

State Flags that are Acceptable for Crafting 

          

    

    

State Flags that are Terrible for Crafting

    

    

              

            

So we have 15 flags that are great for crafting, 12 that are acceptable, and a whopping 23 that are terrible. There is some good news though. A state with one the worst flags will jump up to join the top group in May. Another state is considering reverting to a previous (better) flag. Two more states (Massachusetts and Illinois) are in the planning states to improve their terrible flags as well. For now though, we have a 23-way tie for the worst flag for crafting. 

As for the best state flag for crafting, it's not as cut-and-dried as selecting the best overall flag was. Each of the flags in the top category would work great with some media and not with others. There is one state flag which lends itself to crafts involving construction paper, colored pencils, crayons, markers, paint, embroidery, and stamping on a 4th grade level.... while not being ugly (sorry Alabama). New Mexico is my winner. 

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let me know in the comments if you agree with my rankings or if I got them wrong.