1. Excelsior
   It never sleeps!
2. Ad astra per aspera
   Deo gratiam habeamus

New York state's motto, "Excelsior," means "ever upward." The one-word adage suggests that excellence is the state's prime attribute. Yale University's Brasher Doubloon is a rare coin that features the motto on its obverse side.

1. Fatti maschii, parole femine
   Union, justice and confidence
2. Wisdom, justice and moderation
   Dirigo

"Fatti maschii, parole femine" is an old Italian phrase that means "manly deeds, womanly words." Marland's controversial adage was borrowed from the family crest of the Calverts, who established the U.S. state.

1. Liberty and prosperity
   Live free or die
2. Wisdom, Justice, Moderation
   Friendship

Starting in January 1999, the U.S. Treasury Department commenced production of new U.S. state quarters. Georgia's approved design featured an oak tree and the state's maxim, "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation."

1. Equal rights
   Crescit eundo
2. Esse quam videri
   Dirigo

Maine's healthcare plan is named after the state's motto, "Dirigo," which is Latin for "I lead." In 2003, Maine made a shift to universal health coverage that was crafted to grant access to some 180,000 residents who could not afford coverage.

1. Excelsior
   Freedom and Unity
2. Friendship
   Sic semper tyrannis

In 1989, the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation publicized a new design for the state's license plate to include the phrase, "The Friendship State." Many Texans quickly rejected the new illustration.

1. Montani semper liberi
   Union, Justice, Confidence
2. Agriculture, Health, Commerce
   Dum spiro spero

Louisiana adopted its state flag in 1912, but the banner had been used informally for many years before that time. The flag features the state bird, the pelican, as well as the state's platitude, "Union, Justice, Confidence."

1. Labor omnia vincit
   Esse quam videri
2. Liberty and union now and forever, one and inseparable
   Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice

North Dakota was admitted to the Union as the 37th state. The western meadowlark is the state bird, the wild prairie rose is the state flower and the North Dakota Hymn is the state song.

1. State sovereignty, national union
   The star of the North
2. Esto perpetua
   Labor omnia vincit

The Idaho State Historical Society honors organizations and individuals with the Esto Perpetua Award in recognition of public service, philanthropy or volunteer work that benefits the preservation of Idaho's heritage. The awards program began in 1999.

1. Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem
   Liberty and independence
2. The crossroads of America
   Ditat Deus

A rough translation for Massachusetts' state motto is "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." The phrase is borrowed from mid-17th century English soldier Algernon Sydney.

1. Eureka
   Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain
2. All for our country
   Ad astra per aspera

Nevada is nicknamed the "Battle Born State.". Every October 31, Nevada celebrates "Nevada Day" to commemorate statehood. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting it as the 36th state into the Union.

1. Dirigo
   Fatti maschi, parole femmine
2. Montani Semper Liberi
   Salus populi suprema lex esto

In 1863, French-born American artist Joseph H. Diss Debar proposed the state motto for West Virginia, which means "Mountaineers Are Always Free." Debar also created the design for the state's seal.

1. Live free or die
   Esse quam videri
2. Hope
   Equal Rights

Wyoming's state motto, "Equal Rights," served as an advertisement to attract more women to the state. As a territory, Wyoming did not have enough people to petition for statehood.

1. Oro y plata
   All for our country
2. Dum Spiro Spero
   To be, rather than to seem

In 2015, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles introduced the new design for the state's license plate that includes the English version of the state's motto, "While I breathe, I hope." The state retired the old tag amid complaints that it promoted the school colors of Clemson University.

1. Industry
   The Union
2. Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable
   With God, All Things Are Possible

In 2000, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, ruled that Ohio's motto, "With God, All Things Are Possible," referenced the Bible, and therefore was a violation of First Amendment rights. However, various federal courts allowed the state to retain the quote, ruling that since it did not name a specific God, it did not violate the First Amendment. The quote was borrowed from the New Testament in the Christian Bible.

1. Live Free or Die
   Dirigo
2. To the stars through adversity
   Let us give thanks to God

New Hampshire adopted its state motto, "Live Free or Die," in 1945. In 1970, the adage replaced the words, "Scenic New Hampshire," on the state's license plate. In 2006, state legislators resolved to include the saying on highway signage.

1. United we stand, divided we fall
   Nil sine numine
2. Hope
   Cum laude esta verte

The U.S. state of Colorado adopted its state flag on June 5, 1911. Then, in 1929, the General Assembly of Colorado specified that the red and blue colors of the state flag match the red and blue on the United States flag.

1. While I breathe, I hope
   Under God, the people rule
2. Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain
   Union, justice and confidence

Iowa adopted the motto when it joined the Union on December 28, 1846. The motto is also placed on the state's official seal and it's said it was inspired by the difficulties Iowa faced when it tried to establish itself as a state.

1. Liberty and Independence
   By valor and arms
2. The star of the North
   I direct

The blue background of Delaware's state flag symbolizes General George Washington's uniform. The state's bird is the blue hen chicken, and poultry, corn and wheat are the state's biggest exports.

1. Eureka
   Deo gratiam habeamus
2. Nothing without Providence
   Mi casa, su casa

Kentucky's Latin motto translates in English to "Let us be grateful to God." The state's more conventional motto is "United we stand, divided we fall. FUN FACT: The Chevrolet Corvette is Kentucky's official sports car.

1. Virtue, Liberty, Independence
   Hope
2. Friendship
   Hard work conquers all things

The Keystone State's U.S. Mint quarter also includes as a background the state's keystone outline. "Commonwealth" is the name of the statue propped on top of the Pennsylvania Capitol dome in Harrisburg.

1. North to the Future
   Qui Transtulit Sustinet
2. State sovereignty, national union
   It grows as it goes

SustiNet is the name of Connecticut's health care plan that the state's legislature passed in 2009. The English translation of the state's Latin motto is "He Who Transplanted Still Sustains."

1. Oro y plata
   Under God the people rule
2. Freedom and Unity
   Salsa es buena

"Gold and silver" is the English translation of Montana's Spanish motto. The state's phrase is in sync with its rich mining history. For a time, the state reaped millions of silver quarters by way of its​ video gaming industry in the 1980s.

1. Ua mau ke eo o ka aina i ka pono
   Mountaineers are always free
2. Forward
   All for our country

Translated into English, the Hawaiian state phrase means "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." Only 171,214 acres of the 4 million total acres that comprise the state's six main islands are designated for urban use.

1. By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
   Crossroads of America
2. Let us give thanks to God
   To the stars through adversity

Although the state of Indiana has more miles of interstate highway than any other state, Indiana has struggled to repair neglected roadway and other infrastructure in the past. In 1987, the Build Indiana Council was launched to support rehabilitation projects.

1. Ad astra per aspera
   The people rule
2. He who transplanted sustains
   Virtute et armis

"By virtue and arms" is Mississippi's English-version motto. The state doesn't have a football team, boasts 359 miles of shoreline, seceded from the Union once and is the birthplace of Elvis Presley.

1. The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness
   I direct
2. Salus populi suprema lex esto
   Manly deeds, womanly words

"The welfare of the people should be the supreme law" is the English translation of the Latin phrase. In 1987, Missouri's General Assembly approved the fiddle as the official state musical instrument.

1. Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain
   Union, justice and confidence
2. North to the Future
   Esse quam videri

Alaska adopted "North to the Future" as its state motto in 1967. One hundred years prior to this, the Alaskan Territory was purchased by the United States from Russia for $7.2 million.

1. God enriches
   Nothing without Providence
2. Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice
   The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness

In the state of Michigan, hunting the white-tailed deer, the state's official game mammal, generates several hundred million dollars in state revenue yearly. Michigan's Latin phrase means "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."

1. Equality Before the Law
   Live free or die
2. Industry
   Alki

The winning state quarter design was of a wagon with the Chimney Rock landmark in the background. Another losing quarter illustration depicted the State Capitol and the phrase, "Home of the Unicameral."

1. Thus always to tyrants
   Civilitas Successit Barbaruin
2. Forward
   Equal rights

In the mid-18th century, University of Wisconsin C​hancellor John Lathrop wished to use the Wisconsin Territory's Latin phrase, "Civilitas Successit Barbaruin," which means "Civilization Succeeds Barbarism." Before setting the Latin phrase in stone, Dewey and Ryan chose the "Forward" axiom instead.

1. Gold and silver
   The star of the North
2. By valor and arms
   Stella quarta decima fulgeat

Vermont's Latin motto went into effect on July 1, 2015. It means "May the fourteenth star shine bright" and used to appear on the state's coins. Vermont is the 14th state of the Union.

1. By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty
   Labor Omnia Vincit
2. To the stars through adversity
   Oro y plata

"Labor Conquers All Things" is the meaning of Oklahoma's motto, which the state supposedly had not legally adopted. The phrase was incorporated into Oklahoma's state seal in 1907.

1. By and By
   Ever Upward
2. To be, rather than to seem
   While I breathe, I hope

"Alki" is an indigenous word that also implies the meanings "sooner or later" or "in a little while." The ambitious early settlers of Seattle, Washington, named their territory "New York-Alki."

1. Hope
   Under God the People Will Rule
2. Friendship
   Sic semper tyrannis

Florida borrowed its state motto from the United States' national adage, "In God We Trust." South Dakota's state flag also includes the motto-bearing state seal, as well as the year it achieved statehood, 1889.

1. Ditat Deus
   It grows as it goes
2. All for Arizona
   Union United

Ohio's motto, "With God, all things are possible," was restored in 2001 after a federal court ruled that the motto held more historical significance than religious meaning. The English translation of Arizona's Latin motto is "God enriches."​