Flag of Wisconsin
Encyclopedia
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
of the state of Wisconsin is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms
Seal of Wisconsin
The Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin is a seal used by the secretary of state to authenticate all of the governor’s official acts, except laws...
. Originally designed in 1863 when regiments from Wisconsin wanted a flag for battlefield use, it wasn't until 1913 that state statutes specified the design of the state flag.
In order to distinguish it from the many other blue U.S. state flags, Wisconsin's flag was modified in 1979 to add "Wisconsin" and "1848", the year Wisconsin was admitted to the Union
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association
North American Vexillological Association
The North American Vexillological Association is a membership organization devoted to "vexillology as the scientific study of flags." Flag researchers, designers, collectors, activists, merchants, and other enthusiasts from the United States and Canada meet annually at NAVA meetings in order to...
(NAVA) ranked Wisconsin's flag among the bottom ten flags in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territory flags, placing it 65th out of the 72. The NAVA stated that about half of U.S. states used blue fields making them difficult to distinguish and the survey ranked flags with words and complex seals the lowest. The NAVA survey "favored strong, simple, distinctive flags" and ranked "seal-on-a-bedsheet" type flags the lowest.
See also
- State of Wisconsin
- Symbols of the state of Wisconsin
- Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin
- Symbols of the state of Wisconsin