Kansas State Seal

Great Seal of the State of Kansas

Kansas Seal

Adopted on May 25, 1861.

The Great seal of the state of Kansas was adopted on May 25, 1861.

The great seal of the state of Kansas, procured by the secretary of state, as required by the joint resolution approved May twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one (which resolution was published as chapter seventy-eight [*], Laws of eighteen hundred sixty-one), shall be and remain the great seal of this state. Such seal is described in said joint resolution as follows:

"The east is represented by a rising sun, in the right-hand corner of the seal; to the left of it, commerce is represented by a river and a steamboat; in the foreground, agriculture is represented as the basis of the future prosperity of the state, by a settler's cabin and a man plowing with a pair of horses; beyond this is a train of ox-wagons, going west; in the background is seen a herd of buffalo, retreating, pursued by two Indians, on horseback; around the top is the motto, 'Ad astra per aspera,' and beneath a cluster of thirty-four stars. The circle is surrounded by the words, "Great seal of the state of Kansas. January 29, 1861."

Kansas Great Seal

The design for the Great Seal of Kansas was submitted by John J. Ingalls, a state senator from Atchison. Ingalls also proposed the state motto, "Ad astra per aspera," is Latin for "To the stars through difficulties." .

The Great Seal of the State of Kansas was established by a joint resolution adopted by the Kansas Legislature May 25, 1861.

The state seal centered on the flag tells the history of Kansas and his figures representing pioneer life. The seal contains:

  • Landscape with a rising sun (the east)
  • River and steamboat (commerce)
  • Settler's cabin and a man plowing a field (agriculture) [foreground]
  • Wagon train heading west (American expansion)
  • Indians hunting American Bison (the buffalo are fleeing from the Indians)
  • Cluster of 34 stars (top of the seal)
  • State motto "Ad Astra per Aspera" - Latin : "To the Stars through Difficulties" (above the stars)

The seal is used on the Flag of the State of Kansas.

First Session of the Kansas Legislature in 1861

The First Session of the Kansas Legislature in 1861 provided for the creation of the Great Seal, described as follows:
"The East is represented by a rising sun, in the right hand corner of the seal; to the left of it, Commerce is represented by a river and a steamboat; in the foreground, agriculture is represented as the basis of the future prosperity of the state, by a settler's cabin and a man plowing with a pair of horses; beyond this is a train of ox-wagons, going west; in the background is seen a heard of buffalo, retreating, pursued by two indians on horseback; around the top is the motto: 'Ad astra per aspera,' beneath a cluster of thirty-four stars. The circle is surrounded by the words: Great Seal of the State of Kansas. January 29, 1861." 

Kansas Constitution

Article One: Executive
Section 9. State seal and commissions.
There shall be a seal of the state, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially, and which shall be the great seal of Kansas. All commissions shall be issued in the name of the state of Kansas; and shall be signed by the governor, countersigned by the secretary of state, and sealed with the great seal

Kansas Seal Law

Chapter 75: State Departments; Public Officers And Employees
Article 2: Great Seal

Statute 75-201: Great seal of the state of Kansas.
The great seal of the state of Kansas, procured by the secretary of state, as required by the joint resolution approved May twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one (which resolution was published as chapter seventy-eight [*], Laws of eighteen hundred sixty-one), shall be and remain the great seal of this state. Such seal is described in said joint resolution as follows: The east is represented by a rising sun, in the right-hand corner of the seal; to the left of it, commerce is represented by a river and a steamboat; in the foreground, agriculture is represented as the basis of the future prosperity of the state, by a settler's cabin and a man plowing with a pair of horses; beyond this is a train of ox-wagons, going west; in the background is seen a herd of buffalo, retreating, pursued by two Indians, on horseback; around the top is the motto, "Ad astra per aspera," and beneath a cluster of thirty-four stars. The circle is surrounded by the words, "Great seal of the state of Kansas. January 29, 1861."

History: L. 1879, ch. 166, § 15; March 20; R.S. 1923, 75-201.

 


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