WISCONSIN STATE SYMBOLS


  The coat of arms contains a sailor with a coil of rope and a "yeoman"
(usually considered a
miner) with a pick, who jointly represent labor on water and land. These
2 figures support a quar-
tered shield with symbols for agriculture (plow), mining (pick and shovel),
manufacturing (arm
and hammer) and navigation (anchor). Centered on the shield is a small U.S.
coat of arms and
the U.S. motto, "E pluribus unum" ("one out of many"
referring to the union of U.S. states), to
symbolize Wisconsin's loyalty to the Union. At the base, a cornucopia, or
horn of plenty, stands
for prosperity and abundance, while a pyramid of 13 lead ingots represents
mineral wealth and
the 13 original United States. Centered over the shield is a badger, the
state animal, and the state
motto "Forward" appears on a banner above the badger.
  Motto: "Forward". The motto, "Forward", was introduced
in the 1851 revision of the state
seal and coat of arms. Governor Dewey had asked University of Wisconsin Chancellor
John H.
Lathrop to design a new seal. It is alleged the motto was selected during
a chance meeting be-
tween Governor Dewey and Edward Ryan (later chief justice of the Wisconsin
Supreme Court)
when the governor went to New York City, carrying the Lathrop design to the
engraver. Ryan
objected to the Latin motto, "Excelsior", which Lathrop proposed.
According to tradition,
Dewey and Ryan sat down on the steps of a Wall Street bank, designed a new
seal and chose "For-
ward" on the spot. It is officially recognized in Section 1.07 of the
statutes.
  Flag. An official design for Wisconsin's state flag was initially provided
by the legislature in
1863. Noting that a flag had not been adopted and that Civil War regiments
in the field were re-
questing flags, the legislature formed a 5-member joint select committee
to report "a description
for a proper state flag." This action resulted in the adoption of 1863
Joint Resolution 4, which
provided a design for a state flag that was substantially the same as the
regimental flags already
in use by Wisconsin troops.
  It was not until 1913, however, that language concerning flag specifications
was added to the
Wisconsin Statutes. Chapter 111, Laws of 1913, created a state flag provision,
specifying a dark
blue flag with the state coat of arms centered on each side. That provision
has become Section
1.08 of the statutes.
  The 1913 design remained unchanged until the enactment of Chapter 286,
Laws of 1979,
which culminated years of legislative efforts to alter or replace Wisconsin's
flag so it would be
more distinctive and recognizable. The most significant changes made by the
1979 act were ad-
ding the word "Wisconsin" and the statehood date "1848"
in white letters, centered respectively
above and below the coat of arms.
  Song: "On, Wisconsin!" The music for "On, Wisconsin!"
was composed in 1909 by William
T. Purdy with the idea of entering it in a Minnesota contest for the creation
of a new university
football song. Instead, Carl Beck persuaded him to dedicate the song to the
University of Wis-
consin football team, and Beck collaborated with the composer by writing
the lyrics. The song
was introduced at the Madison campus in November 1909. It was later acclaimed
by world-fa-
mous composer and bandmaster John Philip Sousa as the best college song he
had ever heard.
  Lyrics more in keeping with the purposes of a state song were subsequently
written in 1913
by J. S. Hubbard, editor of the Beloit Free Press, and Judge Charles D. Rosa.
Hubbard and Rosa
were among the delegates from many states convened in 1913 to commemorate
the centennial
of the Battle of Lake Erie. Inspired by the occasion, they provided new,
more solemn words to
the already well-known university football song.
  Although "On, Wisconsin!" was widely recognized as Wisconsin's
song, the state did not offi-
cially adopt it until 1959. Representative Harold W. Clemens discovered that
Wisconsin was one
of only 10 states without an official song. He introduced a bill to give
the song the status he
thought it deserved. On discovering that many different lyrics existed, an
official text for the first
verse was incorporated in Chapter 170, Laws of 1959, and it is contained
in Section 1.10 of the
statutes.
   Tree: sugar maple (Acer saccharum). A favorite state tree was first selected
by a vote of
Wisconsin school children in 1893. The maple tree won, followed by oak, pine
and elm. Another
vote was conducted in 1948 among school children by the Youth Centennial
Committee. In that
election, the sugar maple again received the most votes, followed by white
pine and birch. The


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