View source for Seal of Kentucky

{{short description|Official government emblem of the U.S. state of Kentucky}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox coat of arms
|name             = Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
|image            = Seal of Kentucky.svg
|image_width      = 200
|middle           = 
|middle_width     = 
|middle_caption   = 
|lesser           = 
|lesser_width     = 
|lesser_caption   = 
|image2           = 
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|image3           = 
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|armiger          = Commonwealth of Kentucky
|year_adopted     = December 1792 (standardized 1962)
|crest            = 
|torse            = 
|shield           = 
|supporters       = 
|compartment      = 
|motto            = "United we stand, divided we fall"
|orders           = 
|other_elements   = 
|earlier_versions = 
|use              = 
}}
The '''Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky''' was adopted in December 1792. Since that time, it has undergone several revisions. The current seal depicts two men, one in buckskin, and the other in more formal dress. The men are facing each other and clasping hands. The outer ring of the seal is adorned with the words "[[Commonwealth of Kentucky]]", and within the inner circle is the state motto "[[United we stand, divided we fall]]." The official colors of the seal are blue and gold.<ref name=kdla>{{cite web |title=Kentucky's State Seal |url=http://kdla.ky.gov/resources/kyseal.htm |publisher=Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives |date=2005-05-03 |access-date=2007-07-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607194805/http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/kyseal.htm |archive-date=2007-06-07 }}</ref> A version of the seal appears on the [[flag of Kentucky]].

==History==
[[File:Kentucky state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg|thumb|255px|Kentucky state [[Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states|historical coat of arms]] (illustrated, 1876)]]
Provision for the creation of a seal for the [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] was made during the first session of the [[Kentucky General Assembly]].<ref name=preble>{{cite book |last=Preble |first=George Henry |title=Origin and History of the American Flag and of the Naval and Yacht-Club Signals, Seals, and Arms, and Principle National Songs of the United States with a but Chronicle of Symbols, Standards, Banners, and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations |publisher=Nicholas L. Brown |year=1917 |location=[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKAYAAAAIAAJ |pages=638–639}}</ref> On December 20, 1792, the Assembly passed an act, reading: "That the Governor be empowered and is hereby required to provide at the public charge a seal for this Commonwealth; and procure the same to be engraved with the following device, viz: Two friends embracing, with the name of the state over their heads and around about the following motto: United we stand, divided we fall."<ref name=preble />

According to [[John Brown (Kentucky politician, born 1757)|John Brown]], Kentucky's first [[United States Senate|Senator]], the original seal was to have depicted "two friends, in hunter's garb, their right hands clasped, their left resting on each other's shoulders, their feet on the verge of a precipice."<ref name=preble /> This depiction would represent a literal rendering of the state motto.<ref name=preble /> [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]] [[silversmith]] David Humphries was charged with designing the seal in 1793.<ref name=smith>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Michael |title=The story of our state seal |publisher=[[The Courier-Journal]] |date=2007-06-20 |access-date=2007-07-06 |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706201229|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130120061608/http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706201229|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-20}}</ref> Instead of hunting apparel, Humphries' version depicted two men in swallowtail coats, and instead of a handshake, the two friends share a full embrace.<ref name=kdla /> This original seal was destroyed in a fire that destroyed the state capitol in 1814.<ref name=kdla />

Because the description originally adopted by the General Assembly does not specify what the "two friends" should look like or how they should be embracing, several variants of the state seal were created subsequent to the destruction of the original. Different depictions of the seal have the friends outfitted in various clothing from coats and top hats to Roman [[toga]]s.<ref name=smith /> The embrace is shown as clasped hands, a hug, or a handshake combined with hands on one another shoulders. It has even been speculated that certain die-makers have intentionally designed strange and unnatural poses to represent that the two friends were drunk on Kentucky [[Bourbon whiskey|bourbon]] or were demonstrating a secret handshake or symbol from a fraternal order.<ref name=trout>{{cite news |last=Trout |first=Allen |title=Kentucky Can't Make Up Its Mind What the State Seal Should Show |publisher=[[The Courier-Journal]] |date=1952-08-28 |access-date=2007-07-06 |url=http://sos.ky.gov/executive/stateseal/statesealhistory.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229210435/http://sos.ky.gov/executive/stateseal/statesealhistory.htm |archive-date=2006-12-29 }}</ref>

In 1857, an anonymous artist was commissioned to paint the seals of the various states in the skylights in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]' chamber.<ref name=trout /> This artist's depiction showed one man in buckskin boots and a hat and another in formal attire.<ref name=trout /> The two are standing in front of a row of columns and wearing garments resembling togas as overcoats.<ref name=trout /> A 1952 article in ''[[The Courier-Journal]]'' opined that "They stand in a halfhearted embrace, as if each startled the other with his gesture."<ref name=trout />

One particularly odd-looking version of the seal had one of the friends joining his left hand to the other's right, which commissioner of conservation Henry Ward said made the two appear to be dancing an Irish jig.<ref name=smith /> In 1954, Ward asked [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]] native Ernie Giancola to redesign the seal. Using a neighbor as a model, Giancola created a more natural-looking handshake for the friends.<ref name=smith />

In 1962, the General Assembly further clarified the look of the seal to minimize variation in the future.<ref name=kdla /> They prescribed that the seal should depict "a pioneer meeting a gentleman in a swallowtail coat."<ref name=kdla />

The current version of the seal was designed by artist and former mayor of Hazard, Kentucky, Nan Gorman.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ket.org/living/town-hazard-kentucky/|title=Our Town: Hazard, Kentucky|date=2015-02-15|work=KET|access-date=2017-12-21|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/embracing-her-old-kentucky-home-elaine-chao-nan-gorman-099487|title=Embracing her old Kentucky home|work=POLITICO|access-date=2017-12-21}}</ref>

==Symbolism==
Popular belief claims that the buckskin-clad man on the left is [[Daniel Boone]], who was largely responsible for the exploration of Kentucky, and the man in the suit on the right is [[Henry Clay]], Kentucky's most famous statesman. However, the official explanation  is that the men represent all frontiersmen and statesmen, rather than any specific persons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sos.ky.gov/executive/stateseal/statesealhistory.htm |title=The Kentucky State Seal |last=Bryant |first=Ron |publisher=Kentucky Secretary of State |date=2005-04-21 |access-date=2007-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229210435/http://sos.ky.gov/executive/stateseal/statesealhistory.htm |archive-date=2006-12-29 }}</ref> The motto "United we stand, divided we fall" comes from the lyrics of "[[The Liberty Song]]", a patriotic song from the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.dickinson.edu/sundries/liberty-song-1768|title="The Liberty Song" (1768)|date=2005|website=Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections|publisher=Dickinson College}}</ref>

==Historical versions==
<gallery>
Seal of Kentucky (1812).png|The original seal of Kentucky from a document {{circa|1800}}
Seal of Kentucky (1884).png|Pre-1962 state seal, from the mid-1880s.
File:Seal of Kentucky used during the Civil War.jpg|A version of the seal of Kentucky used during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]
Seal-of-Kentucky-c.-1900.jpg|Pre-1962 state seal from the early 1900s.
Seal of Kentucky (1908).png|Pre-1962 state seal from the late 1900s.
Seal of Kentucky (1911).svg|Pre-1962 state seal used from the 1910s to the 1950s.
Seal of Kentucky (1936).png|Pre-1962 state seal from the mid-1930s.
Seal of Kentucky (1923).png|Pre-1962 seal
File:Seal of Kentucky (Confederate shadow government).svg|Seal used by the [[Confederate government of Kentucky]] during the Civil War
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|State seals of Kentucky }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090507131225/http://sos.ky.gov/executive/stateseal/ The Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky]
{{US_state_seals}}
{{Kentucky}}

[[Category:Symbols of Kentucky]]
[[Category:United States state seals|Kentucky]]