About This Quiz
All of the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) have a state motto (some adopted by an official state legislature, while others are adopted by the residents), And most also have a state nickname and a state slogan, too -- and sometimes, more than one per state. You might know your state's from its flag, seal or license plates. But how much do you know about the other 49 states?Texas' state motto has been simply Friendship since 1930.
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"The spirit of Massachusetts is the spirit of America, the spirit of the red, white, and blue ..." This is from a jingle for the Spirit of Massachusetts tourism campaign from the 1980s and is also the slogan on Massachusetts' license plates.
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While it's probably best known as the First State, Delaware is also known as the Blue Hen Chicken State, as their state bird is the Blue Hen Chicken. And while obscure, Uncle Sam's Pocket Handkerchief has been describing the state since the 1800s. Little Rhody, though, belongs to Rhode Island.
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While these are all great slogans, only one motto belongs to Indiana -- and that's The Hoosier State. The origins of "hoosier" are debated, but it's been in use since at least 1833, where it's used in John Finley's poem called The Hoosier's Nest.
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Michigan has a few different slogans, including the Great Lakes State, the Mitten State and the Wolverine State. But it's not the Land of Lakes state -- that's Minnesota.
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None of these three state nicknames are used much these days. Colorado has had a number of nicknames over the years and others that are no longer in current use include the Buffalo Plains State, Colorful Colorado, the Lead State and the Silver State.
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Live Free or Die, New Hampshire's state motto, was said in a toast by Revolutionary War hero (and New Hampshire resident) Gen. John Stark: Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils.
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Roughly one-third of Alaska lies above the Arctic Circle, and that means some very long daylight hours in the summertime. Fairbanks, for instance, has only four hours of sunlight on the winter solstice, but as many as 21 hours of sunlight on summer solstice (and Barrow is north enough to have sun for 24 hours on the summer solstice).
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Alabama, known as the Cotton State and the Yellowhammer State, is also known as the the Heart of Dixie. A good, yet unofficial, slogan based on its geographical location in the Southern states.
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Over the years, Connecticut has been known as the Nutmeg State, the Blue Law State and the Land of Steady Habits, as well as the Freestone State.
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"Eureka!” ("I've found it!" -- and "it" is gold.) Eureka! has been the official state motto of California since 1963 and unofficially since gold was discovered near Sutter's Mill in 1848.
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South Carolina is one of a handful of states that has more than one motto. Except South Carolina's mottos, 1. Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope) and 2. Animis opibusque parati (Ready in soul and resource), are both in Latin.
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The Valentine State makes sense when you know Arizona officially became a state on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1912.
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Known today as the Golden State, California's first state nickname was the Eldorado State, after it was discovered you could mine for gold there.
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Because it is home to Mount Rushmore and the national memorial featuring 60-foot sculpted faces of U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington, South Dakota's nickname is the Mount Rushmore State. You may also hear it, less frequently, called the Coyote State, after its state animal, the coyote.
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You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania debuted in 1980 as a marketing slogan to boost tourism -- and may be the state's most well-known slogan. It went on to appear on the state's license plates from 1983 through 1999 as well as in media marketing opportunities (such as billboards and TV ads). The current state slogan -- Pennsylvania. Pursue Your Happiness -- was unveiled in 2016.
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Maine, the Pine Tree State, uses the Latin word Dirigo, which means "I lead," as its official state motto.
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Utah has had many state slogans appear on its license plates, beginning with Center Scenic America, in 1941, to Life Elevated, available today.
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Vermont is the "fourteenth star" because it was the 14th state to gain statehood. The motto, which first appeared on copper coins of the Vermont Republic in the 18th century, became the state motto in 2015.
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Georgia, the Peach State (and sometimes the Goober State in reference to the peanut growers in the state), welcomes you to the state with signs reading Welcome to Georgia -- State of Adventure.
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Historically Wisconsin was nicknamed the Copper State. Today, although it uses America's Dairyland on its license plates, it goes by the nickname of the Badger State.
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Once known as the Land of the Shining Mountains, Montana is today given the slogan The Last Best Place.
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New York's state slogan has been, since 1977, I Love New York. There's also a song, "I Love New York," that's the state song.
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Both North Carolina and Ohio claim Orville and Wilbur Wright as their own. The Wright brothers were from Dayton, Ohio, and Ohio's license plate slogan is Birthplace of Aviation. North Carolina, where the Wright brothers made the first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, celebrate with the slogan First in Flight on its license plates.
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The Virginia is for Lovers tourism slogan has been in use since 1969, when it ran for the first time in an issue of Modern Bride. In 2009 the now-iconic slogan was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.
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Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono, which means the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness, is Hawaii's state motto.
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The French slogan L'étoile du Nord, which means the star of the North, has been Minnesota's state motto since 1861 and is the only state with a French motto.
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Idaho is famous for potatoes, and its state slogans reflect that. This famous, but former, Idaho slogan was replaced with: Great Potatoes. Tasty Destinations. More recently, the state adopted the non-potato slogan Adventures in Living.
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After determining the ad agency-created slogan We'll Win You Over was too negative for his state, the governor of New Jersey announced the state's slogan would be Come See For Yourself.
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Kansas, one of the states in the American heartland, is known as the Sunflower State.
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For the last 200 years, since the War of 1812, Tennessee's been known as the Volunteer State -- allegedly because Tennesseeans were quick wartime volunteers.
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Louisana's state seal includes the motto, Union, Justice, Confidence and has since its adoption in 1902.
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Maryland's state motto -- Fatti maschii, parole femine -- means "Manly deeds, womanly words" in English. Montana's motto is also in a foreign language: Oro y plata, which is Spanish and means "gold and silver."
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The United States has been known by Columbia since the 17th century, but the nickname first appeared in print in 1738. The U.S. has also gone by the nickname Uncle Sam, coined after the War of 1812 and used often in reference to the U.S. government. And, like the others, Brother Jonathan was a personification, an emblem, of the U.S. -- although he began as an emblem of New England during the Revolutionary War.
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On July 30, 1956, President Eisenhower signed into law In God We Trust as the motto of the United States.
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