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Great Seal
Adopted in 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."
Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of the State of Kansas provides that “there 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.” 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.” KSA 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, sec. 15; March 20; R.S. 1923, 75-201.
The motto which appears on the Great Seal, “Ad astra per aspera,” is Latin for “To the stars through difficulties.” The thirty-four stars represent the fact that Kansas was the thirty-fourth state admitted to the Union.
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