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Herman H. Perry introduced
legislation for the fist official Flag of Georgia. A
Confederate veteran, Colonel Perry's proposal was strongly
influenced by the First National Flag of the Confederate
States, the Stars and Bars. His design was to take the Stars
and Bars, remove the stars and extend the blue canton to the
bottom of the Flag of Georgia. Governor Colquitt approved this
Flag of Georgia on October 17, 1879.
Georgia
embarked on a major reorganization of its state militia laws
in 1902. As part of this effort the Georgia General Assembly
made a change to the Flag of Georgia design and stipulated
that the State Coat of Arms be stamped on the plain blue field
of the canton. It is not clear if this Flag of Georgia was
ever made. What does exist today is a Flag of Georgia that
shows the coat of arms on a white shield and a red ribbon below
that with the state's name on it. How and why this departure
in the Flag of Georgia design became the standard is not known.
In
1914, the General Assembly changed the date on the Flag of
Georgia from 1799 (the year the state seal was adopted) to
1776 (the year of independence). Sometime in the 1920s, the
Flag of Georgia began appearing with the state seal
depicted instead of the shield or the coat of arms as
stipulated in 1902. Again, it is not known how or why this Flag
of Georgia change came into being.
In
early 1955, an Atlanta attorney proposed a new Flag of Georgia
design, one that would incorporate the Confederate Battle
Flag. At the 1956 session of the General Assembly, state
senators Jefferson Lee Davis and Willis Harden introduced a
bill to change the Flag of Georgia design again. This bill was
signed into law on February 13, 1956. For over 45 years this
Flag of Georgia flew; the state seal depicted on a blue field
and a representation of the Confederate Battle Flag to the
right.
Some
Georgia residents were not pleased with the 1956 Flag of
Georgia design, however, and found the inclusion of the
Confederate Battle Flag offensive and representative of a
distasteful segment in Georgia history. For years the design
of the Flag of Georgia was challenged and in January, 2001,
the Georgia House and Senate voted on a new Flag of Georgia
design intended to recognize the Confederate Battle Flag's
historical significance while minimizing its prominence as
representative of the state of Georgia. Governor Roy
Barnes signed the legislation that had made its way through
the Georgia Legislature in only six days and a new Flag of
Georgia was quietly raised over the state capital on January
31.
This
Flag of Georgia depicts the Great Seal of Georgia centered on a blue
field. Thirteen stars circle the seal representing Georgia's
position as one of the 13 original colonies of the United
States. Under the seal and the stars, a banner titled
GEORGIA'S HISTORY shows five of the flags that have flown over
the state. Printed
on the bottom of the Flag of Georgia, under the ribbon, are
the words IN GOD WE TRUST.
Perhaps
cursed from the beginning, the new Flag of Georgia was
consistently targeted for criticism. Over the next two years,
controversy seemed to follow the Flag of Georgia wherever it
went. While some Georgians were satisfied that the new Flag of
Georgia
offered a viable representation of the state, others
criticized the Flag of Georgia's design. Some Georgians were
quite vocal in their distaste for the new Flag of Georgia and
called it an assault on their heritage. Others simply
criticized the Flag of Georgia as "bad design." Arguments over
the Flag of Georgia continued.
When
Governor Sonny Perdue took office in 2003, he promised to end
the controversy once and for all by offering a referendum on
the Flag of Georgia to the people of Georgia. His intention
was to put the question to "the people" of the state. He ran
into a snag however. The Georgia Constitution states that the
Flag of Georgia is to be determined by the "General Assembly."
Compromise was reached and a bill was passed by the Georgia
Legislature that specified another new Flag of Georgia design.
The bill specified a design reminiscent of the First National
Flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars. On May 8, 2003,
Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law a bill designating a new
Flag of Georgia.
The
new Flag of Georgia consists of a square canton on three
horizontal bars of equal width. The top and bottom bands are
scarlet and the middle band is white. The bottom scarlet band
extends the entire length of the Flag of Georgia. The top two
bands extend from the canton to the end of the Flag of
Georgia. Centered in the square blue canton is a gold
representation of the Georgia coat of arms. Directly under the
coat of arms are the words "IN GOD WE TRUST" in upper case
letters. Thirteen white five-pointed stars circle the coat of
arms and the wording symbolizing Georgia and the 12 other
states that formed the United States of America.
The bill signed by
Governor Perdue also called for a non-binding "advisory
referendum" to determine whether the people of the state
wished to keep the new, 2003 Flag of Georgia. The referendum,
scheduled to be held on the date of the 2004 Presidential
Primary, offered two choices to Georgians; keep the 2003
design as the Official Flag of Georgia or revert to the 2001
design.
On
March 2, 2004, the people of Georgia voted 3-1 to keep the
2003 Perdue Flag of Georgia flying.
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