Flag of Washington
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The flag of the U.S. state of Washington consists of the state seal, displaying an image of its namesake George Washington, on a field of dark green with gold fringe being optional. It is the only U.S. state flag with a field of green as well as the only state flag with the likeness of a U.S. president. The secretary of state regulates flag protocol related to the state flag, as well approving replica flags for commercial sale and other standards related to the flag.
The flag was officially adopted on March 5, 1923, and has been a symbol of Washington ever since. Washington had achieved statehood in 1889, but did not have an official flag at the time. The Washington chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution designed the flag in 1915 and campaigned for its adoption by the Washington State Legislature in the early 1920s. The state flag has undergone minor revisions since its adoption, including the use of standardized colors in 1955 and a modernized seal in 1967.
HistoryEdit
Washington adopted its seal during the state constitutional convention on August 21, 1889,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> months prior to official admission as a U.S. state on November 11, 1889.<ref name="Howe">Template:Cite book</ref> While the new state did not have an official flag, a military flag displaying a gold profile of George Washington, the state's namesake, on blue bunting was used across the state at the turn of the 20th century and was first carried by the Washington Volunteer Infantry during the Philippine–American War in 1899.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="Leg-1963Res">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another popular design was a purple or green flag bearing the state seal in gold.<ref name="Howe"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1913, representative William J. Hughes of Whatcom County proposed the formation of a commission to adopt the state flag, consisting of the governor, secretary of state, and adjutant general.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Governor Ernest Lister became a supporter of the idea, issuing a call for designs from the state's citizens and city organizations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The campaign for a state flag, however, was opposed by patriotic groups like the Sons of the American Revolution and Sons of Veterans, finding the use of a state flag to be detrimental to the national flag.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hughes' bill was passed 69–20 in the state House of Representatives, but did not make it to the floor in the state senate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Washington chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) began a campaign to adopt an official state flag during the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition of 1909, a world's fair hosted in Seattle.<ref name="Times-1923Apr">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1914, the national DAR requested that the Washington chapter send a state flag to be displayed in the DAR Memorial Continental Hall in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Times-1962">Template:Cite news</ref> Upon discovering that the state lacked a suitable flag, the DAR formed a design committee, led by Emma Chadwick (wife of Washington Supreme Court justice Stephen J. Chadwick), to design a state flag. The DAR's flag, adopted in 1915, consisted of a green background with the state seal in the center. The flag was manufactured in Washington, D.C., at a cost of $48 (Template:Inflation),Template:Inflation-fn and displayed by the national DAR until 1916.<ref name="Leg-1963Res"/><ref name="Times-1972">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The flag was returned to the Washington chapter for their April 1916 general meeting in Everett, where DAR State Regent Elizabeth Bowden called on the chapter to ask the legislature to accept the flag as an official state symbol.<ref name="Leg-1963Res"/>
A 1917 issue of National Geographic Magazine on U.S. state flags featured an unofficial flag of Washington similar to the DAR's design, a green background and the state seal in gold, sourced from "military authorities".<ref name="Times-1972"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Another major flag proposal emerged in 1920 from the short-lived Washington State Nautical School, where secretary-treasurer Grover C. Gaier designed a green flag with the state seal and fringe in gold. The flag would fly aboard the Template:USS, representing the state nautical school during a voyage along the West Coast and to Hawaii.<ref name="Times-1962"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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The DAR renewed its lobbying for a state flag in 1922, having gained the approval of the Sons of the American Revolution and other civic organizations.<ref name="Leg-1963Res"/> A bill adopting the state flag was introduced in the 1923 legislative session and passed unanimously in the Senate by February,<ref name="Times-1923Sen">Template:Cite news</ref> and the House of Representatives on March 5, 1923.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The governor's approval was not required and the bill became law, formally adopting the state flag.<ref name="Leg-1963Res"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The law took effect on June 7, 1923, and an unofficial flag was unfurled on Flag Day by the DAR.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of its adoption, Washington was one of four states lacking an official state flag.<ref name="Times-1923Apr"/> The first official state flag, manufactured by Willis Bloom of the secretary of state's office, was unveiled on July 23, 1924.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new flag was celebrated with a "State Flag Waltz" performed at the Inaugural Ball on January 15, 1925, following the inauguration of Governor Roland H. Hartley.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During the 1925–26 session, the state legislature approved a change to the state flag that replaced the green fringe with a gold to match the state seal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The gold-fringed flag made its official debut on June 27, 1927, flying on the official automobile of the governor during a tour of Fort Lewis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1929, the DAR presented a state flag to Governor Hartley, who received it on behalf of the state for display in the Washington State Capitol.<ref name="Leg-1963Res"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Washington Secretary of State issued standardized colors for the state flag in 1955, including the modern colors used in the state seal.<ref name="Leg-1963Res"/> The state seal itself was redesigned by Dick Nelms at the request of the secretary of state in 1967, using Gilbert Stuart's famous portrait painting of George Washington.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new state seal was approved by the state legislature in April 1967, placing it on the updated state flag with immediate effect.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Proposed redesignEdit
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As part of the United States Bicentennial in 1976, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art held a nationwide contest for new flags for American states, cities, and other entities. A panel of judges selected 25 of the best designs to be displayed at various exhibitions around the United States, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Among the selected designs was a proposed flag for Washington, designed by Seattle designer Terrence A. Geiger, that featured green and yellow triangles in a repeated pattern.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A bill to form a redesign committee to produce a new state flag was proposed by a state legislator in 2025. The committee would include a bipartisan set of lawmakers, the Washington Secretary of State, the director of the Washington Arts Commission, historians, cultural leaders, tribal members, and citizens. A new design would be recommended by July 1, 2028 and require a referendum to be officially adopted as the state flag.<ref name="Standard-2025">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The bill is in response to a wave of state flag redesigns that had been adopted or proposed in the 2020s.<ref name="Standard-2025"/>
DesignEdit
The flag of Washington consists of a dark green field with the seal of Washington, a portrait of George Washington inside a ring with the words "The Seal of the State of Washington 1889", in the center.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The flag may also have an optional gold fringe.<ref name="RCW">Template:RevCW</ref> It is the only U.S. state flag to feature a green background,<ref name="Britannica"/> as well as the only one to feature the likeness of an identifiable historic person.<ref name="Howe"/> The flag has an aspect ratio of 1:1.6 (equivalent to 5:8), with the exception of two alternate flag sizes: Template:Convert and Template:Convert. The size of the seal is proportional to the length of the flag, with a ratio of 1:3 between the seal diameter and length of the flag. On a Template:Convert flag, the seal has a diameter of Template:Convert.<ref name="SOS-Design">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The flag's colors follow both the Standard Color Reference of America,<ref name="SOS-Design"/> and the Pantone Matching System.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="SOS-2002">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Senator Guy B. Groff, sponsor of the 1923 bill that adopted the flag, the flag's green field represented the "verdant fields" of Western Washington, while the gold seal represented the "wheat areas" of Eastern Washington.<ref name="Times-1923Sen"/>
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members and other flag enthusiasts on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial, and Canadian provincial flags. Members ranked the Washington state flag 47th out of the 72 flags surveyed, with a score of 4.53 points out of 10.<ref name="NAVA">Template:Cite journal</ref> Washington's flag was criticized for its complicated seal, use of lettering, and similarities to other U.S. state flags that used seals on solid colors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
| Use(s) | Color | Pantone (CMYK printing)<ref name="SOS-2002"/> |
Textile color | RGB values<ref name="Pantone">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Hex<ref name="Pantone"/> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Template:Legend | PMS 348 | 80210 | 0-132-61 | #00843D | |
| State Seal (border) Fringe |
Template:Legend | PMS 116 | 80068 | 255-205-0 | #FFCD00 | |
| State Seal (interior) | Template:Legend | PMS 311 | Template:N/A | 5-195-222 | #05C3DE | |
| State Seal (portrait, lettering, rings) | Template:Legend | PMS Process Black | Template:N/A | 0-0-0 | #000000 | |
| George Washington's face | Template:Legend | PMS 169 | 80004 | 255-179-171 | #FFB3AB |
Usage and protocolEdit
The Washington Secretary of State regulates flag protocol as well as the distribution and sale of the state flag.<ref name="RCW"/> Replica flags made for commercial sale are required to be approved by the secretary of state.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The state seal on the flag must be stitched on both sides with the profile of George Washington facing the same direction, making the Washington state flag among the most expensive U.S. state flags to manufacture.<ref name="SOS-Design"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
When flown within the state of Washington, the state flag occupies the highest position of honor after the U.S. flag and the flags of foreign sovereign states. When flown alongside other U.S. state flags, the Washington state flag is placed 42nd, the order in which it ratified the U.S. Constitution and became a state.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A section of the Revised Code of Washington also requires that the state flag and the U.S. flag "shall be prominently installed, displayed and maintained in schools, court rooms and state buildings."<ref>Template:RevCW</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The state flag and U.S. flag are also required to be prominently displayed by code cities and displayed on certain holidays by all cities, towns, and counties.<ref name="MRSC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The lowering of the state and U.S. flags to half-mast is left at the discretion of local entities, but may be ordered by the Governor of Washington during the observance of memorial days, as well as in the event of the death of prominent government officials, state employees, public safety servants in the line of duty, and members of the United States Armed Forces from Washington.<ref name="MRSC"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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