Flag of Iowa
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The flag of the U.S. state of Iowa is a vertical tricolor flag designed by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt in 1917. Iowa legislators officially adopted the flag in 1921.
History
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The State of Iowa did not have a flag for the first 75 years of its existence, largely because of calls for national unity during and after the American Civil War, in which Iowa fought for the Union.<ref name=":2" /> Although the 9th Iowa Infantry Regiment carried a regimental flag that bore the state coat of arms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first unofficial state flag was used in the 1894 Worlds Fair. It was carried by Governor Boies. The flag was square with the head of a hawk in the middle of its field.<ref name=":3">Mt. Pleasant Daily News, November 4th, 1909</ref> The first request for a state flag was in 1909<ref name=":3" /> by Iowa National Guardsmen who would again make a request in 1910.<ref name=":4">Wayland News, December 14th, 1910</ref> In Fort Dodge, Iowa, members of the military advisory broad made a design for a state flag and sent it to the state Legislature. The design was described as:<ref>Mt. Pleasant Daily News, December 3rd, 1910</ref> Template:Cquote
The flag was not adopted because it was considered not adequate. Although a copy of the design was made and later hung in the halls of the Iowa State Capitol.<ref name=":4" /> It was not until World War I that the creation of another state flag was requested, recorded first by the Iowa Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> Iowa National Guardsmen positioned along the Mexican border made several requests for a flag, as other states had flags to represent themselves.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1917, Iowa was one of three states that had no flag.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The flag was designed by DAR member and Knoxville, Iowa, resident Dixie Cornell Gebhardt, who was prompted to create the design by Iowa guardsmen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was approved by the DAR flag committee in early May 1917 and presented to the Iowa State Council for Defense, where it was accepted on May 11, 1917.<ref name=":0" /> The flag was sent to Iowa troops for designation but would not be officially adopted as the state flag for nearly four more years. It cost $800 (around $20,091.56 today) to make 10 state flags for each Iowa regiment.<ref>Washington Democrat, November 6th, 1917</ref> One of the state flags given by the 3rd Iowa Infantry had name "IOWA" in gold and red.<ref>Evening Journal, November 3rd, 1917</ref>
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Iowa governor William Lloyd Harding formally accepted the flag on behalf of the state on March 19, 1918,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but legislative action on adoption failed in February 1919.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Still, the Iowa Daughters met with legislators urging them to accept the flag again in September 1920, suggesting that past failures were caused by high expenses.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>
Despite not being adopted, the flag was used often throughout the country to represent Iowa, notably in Continental Hall where it was among official flags of other states, though marked as unofficial. This was all the more reason to adopt the flag officially, according to the wife of congressman Horace Mann Towner.<ref name=":1" />
Finally, in January 1921, Iowa legislators again deliberated on the adoption of an official flag,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and by mid-March of that same year, the flag was accepted as law.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2001, a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association placed Iowa's flag 42nd in design quality out of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territorial flags ranked.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Protocol and procedure
The banner is only to be used in official representation of the state of Iowa or in distinction between citizens of different states. The flag should always be flown below and "subservient" to the flag of the United States,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while being provided and raised by public officers. Schools must fly the banner when classes are in session, and public buildings may fly the banner on secular days.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Design
Iowa law officially describes the state flag.
Cornell Gebhardt assigned meaning to each color of the flag: blue represents loyalty, justice, and truth; white stands for purity; red symbolizes courage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Des Moines Register suggested that the design hearkens back to Iowa's history as a French territory, with both flags containing blue, white and red from left to right, though Iowa's banner has a wider white section. The Register also stated that the word "Iowa" written in red symbolizes the "Iowa soldier [writing] in letters of blood on the white page of history his unalterable determination to defend the ideals represented by the banner and its wonderful motto."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
It is one of nine U.S. state flags to feature an eagle, alongside those of Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. The eagle carrying streamers in its beak also features on the Iowa state seal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clr
Gallery
See also
Sources
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