Virginia’s State Motto
DOUG JOHNSON: Our question this week comes to us from William Ming. He wants to know how the state of Virginia chose the words, “Thus always to tyrants” as its motto. To better understand this saying, you need to examine the state seal of Virginia.
This is the official symbol or picture that is found on the state flag. A state seal also may be cut out of wood, painted and hung on a wall. You might find one in a court room or other state government building.
Virginia flag
The Virginia seal shows a woman holding a spear in her right hand. Her left foot rests on the body of a man. A crown has fallen off his head and lies nearby. The woman is meant to be the Roman goddess of goodness and truth. The man is a tyrant, someone who illegally held power, and has been killed by the woman.
The words with this picture are Latin. “Sic semper tyrannis” means that what is moral, good, and true will always put an end to those who rule without the approval of the people.
Some historians say the Virginia state seal was the idea of four men: George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, George Wythe, and Robert Carter Nicholas. They were among the leaders of Virginia after it and twelve other North American colonies declared their independence from England.
When Roman leader Julius Caesar was killed, it was reported that his former friend, Brutus, said the words, “Sic semper tyrannis.” When John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in eighteen sixty-five, Booth shouted the same words as he began his escape. Lincoln had freed the slaves and fought against the southern states in America’s civil war. This had angered Booth, and led him to kill the president.
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