Pre-official flags (before 1879) Georgia had no official state flag until 1879. With the state's secession from the Union on January 19, 1861, several different banners were spoken of as the state's flag. One of these was the so-called "
Bonnie Blue Flag," which displayed a single white star on a deep blue background. The Georgia Code of 1861 required that
militia regiments and
battalions detailed for service outside of Georgia be provided with
regimental colors "bearing the arms of the State". Regimental colors were to be inscribed with name of the unit. The color of the flag itself was not specified.
First official flag (1879–1956) , 1941. is the basis for both the first and the latest incarnations of the Georgian state flags. The 1879 flag was introduced by Georgia state senator Herman H. Perry and was adopted to memorialize Confederate soldiers during the
American Civil War. Perry was a former colonel in the
Confederate army during the war, and he presumably based the design on the
First National Flag of the Confederacy, commonly known as the Stars and Bars. A 1902 amendment to the state militia laws added the state's coat of arms to the blue band, though a 2000 research report by the Georgia Senate states that researchers were not aware of any surviving flags depicting the coat of arms directly on the blue band, suggesting that no such flag was ever actually produced. Political pressure for a change in the official state flag increased during the 1990s, in particular during the run-up to the
1996 Olympic Games that were held in
Atlanta. The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) focused on the Georgia state flag as a major issue and some business leaders in Georgia felt that the perceptions of the flag were causing economic harm to the state. In 1992, Governor
Zell Miller announced his intention to get the Confederate element removed, but the state legislature refused to pass any flag-modifying legislation. The matter was dropped after the 1993 legislative session. Many Atlanta residents and some Georgia politicians refused to fly the 1956 flag and flew the pre-1956 flag instead. The controversy extended outside of the borders of Georgia, with
New York governor
George Pataki removing the Georgia flag from an Albany display in protest, and two Georgia state senators removing the New York flag from the Georgia state house in retaliation.
Third flag (2001–2003) Miller's successor as governor,
Roy Barnes, responded to increasing calls for a new state flag, and in 2001 hurried a replacement through the
Georgia General Assembly. His new flag, designed by architect
Cecil Alexander, sought a compromise, by featuring small versions of some (but not all) of Georgia's former flags, including the controversial 1956 flag, under the words "Georgia's History". Those flags include a thirteen-star U.S. flag of the "Betsy Ross" design; the first Georgia flag (before 1879); the 1920–1956 Georgia flag; the prior state flag (1956–2001); and the current fifty-star U.S. flag. In a 2001 survey of state and provincial flags in North America conducted by the
North American Vexillological Association, the redesigned Georgia flag was ranked the worst by a wide margin. The group stated that the flag "violates all the principles of good flag design". After the 1956 state flag was replaced in 2001, the Georgia city of
Trenton adopted a
modified version as its official city flag in protest. Similarly,
Mount Zion, Georgia also adopted a modified version as its official city flag. There was widespread opposition to the new flag, pejoratively referred to as the "Barnes rag". It led, according to Barnes himself, to his defeat for reelection two years later; the flag was a major issue in the election.
Fourth flag (2003–present) In 2002,
Sonny Perdue was elected
governor of Georgia, partially on a platform of allowing Georgians to choose their own flag in a state
referendum. He authorized the Georgia legislature to design a new flag in 2003. The Georgia General Assembly's proposed flag was based on the
First National Flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars, which was less known than the Confederate battle flag, with a symbol based on the state's coat of arms and the words "In God We Trust" placed within the circle of stars. Perdue signed the legislation into law on February 19, 2003. The ring of stars that encompass the state's coat of arms represents
Georgia as one of the original
Thirteen Colonies. The arch symbolizes
the state's constitution while the pillars represent the
three branches of government. The words of the
state motto, "Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation", are wrapped around the pillars, guarded by a figure dressed in colonial attire from the
American Revolutionary War. Within the arms, a sword is drawn to represent the defense of the state's constitution, with the motto of the United States, "
In God We Trust", below. The 2003 flag legislation also authorized a
referendum on which of the two most recent flags (the 2001 and 2003 versions) would be adopted as the flag of the state; the 1956 flag was not an option. The referendum took place during the state's March 2, 2004
presidential primary election. If the 2003 flag was rejected, the pre-2001 design would have been put to a vote. The 2003 design won 73.1% of the vote in the referendum. == Pledge of Allegiance ==