Each state in the United States of America is unique. The people and legislature of Iowa have selected the following state symbols to represent their state's individual environment and culture.
![[Image of The Iowa State Seal]](/media/graphics/state-seals/iowa-seal.png)
One of the initial acts of the first Iowa Legislature in 1847 was to create the Great Seal of Iowa.
The two-inch diameter seal pictures a citizen soldier standing in a wheat field, surrounded by farming and industrial tools, with the Mississippi River in the background. An eagle is overhead, holding in its beak a scroll bearing the state motto, "Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain." The motto was the work of a three-man Senate committee and was incorporated into the design of the seal at their suggestion.
![[Image of The Iowa State Flag]](/media/graphics/state-flags/iowa-flag.png)
Having three vertical stripes blue, white and red the Iowa flag resembles the flag of France. On the white stripe is a bald eagle carrying a blue streamer in its beak.
The state motto "Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We will Maintain" is written on the streamer.
The name of the state is emblazoned in red letters.
