"Live Free or Die" in the State Emblem

"Live Free or Die" is the official motto of New Hampshire, adopted by the General Court in 1945. It is possibly the best-known of all state mottos, partly because it speaks to an aggressive independence inherent in the American political philosophy, and partly because of its contrast to the mild sentiments usually found in such mottos. Image File history File linksMetadata NHemblem. ... Image File history File linksMetadata NHemblem. ... The State Emblem of New Hampshire is an elliptical panel with a picture of the Old Man of the Mountain surrounded on the top by the state name and on the bottom by the state motto, Live Free or Die. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,350 sq mi (24,217 km²)  - Width 68 miles (110 km)  - Length 190 miles (305 km)  - % water 4. ... The New Hampshire General Court is the state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. ... Here is a list of state mottos for the states of the United States. ... Political Compass. ...

The phrase comes from a toast written by General John Stark on July 31, 1809. Poor health forced Stark, New Hampshire's most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War, to decline an invitation to an anniversary reunion of the Battle of Bennington and to send his toast by letter: General John Stark John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was a general who served in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. ... is the 212th day of the year (213th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about military actions only. ... Combatants Vermont, militiamen/Green Mountain Boys, Massachusetts, New Hampshire Brunswick, British Army troops, Native Americans Commanders John Stark Friedrich Baum Strength 2,000 1,250 Casualties 40 killed, 30 wounded 207 killed, 700 captured The Battle of Bennington :) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, taking place on August...

Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.

The motto was enacted at the same time as the state emblem, on which it appears. The State Emblem of New Hampshire is an elliptical panel with a picture of the Old Man of the Mountain surrounded on the top by the state name and on the bottom by the state motto, Live Free or Die. ...

Legal battle

In 1971, the General Court, the state legislature of New Hampshire, mandated that the phrase appear on all non-commercial license plates, replacing "Scenic." In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705, that New Hampshire could not prosecute motorists who chose to hide part or all of the motto. // Introduction A license plate, number plate or registration plate (often referred to simply as a plate, or colloquially tag) is a small metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle for official identification purposes. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Holding Court membership Case opinions Wooley v. ...

That ruling came about because George Maynard, a Jehovah's Witness, cut off "or die" from his plate. He found the phrase offensive because according to his faith, Jehovah's Kingdom offers everlasting life and it would be contrary to that belief to die for an earthly government. He was convicted of breaking a state law against altering license plates. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in his favor, saying the law required people to "use their private property as a 'mobile billboard' for the State's ideological message," and that the state's interest did not outweigh free speech principles. "We conclude that the State of New Hampshire may not require appellees to display the state motto upon their vehicle license plates." [1]

Similar mottos

Live Free or Die, as seen in Edinburgh, Scotland.

A possible source of such mottoes is Patrick Henry's famed March 23, 1775 speech to the House of Burgesses (the legislative body of the Virginia colony), which contained the following phrase: Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2168x1285, 516 KB) Live Free or Die, graffiti found on wall of Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2168x1285, 516 KB) Live Free or Die, graffiti found on wall of Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was a prominent figure in the American Revolution, known and remembered primarily for his stirring oratory. ... is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Patrick Henry before the House of Burgesses in an 1851 painting by Peter F. Rothermel The Virginia House of Burgesses formed, the first legislative body in colonial America. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Slave redirects here. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Patrick Henrys Treason speech before the House of Burgesses in an 1851 painting by Peter F. Rothermel Give me liberty or give me death is a famous quotation from a speech made by Patrick Henry to the Virginia House of Burgesses. ...

A medal struck at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint, as tokens of exchange for the Paris firm of Monneron Freres, 1791-92, has on its obverse the motto Vivre libres ou mourir (Live free or die in French). Matthew Boulton. ... Soho Mint was created by Matthew Boulton in 1778 in his Soho Manufactory (grid reference SP051890) in Handsworth, West Midlands, England. ...

National mottos

• "Ελευθερια η Θανατος" (Eleutheria i thanatos — "Liberty or Death") is the national motto of Greece and comes from the motto of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830).
• "Свобода или смърт" - "Svoboda ili Smyrt" - "Freedom or Death" is the national motto of the Republic of Bulgaria and is derived from the Bulgarian uprising.
• "Libertad o Muerte" - "Liberty or Death" is the national motto of Uruguay
• "Independência, ou morte!" - "Independence or death", was the national motto of Brazilian Empire
• "Eala Freya Fresena" - "Rise up, Free Frisians", spoken at the Upstalsboom in Aurich in the early first millennium, and it is traditionally answered with "Lewwer duad üs Slaav", or "Better dead than a slave"

Eleutheria i thanatos (Greek: , pron. ... For other uses, see Liberty (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation), Dead (disambiguation), Death (band) or Deceased (band). ... Combatants Greek revolutionaries United Kingdom France Russian Empire  Ottoman Empire Egyptian Khedivate Commanders Theodoros Kolokotronis Alexander Ypsilanti Georgios Karaiskakis Omer Vryonis Mahmud Dramali Pasha ReÅŸid Mehmed Pasha Ibrahim Pasha. ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Ethnic map of the Balkans prior to the Upspring. ... The Empire of Brazil was a political entity that comprised present-day Brazil under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II. Founded in 1822, it was replaced by a republic in 1889. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...

Other uses

Unix

Live Free or Die is popular among Unix users, a group which also cherishes its independence. The popularity dates to the 1980s, when Armando Stettner of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) had a set of Unix license plates printed up and given away at a Usenix conference. They were modeled on the license plates in New Hampshire, where DEC's Unix Engineering Group (UEG) was headquartered. Stettner lived in New Hampshire at the time and owned a Toyota Celica Supra with the vanity license plate UNIX. Filiation of Unix and Unix-like systems Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®, sometimes also written as or ® with small caps) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy. ... The DEC logo Digital Equipment Corporation was a pioneering American company in the computer industry. ... The USENIX Association is the Advanced Computing Technical Association. ...

When DEC came out with their own Unix version, Ultrix, they followed Stettner's lead and printed up a legion of Ultrix plates that were distributed at trade shows. Ultrix (officially all-caps ULTRIX) was the brand name of Digital Equipment Corporations (DEC) native Unix systems. ...

In popular culture

• Live Free or Die is the title of a 1990 novel by New Hampshire writer Ernest Hebert.
• In the early 2000s, Avengers comics had a storyline called "Live Kree or Die". It featured the alien race called the Kree.
• On the animated TV series Futurama, the motto of the "Neutral planet" is "Live Free or Don't".
• "Live Free or Die" is the name of Vancouver punk group D.O.A.'s 2004 album.
• "Live Free or Die" is the title of the sixth episode of the sixth season of the TV show The Sopranos. It concerns a character who hides from mobsters in New Hampshire and who at one point stares in sadness at the motto on the license plate.
• Live Free or Die Hard is the fourth Die Hard movie, released on June 27, 2007. The movie prints were shipped to cinemas under the name "New Hampshire".
• On The West Wing, Josh routinely makes cheese-related jokes about Donna's Wisconsin roots. In one episode, he jokes that Wisconsin's state motto is "Live Brie or Die."
• At the Kabul, Afghanistan airfield, the motto "live free or die" has been spraypainted onto the back of a crashed soviet Antonov An-12

Ernest Hebert is an American author. ... The Avengers are a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. ... The Kree, also known as the Ruul, are a scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic alien race in the fictional Marvel Universe. ... This article is about the television series. ... Live Free or Die is the 71st episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. ... This article is about the television series. ... Live Free or Die Hard (released as Die Hard 4. ... This article is about the 1988 action film. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... This article is about a TV show. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Donnatella Donna Moss is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. ... Official language(s) None Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Largest metro area Greater Milwaukee Area  Ranked 23rd  - Total 65,498 sq mi (169,790 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 310 miles (500 km)  - % water 17  - Latitude 42° 30′ N to 47° 05′ N  - Longitude 86° 46′ W to... For other uses, see Brie (disambiguation). ... For other places with the same name, see Kabul (disambiguation). ... Soviet redirects here. ... The Antonov An-12 (NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft. ...

External links

• State law creating motto
• The History of the UNIX License Plate according to The Open Group
• The motto is one of the 101 Reasons cited by the Free State Project for their choice of New Hampshire as the targeted "Free State"
• Boston Globe article about the use of the motto in popular culture