Before Louisiana was purchased from France by the United States in 1803, the state proudly flew the flags of France, Spain, and Great Britain. There was even a period of two months that Louisiana flew a flag as an independent nation for after seceding from the Union in 1861.
Today, the state flag of Louisiana is beautiful azure blue and what is described as a “pelican in her piety,” a heraldic charge that shows a mother pelican “in her nest feeding her young with her blood”. This dramatic display is said to signify the state’s willingness to sacrifice itself for its citizens. Louisiana’s state motto- “Union Justice Confidence,” is also present below.
Kansas
Adopted in 1927, the state flag of Kansas lay on a dark-blue background that includes the state seal in its center and a wild sunflower which is the state flower.
You'll notice that between the sunflower and the seal there's a gold and blue bar that represents the Louisiana Purchase (flashback to high-school history classes) through which Kansas was acquired from France. The seal displays the state motto that tells the story of Kansas, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” a Latin phrase meaning “To the Stars through Difficulties.” The thirty-four stars below the motto remind us that Kansas was the 34th state to be admitted into the Union. The word “Kansas” was added to the bottom of the flag later in 1961.
Kentucky
The Kentucky state flag was adopted in 1918. It was designed by Jesse Cox Burgess, an art teacher from Frankfort, and features the Bluegrass State’s seal in the center of a navy blue background. The seal features two men, one wearing buckskin, representing the frontiersmen, and the other in a suit, representing the statesmen. It's believed that these two figures embracing each other also represent the state motto, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall,” that circles them. The seal also includes a goldenrod wreath, goldenrod is the state flower, and the words, “Commonwealth of Kentucky.”
It is widely believed is that the buckskin-clad man is Kentucky's loved frontiersman, Daniel Boone, one of the first folk heroes of the U.S., and that man in the suit is Kentucky's most famous statesman, Henry Clay.
Maine
The current state flag dates back to 1909. It features the Maine Coat of Arms on a blue field that exhibits a farmer with a scythe and a seaman with an anchor representing Maine’s traditional reliance on agriculture and the sea. There's also a moose resting under a large pine tree pictured.
Between the shield and the North Star is the word, “Dirigo,” the state’s motto meaning “I lead.” there another banner beneath the seal with the"Main".
Maryland
This version of the Maryland state flag was adopted in 1904, and Marylanders must be very pleased with it as some coin it “the perfect state flag,”. Its “bold colors, interesting patterns, and correct heraldry,” were inspired by the shield in the coat of arms of the Calvert-Crossland families of George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore (1579–1632).
The yellow-and-black arms represent his paternal family, the Calverts, while the red-and-white colors and cross-bottony design represent his maternal family, the Crosslands. George Calvert believed wanted to create a settlement where Catholics and Protestants could coexist in harmony and Maryland was hoped to be that place.