Pennsylvania State Motto
Bethlehem PA
2014

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was proudly founded by William Penn in 1681. Pennsylvania’s rich history spans five centuries and is woven into the fabric of our nation’s founding.

Pennsylvania’s coat of arms is one of the most familiar of our state emblems.

The coat of arms features a shield that shows symbols of Pennsylvania’s strengths — a ship to show state commerce being carried worldwide, a plow to show Pennsylvania’s rich natural resources, and three sheaves of wheat to show fertile fields and Pennsylvania’s wealth of human thought and action. An olive branch and cornstalk also cross beneath the shield — symbols of peace and prosperity. The state motto appears beneath.

Virtue, Liberty, and Independence is the state motto of Pennsylvania. The motto of Pennsylvania was officially adopted in the year 1875. The meaning of the Pennsylvania State Motto reflects the attitude and hope of the people of New York following the outbreak of the War Of Independence in 1775-1783.