When I was in high school and doing a little research into official state mottos, I remember my astonishment when I was told by a friend that the New Hampshire motto was “Live Free and Die.” That seemed to me, even at a tender age, a pretty poor option. Surely there’s a Plan B, I thought. Of course I quickly discovered my friend got it wrong. “Live Free OR Die” makes much more sense, especially if you consider that New Hampshire doesn’t have a state sales tax or income tax.
Anyhow, many years later — just the other day, in fact — I got to wondering how that motto came to be, now that I’m a New Hampshirite. I assumed it had something to do with the American Revolution, and turns out I was sort of right. The man credited with the phrase that is now the motto was probably New Hampshire’s best-known Revolutionary War hero, Gen. John Stark, known as the “Hero of Bennington” for his role in the victorious battle at Bennington in Vermont in 1777. The story goes that because of his poor health he was unable to attend an anniversary observance of that battle in 1809. He sent a letter with his regrets, ending it with his “volunteer toast.” It went: “Live Free or Die — Death is Not the Greatest of Evils.” Stirring words, indeed.
But for the next 136 years, however, they were not stirring enough to become the New Hampshire motto. That didn’t happen until 1945 when, flush in the joy of victory over Germany and Japan in World War II, the New Hampshire legislature acceded to a proposal from the Daughters of the American Revolution to make General Stark’s words the official state motto. Of course the competition really wasn’t terribly strong. The other mottos under consideration were 1) “Strong and Steadfast as Our Granite Hills” 2) “Strong as Our Hills and Firm as Our Granite”, and 3) “Pioneers Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” Try to imagine one of those spread across your license tag.
Ironically, while the credit for the words of the motto goes to the general, researchers have shown quite clearly the phrase specifically and generally pre-dates him and has many sources including books and articles associated with the French Revolution, very early 19th century American songs and certainly Virginia patriot Patrick Henry’s clarion call to “Give me liberty or give me death.”
“Live Free or Die” is unquestionably the most memorable of all state mottos today. But then once again, the competition is pretty slack. Consider: California’s motto is “Eureka…I Have Found It.” Maryland’s is “Manly Deeds Womanly Words.” New Mexico is “It Grows as it Goes.” Texas is simply (and mistakenly) “Friendship.” Washington’s is “Bye and Bye.” Feel free to make up your own jokes.