"Live Free or Die" is the official motto of the U.S. state of New Hampshire, adopted by the state in 1945. It is possibly the best-known of all state mottos, partly because it speaks to an assertive independence historically found in American political philosophy and partly because of its contrast to the milder sentiments found in other state mottos.
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. Instead, he sent his toast by letter:
- 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.
Read more about Live Free Or Die: Legal Battle, Similar Mottos
Famous quotes containing the words live, free and/or die:
“Does he lie there
forever, where his rifle waits, giant
and straight? . . . I think you die again
and live again,
Johnny, each summer that moves inside
my mind.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“Now, aged 50, I’m just poised to shoot forth quite free straight & undeflected my bolts whatever they are.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“To die for one’s country is such a worthy fate that all compete for so beautiful a death.”
—Pierre Corneille (1606–1684)