The state flag of Kansas was adopted in 1927 and contains a crest along with the state's official seal. Kansas became an official state in the Union in 1861, but it wasn't until 1927 that a state flag was adopted. On the top of the flag, the state's crest, with a meaning that dates back to the creation of Kansas as a state, is displayed. The Great Seal of the State of Kansas takes up the center of the flag and depicts several symbols that are important to the state's history and identity.
In 1927, the original design for the state flag of Kansas was adopted by the state legislature. It has a blue background with the state crest on the top, the state's seal in the middle, and "Kansas" in golden capital letters across the bottom. This flag was first used by Governor Ben Paulin at Fort Riley and for the Kansas National Guard. The design has basically been the same since it was first adopted, but it originally had only the seal and the crest. The state's name was added to the bottom in 1963.
Some important symbols of the history of Kansas are shown in the crest that is displayed at the top of the state flag of Kansas. The top of the crest is a sunflower, which is the official flower of the state. Below the flower is a bar of blue and gold stripes, meant to symbolize the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803, when president Thomas Jefferson bought 828,000 square miles (1,332,536.83 sq. km) of land west of the Mississippi River, from France. This land doubled the area of the United States and allowed the creation of several new states, one of which was Kansas.
Long before the state flag of Kansas was designed, the seal was created during the first session of the state legislature in 1861. The seal has 34 stars which represent Kansas's place as the 34th state to join the Union, and the background depicts the hills near Fort Riley, where the flag was first used, and a rising sun in the east. A farmer plowing fields in front of his cabin is meant to depict the agriculture of the state, while a steamboat floating down the Kansas River represents the state's commerce. Some of Kansas' history is represented by the images of prairie schooners and American Indians hunting bison. Across the top of the seal is the state's motto, Ad astra per aspera, which means, "To the stars through difficulties."