Live Free or Die
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- This article is about the state motto. For the 2006 movie, see Live Free or Die (film).
"Live Free or Die" is the official motto of New Hampshire, adopted by the General Court in 1945. It is probably the most well-known of all state mottos, partly because it speaks to an aggressive independence inherent in the American dream, and partly because of its contrast to the mild sentiments usually found in such mottoes.
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 and to send 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 the motto appears.
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[edit] Legal battle
In 1971, the General Court, the state legislature of New Hampshire, mandated that the phrase appear on all non-commercial license plates, replacing "Scenic." In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705, that New Hampshire could not prosecute motorists who chose to hide part or all of the motto.
That ruling came about because George Maynard, a Jehovah's Witness, cut off "or die" from his plate for religious reasons. He was convicted of breaking a state law against altering license plates. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in his favor, saying the law required people to "use their private property as a 'mobile billboard' for the State's ideological message," and that the state's interest did not outweigh free speech principles. "We conclude that the State of New Hampshire my not require appellees to display the state motto upon their vehicle license plates; and, accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the District Court."
The case drew widespread attention, partly because of the irony involved with a government trying to deny someone the freedom to change a motto that celebrates freedom. It may also be considered ironic that the motto on the license plate is a product of prisoners' work in the License Plate Shop of the Men's Prison in Concord.
[edit] Similar mottos
A possible source of such mottoes is Patrick Henry's famed March 23, 1775 speech to the House of Burgesses (the legislative body of the Virginia colony), which contained the following phrase: Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
A medal struck at Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint, as tokens of exchange for the Paris firm of Monneron Freres, 1791-92, has on its obverse the motto Vivre libres ou mourir (Live free or die in French).
[edit] National mottos
- "Ελευθερια η Θανατος" (Eleutheria i thanatos — "Liberty or Death") is the national motto of Greece and comes from the motto of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830).
- "Слобода или смрт" - "Sloboda ili Smrt" - "Freedom or Death" is the national motto of the Republic of Macedonia and is derived from the Macedonian uprising.
- "Libertad o Muerte" - "Liberty or Death" is the national motto of Uruguay
[edit] Use in Unix
Live Free or Die is popular among Unix users, a group which also cherishes its independence. The popularity dates to the 1980s, when Armando Stettner of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) had a set of Unix license plates printed up and given away at a Usenix conference. They were modeled on the license plates in New Hampshire, where DEC's Unix Engineering Group (UEG) was headquartered. Stettner lived in New Hampshire at the time and owned a Toyota Celica Supra with the vanity license plate UNIX.
When DEC came out with their own Unix version, Ultrix, they followed Stettner's lead and printed up a legion of Ultrix plates that were distributed at trade shows.
[edit] In popular culture
- "Live Free or Die" is the title of the sixth episode of the sixth season of the TV show The Sopranos. It concerns a character who hides from mobsters in New Hampshire and who at one point stares in sadness at the motto on the license plate.
- "Live Free or Die" is the name of Vancouver punk group D.O.A.'s 2004 album.
- Live Free or Die is a 2007 movie.
- In the early 2000s, Kurt Busiek wrote and George Perez drew the Avengers storyline called Live Kree or Die for Marvel Comics. It featured the alien race called the Kree.
- Live Free or Die Hard is the US title of the fourth Die Hard movie, set to be released in American theaters on July 4, 2007.
