Why are Alabama and Florida flags so similar?

Both use a red St. Andrew's cross on a white field. Alabama's flag has only the cross, while Florida's puts the state seal in the center.

Why was the Florida flag changed?

The red saltire was added in 1900 so the flag would not look like a plain white flag of surrender. The seal was redrawn in 1985 to correct historical details.

Who is the woman on the Florida flag?

She is a Seminole woman shown on the state seal, scattering flowers. She stands for Native American heritage and is not a particular real person.

What does the Florida flag symbolize?

The red cross has no official meaning, while the seal shows the state's nature and history with a palm tree, a steamboat, a sunrise and a Seminole woman.

What was the original Florida flag like?

The 1868 flag was white with the state seal in the center and no red cross. The cross was added by a vote in 1900.

Florida Flag: Meaning, Seal & History of the State Flag

The Florida flag is white with a red diagonal cross, or saltire, and the state seal in the center. The red bars were added after a vote in 1900, so the flag would not look like a plain white flag of surrender when hanging limp.

What the Florida state flag looks like

The state flag of Florida is a white rectangle with a red saltire, the diagonal cross that runs from corner to corner. In the center, over the crossing point, is the Great Seal of the State of Florida, a round emblem in full color.

The seal shows a number of scenes drawn from the state:

a Seminole woman scattering flowers on the ground;
a sabal palm, the state tree;
a steamboat on a body of water;
the sun rising over hills in the background and sending rays into the sky.

The edge of the seal carries the words "Great Seal of the State of Florida" and the motto "In God We Trust." The proportions are 2:3.

Florida flag meaning and symbolism

The red saltire has no officially stated meaning, but it is traditionally linked to the St. Andrew's cross. The flag is also very close to the Alabama flag, which is why people ask why Alabama and Florida flags look so similar. Both use a red saltire on white, and the difference is that Florida adds its seal in the middle.

The scenes in the seal carry their own meanings:

The Seminole woman honors the Native American heritage of the state.
The steamboat stands for commerce and the use of rivers in the 19th century.
The palm tree represents the state's natural landscape, and the sabal palm is also the official state tree.
The sunrise and the flowers suggest a warm climate and the state's nickname, the Sunshine State.

History of the Florida flag

Florida became the 27th state in 1845. Its first state flags were simple banners based on the seal, and different versions were in use during the 19th century. The flag adopted in 1868 was a white field with the state seal in the middle. Flags of that kind were hard to tell apart from a white flag of truce, so a campaign was launched to make the flag more distinctive.

In 1900, Florida voters approved a constitutional change that added the red saltire to the flag. The concern was that a plain white flag could be mistaken for a flag of surrender when it hung without wind.

The flag was revised again in 1985. The seal was redrawn to correct historical errors: the palm was changed from a coconut palm to a sabal palm, and the Native American woman, previously shown in a Plains-style headdress, became a Seminole woman in appropriate clothing. This 1985 version is the current Florida flag.