The ring of stars that encompass the state's coat of arms represents Georgia as one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

The words of the state motto, "Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation", are wrapped around the pillars, guarded by a figure dressed in colonial attire from the American Revolutionary War.

By this arrangement, while the coat of arms of our own State is the prominent feature of the banner, the seceding States, as they may come into the constellation of our Southern Confederacy, will find their appropriate places in the arch of strength or the bow of promise that spans our glorious banner of free and independent Georgia.

[9] A surviving state flag in the collection of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, however, places the arms on a red field.

[10] The 1879 flag was introduced by Georgia state senator Herman H. Perry and was adopted to memorialize Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War.

[9] Perry was a former colonel in the Confederate army during the war, and he presumably based the design on the First National Flag of the Confederacy, commonly known as the Stars and Bars.

[9] Over the years the flag was changed by adding and altering a charge on the vertical blue band at the hoist.

"[9] Additionally, the 2000 report concluded that the "1956 General Assembly changed the state flag" during "an atmosphere of preserving segregation and resentment" to the U.S. government's rulings on integration.

"[9] Bell, who designed the 1956 flag and supported its adoption during the 1950s as a defense of the state's "institutions", which at the time included segregation, claimed years later that he did so to honor the Confederates.

[9] At the time, opposition to changing the flag came from various sides, including Confederate historical groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

[9] The 2000 Georgia senate report and other critics have interpreted the adoption of the 1956 flag as a symbol of racist protest, citing legislation passed in 1956 which included bills rejecting Brown v. Board of Education and pro-segregationist comments by then-Governor Marvin Griffin, such as "The rest of the nation is looking to Georgia for the lead in segregation.

"[9][12][13] Political pressure for a change in the official state flag increased during the 1990s, in particular during the run-up to the 1996 Olympic Games that were held in Atlanta.

In 1992, Governor Zell Miller announced his intention to get the Confederate element removed, but the state legislature refused to pass any flag-modifying legislation.

[14] Miller's successor as governor, Roy Barnes, responded to increasing calls for a new state flag, and in 2001 hurried a replacement through the Georgia General Assembly.

[18] In 2002, Sonny Perdue was elected governor of Georgia, partially on a platform of allowing Georgians to choose their own flag in a state referendum.

[23] I pledge allegiance to the Georgia Flag and to the principles for which it stands: Wisdom, Justice, Moderation, and Courage.