# Live free or die **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407 "2023-05-01T05:28:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/1 "2023-05-01T05:28:25Z")
I was at a recent travel show, and one of the booths was promoting New Hampshire. Thete were several signs reading “Live Free!” (without “or die” at the end to complete the state’s motto). Does anyone know if they are phasing out the complete motto (violence, etc)? I don’t think it appears on their license plates anymore. Maybe this was simply a politically correct way of displaying the motto without upsetting anyone? I can’t really see the whole motto being displayed in large letters at a family-oriented event. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/2 "2023-05-01T05:51:45Z")
> **[Live Free or Die](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Free_or_Die)** > > "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 conveys 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 was adopted from a toast written by General John Stark, New Hampshire's most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War, on July 31,... ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/3 "2023-05-01T06:04:59Z")
For obvious reasons, in its marketing campaigns the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development prefers to focus on the first half of the State’s motto. Too much reflection on the second half is not conducive to encouraging people to visit NH. Nor is there any desire to encourage people to approach the motto as a multiple-choice question. I don’t think we can draw any wider conclusions about the official motto of the State from this. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/4 "2023-05-01T06:56:35Z")
“Visit New Hampshire and Live Free Or Die! (you’re free to choose, but there’s not much else on offer)” Not the most enticing USP. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/5 "2023-05-01T08:10:13Z")
Live with some reasonable state imposed restrictions to your actions and lifestyle and perhaps some social restrictions to your speech and behavior or die? Not as snappy though… ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/6 "2023-05-01T09:11:40Z")
In liberal MA, the NH motto, which reflects the libertarian crappy social net and laissez-faire capitalism of their neighboring state, is sometimes referred to a “Live Free and Die.” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/7 "2023-05-01T09:12:43Z")
Of course it’s better than “[See Naples And Die](https://succulent-plant.com/ephemera/ephemera02.html)” ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/8 "2023-05-01T09:17:54Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Maybe this was simply a politically correct way of displaying the motto without upsetting anyone? I was wondering when the wankers would set their sights on that motto. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/9 "2023-05-01T10:21:20Z")
The Supreme Court already ruled that the vehicle owner can remove the logo. And it wasn’t today’s wanker court, either. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/10 "2023-05-01T11:58:10Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Does anyone know if they are phasing out the complete motto (violence, etc)? I’ve seen no indication that the state is moving away from the complete motto. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/11 "2023-05-01T19:20:10Z")
Could be worse. I think it was Saskatchewan years ago looked for submissions for the provincial motto and one of the more popular was"Saskatchewan - Gateway to Alberta". ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/12 "2023-05-01T20:00:52Z")
I wonder how the hotel owners feel about the “live free” part. But remember the end of the first verse of Dartmouth’s alma mater goes And the granite of New Hampshire In their muscles and their brains. so with granite in their brains, what can you expect? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/13 "2023-05-01T20:15:52Z")
To me, “Live free or die” always sounded like a threat. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/14 "2023-05-01T20:21:53Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The Supreme Court already ruled that the vehicle owner can remove the logo. I prefer the policies we have where I live. For reasons relating to why license plates are issued in the first place, it’s illegal to obscure or deface any part of a license plate. For reasons relating to a reassuring absence of lunatics running our governments, we don’t have crazy slogans on our plates that we may wish to cover up. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/15 "2023-05-01T21:32:59Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > For reasons relating to why license plates are issued in the first place, it’s illegal to obscure or deface any part of a license plate. The decision was from SCOTUS - you have every right to cover up any slogan on your license plate that you desire no matter where in the US you live. > **[Free Speech Center @MTSU](https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/)** > > The Free Speech Center is the most-visited resource on First Amendment freedoms, with free daily news reports and comprehensive First Amendment Encyclopedia. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/16 "2023-05-01T21:35:43Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > For reasons relating to why license plates are issued in the first place, it’s illegal to obscure or deface any part of a license plate. > > The decision was from SCOTUS - you have every right to cover up any slogan on your license plate that you desire no matter where in the US you live. I don’t live in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/17 "2023-05-02T00:37:26Z")
I believe NH is the only state that doesn’t require seat belts, so maybe it should be “Live Free and Die”. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/18 "2023-05-02T02:05:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I don’t live in the US. Do your license plates include political slogans? 'cause ours sometimes do. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/19 "2023-05-02T04:29:14Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Could be worse. I think it was Saskatchewan years ago looked for submissions for the provincial motto and one of the more popular was"Saskatchewan - Gateway to Alberta". Regina - Rhymes with Fun. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407/20 "2023-05-02T05:48:52Z")
Former NH resident here with some historical context - I lived in NH for real from 1969 (age 11) to 1976 (when I graduated high school) and it was still my “home base” for many years afterward, as my parents continued to live there and it was my anchor during my peripatetic college/grad school years. Back in the days of Gov. Mel Thompson and William Loeb (editor of the local paper, the Union Leader), you could choose your license plate: it either said “Live free or die” or “Scenic New Hampshire.” “Live Free or Die” was the choice of all right-thinking residents. Those who chose “Scenic New Hampshire” (my late parents, among a few others) were considered to be weenie leftists, objects of scorn for most residents. In a way, the divide over license plates was a harbinger of the extreme divides we see across the US today. I might add that one of the more tragically ridiculous Mel Thompson pronouncements was the proposition that NH should have its own nuclear arsenal. Probably to protect the state from those socialists in Massachusetts. I don’t pay a great deal of attention to NH politics since the state receded farther and farther into the rear view mirror of my life, but AIUI, things are still distressingly conservative there, but nothing like it was in the 1970s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/live-free-or-die/983407.md?page=2)