Texas State Motto

Father Damián Massanet led a Spanish expedition into East Texas in 1689 and encountered the Hasinai Confederacy — a branch of the Caddo Nation. The Caddo greeted the Spanish with the word táysha, meaning friends or allies. Massanet wrote the word as Tejas in his expedition reports and used it as a name for both the people and the region. The spelling shifted over the following century and a half: Tejas became Texas.

The Caddo formed a large confederacy spread across present-day Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The Hasinai branch in East Texas were the first Caddo the Spanish encountered, and their greeting gave a name to the entire territory. By the time Texas declared independence in 1836 and became the 28th state in 1845, the Caddo Nation had been forced from Texas — relocated to Oklahoma in 1859.

In 1930, the 41st Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 22, noting that the state's name came from the Caddo word meaning friendship. By formally adopting 'Friendship' as the motto, the legislature created a direct etymological link: the motto derives from the word that became the name. Texas is the only state with a motto explicitly tracing to a Native American word that became the state's name.

'Remember the Alamo' appears on the reverse side of Texas's Great Seal above a shield with a cannon and rifle, the Alamo facade, and a live oak. It does not have official status as a state motto. Texas's government has never designated it as such. It appears on the seal as a historical reference to the 1836 Battle of the Alamo — not as a legal motto.

'Don't Mess with Texas' is an anti-littering slogan created by the Texas Department of Transportation in 1985 for a highway cleanup campaign. It became one of the most recognized advertising campaigns in state history and reduced litter on Texas highways by 72 percent over five years. It is not, and has never been, an official state motto.

Texas waited 94 years after independence — from 1836 to 1930 — before officially designating any motto. During those 94 years, 'Remember the Alamo' functioned as an informal rallying cry embedded in Texas identity. The 1930 legislature's choice of 'Friendship' was quiet and etymological, connected to Indigenous history, while the more dramatically charged alternatives remained informal.

Texas declared independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836. It existed as the Republic of Texas for nine years, then joined the United States on December 29, 1845 as the 28th state. Neither the Republic nor the early state designated an official motto. Texas spent 94 years — from independence through 1930 — without a formal motto.

The 41st Legislature addressed this gap in a fourth called session in February 1930. A called session is convened between regular sessions when the governor determines legislative action is needed. That the legislature convened specifically to address state business — and chose to designate a motto during that session — suggests the action was taken as part of a broader effort to codify state symbols during that period.

House Concurrent Resolution No. 22 passed with little recorded opposition. The resolution explained the Caddo etymology and designated 'Friendship' as the official motto. No separate statute exists — the motto rests on the 1930 resolution. Texas is one of the later states to adopt an official motto, joining a process most states completed in the 19th century.