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.

The phrase comes from a toast written by General John Stark on July 31, 1809. Stark was New Hampshire's most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War.  His poor health forced him to decline an invitation to a reunion of the Battle of Bennington.  He sent 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 it appears.

References

 Outside websites
New Hampshire state law creating motto
The motto is one of the 101 reasons cited by the Free State Project for the choice of New Hampshire as their destination.  

Category:State mottos of the United States
Category:New Hampshire
Category:1945 establishments in the United States
Category:20th-century establishments in New Hampshire