The
Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the
United States federal governmentThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. The phrase is used both for the physical
sealA seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...
itself (which is kept by the
United States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
), and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The Great Seal was first used publicly in 1782.
The obverse of the great seal is used as the national
coat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the United States. It is officially used on documents such as
United States passportUnited States passports are passports issued to citizens and non-citizen nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides issuing passports , also limited use passport cards are issued by the same organization subject to the same...
s, military
insigniaInsignia or insigne pl -nia or -nias : a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction...
,
embassyA diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
placardA placard is a notice installed in a public place, like a small card, sign, or plaque. It can be attached to or hung from a vehicle or building to indicate information about the vehicle operator or contents of a vehicle or building.- Buildings :...
s, and various
flags-Historical progression of designs:Since 1818, a star for each new state has been added to the flag on the Fourth of July immediately following each state's admission...
. As a
coat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, the design has official colors; the physical Great Seal itself, as affixed to paper, is
monochromeMonochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
.
Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal have appeared on the reverse of the
one-dollar billThe United States one-dollar bill is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the oldest...
. The
Seal of the President of the United StatesThe Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. president to the United States Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S...
is directly based on the Great Seal, and its elements are used in numerous government agency and state seals.
Obverse
The design on the obverse (or front) of the seal is the coat of arms of the United States. The shield, though sometimes drawn incorrectly, has two main differences from the
American flagThe national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
. First, it has no stars on the blue
chiefIn heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
(though other arms based on it do: the chief of the
arms of the United States SenateThe Seal of the United States Senate is the seal officially adopted by the United States Senate to authenticate certain official documents. Its design also sometimes serves as a sign and symbol of the Senate, appearing on its official flag among other places. The current version dates from 1886,...
may show 13 or 50, and the shield of the 9/11 Commission has, sometimes, 50 mullets on the
chiefIn heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
). Second, unlike the American flag, the outermost stripes are white, not red; so as not to violate the
heraldicHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
rule of tinctureThe first rule of heraldic design is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour . This means that Or and argent may not be placed on each other; nor may any of the colours be placed on another colour...
.
The supporter of the shield is a
bald eagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
with its wings outstretched (or "displayed," in
heraldicHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
terms). From the eagle's perspective, it holds a bundle of 13
arrowAn arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
s in its left
talonA talon is a sharp claw of an animal, especially a bird of prey, such as the eagle, hawk, falcon, owl, or buzzard. It may also refer to:Places:* Talon, Nièvre, a commune in the Nièvre département in France...
, (referring to the
13 original statesThe Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
), and an
olive branchThe olive branch in Western culture, derived from the customs of Ancient Greece, symbolizes peace or victory and was worn by brides.-Ancient Greece and Rome:...
in its right talon, together symbolizing that the United States of America has "a strong desire for peace, but will always be ready for war." (see
Olive Branch PetitionThe Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Continental Congress in July 1775 in an attempt to avoid a full-blown war with Great Britain. The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict...
). Although not specified by law, the olive branch is usually depicted with 13 leaves and 13 olives, again representing the 13 original states. The eagle has its head turned towards the olive branch, said to symbolize a preference for peace. In its beak, the eagle clutches a scroll with the motto
E pluribus unumE pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
("Out of Many, One"). Over its head there appears a "
gloryA glory is an optical phenomenon that resembles an iconic saint's halo about the shadow of the observer's head. The effect is produced by light backscattered towards its source by a cloud of uniformly sized water droplets...
" with 13 mullets (stars) on a blue field. In the current (and several previous) dies of the great seal, the 13 stars above the eagle are arranged in rows of 1-4-3-4-1, forming a six-pointed star.
The 1782 resolution of
CongressThe Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the states. It was the immediate successor to the Second...
adopting the arms, still in force, legally
blazonIn heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
ed the shield as "Paleways of 13 pieces,
argentIn heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...
and
gulesIn heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
; a
chiefIn heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
,
azureIn heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....
." As the designers recognized, this is a technically incorrect blazon under traditional English heraldic rules, since in English practice a vertically striped shield would be described as "
palyA pale is a term used in heraldic blazon and vexillology to describe a charge on a coat of arms , that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Writers broadly agree that the width of the pale ranges from about one-fifth to about one-third of the width of the...
", not "paleways", and it could not be striped of an uneven number. A more technically proper blazon would have been
argent, six pallets gules... (six red stripes on a white field), but the phrase used was chosen to preserve the reference to the 13 original states.
Reverse
The 1782 resolution adopting the seal
blazonIn heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
s the image on the reverse as "A
pyramidA pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
unfinished. In the zenith an eye in a triangle, surrounded by a glory, proper." The pyramid is conventionally shown as consisting of 13 layers to refer to the 13 original states. The adopting resolution provides that it is inscribed on its base with the date
MDCCLXXVI (1776) in
Roman numeralsThe numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
. Where the top of the pyramid should be, the
Eye of ProvidenceThe Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
watches over it. Two mottos appear:
Annuit cœptisAnnuit cœptis is one of two mottos on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States....
signifies that Providence has "approved of (our) undertakings."
Novus ordo seclorumThe phrase Novus ordo seclorum appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, first designed in 1782 and printed on the back of the United States one-dollar bill since 1935. The phrase also appears on the coat of arms of the Yale School of Management, Yale University's business...
, freely taken from
VirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, is Latin for "a new order of the ages." The reverse has never been cut (as a seal) but appears, for example, on the back of the one-dollar bill.
Symbolism
The only official explanation of the symbolism of the great seal was given by
Charles ThomsonCharles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
upon presenting the final design for adoption by Congress. He wrote:
Thomson took the symbolism for the colors from a book called
Elements of Heraldy by Antoine Pyron du Martre, which
William BartonWilliam Barton was a Pennsylvania lawyer, scholar, and the designer of the Great Seal of the United States.- Family and Education :...
had lent to him. That book claimed that argent (white) "signifies Purity, Innocence, Beauty, and Genteelness", gules (red) "denotes martial Prowess, Boldness, and Hardiness", and azure (blue) "signifies Justice, Perseverance, and Vigilance".
Symbolism of items numbering thirteen
In honor of the fact that there were originally thirteen States in the Union, the inclusion of items consisting of this number is a common motif in the seal. The official description of the seal states that there should be thirteen stars in the "glory" above the eagle's head, thirteen stripes on the shield, and thirteen arrows in the eagle’s talon. The initial description of the reverse specified thirteen
levels to the pyramidStep pyramids are structures which characterized several cultures throughout history, in several locations throughout the world. These pyramids typically are large and made of several layers of stone...
, and though the number was left out of the final version, all depictions typically still show thirteen levels. Also by custom, since 1885 there are thirteen leaves and olives on the olive branch. The fact that there are thirteen letters in two of the mottos ("e pluribus unum" and "annuit cœptis") seems to be coincidental (and depends on whether one considers the ligature "
œŒ œŒ is a Latin alphabet grapheme, a ligature of o and e. In medieval and early modern Latin, it was used to represent the Greek diphthong οι, a usage which continues in English and French...
" to be one letter or two).
Seal press
In the Department of State, the term "Great Seal" includes not just the die, but also the counterdie, the press, and cabinet in which it is housed. There have been several presses used since the seal was introduced, but none of the mechanisms used from 1782 through 1904 have survived. The seal, and apparently its press, was saved when
Washington, D.C. was burnedThe Burning of Washington was an armed conflict during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following...
in 1814 though no one knows by whom.
The press in use today was made in 1903 by R. Hoe & Co's chief cabinetmaker Frederick S. Betchley in conjunction with the 1904 die, with the cabinet being made of mahogany. It is marked with the contracted completion date of June 15, 1903, but delays and reworking pushed final delivery into early 1904. From 1945 to 1955, the Great Seal changed quarters almost once a year. In 1955, the seal was put on public display for the first time in a central location in the Department's main building. In 1961 the Seal became the focus of the new Department Exhibit Hall, where it resides today in a glass enclosure. The enclosure remains locked at all times, even during the sealing of a document.
The seal can only be affixed by an officer of the Department of State, under the authority of the Secretary of State. To seal a document, first a blank paper wafer is glued onto its front in a space provided for it. The document is then placed between the die and counterdie, with the wafer lined up between them. Holding the document with one hand, the weighted arm of the press is pulled with the other, driving the die down onto the wafer, impressing the seal in relief. When envelopes containing letters need to be sealed, the wafer is imprinted first and then glued to the sealed envelope. It is used approximately 2,000 to 3,000 times a year.
Documents which require the seal include treaty ratifications, international agreements, appointments of ambassadors and civil officers, and communications from the President to heads of foreign governments. The seal was once required on presidential
proclamationA proclamation is an official declaration.-England and Wales:In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of...
s, and on some now-obsolete documents such as
exequaturAn exequatur is a legal document issued by a sovereign authority allowing a right to be enforced in the authority's domain of competence. The word is a form of the Latin verb exequi, and means let it be executed in Latin.-International relations:...
s and
Mediterranean passThe Mediterranean pass was a document which identified a ship as being protected under a treaty with states of the Barbary Coast. Now known as the Barbary pirates, they required countries to pay tribute in exchange for not capturing that country's ships and crews...
ports.
History
On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from
Great BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
was declared by the thirteen states, the
Continental CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
named the first committee to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country. Similar to other nations, The United States of America needed an official symbol of sovereignty to formalize and seal (or sign) international treaties and transactions. It took six years, three committees, and the contributions of fourteen men before the
CongressThe Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the states. It was the immediate successor to the Second...
finally accepted a design (which included elements proposed by each of the three committees) in 1782.
First committee
The first committee consisted of
Benjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
,
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
. While they were three of the five primary authors of the
Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, they had little experience in
heraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
and sought the help of
Pierre Eugene du SimitierePierre Eugene du Simitiere , born Pierre-Eugène Ducimetière , was a philosopher, member of the American Philosophical Society, naturalist, American patriot, and portrait painter...
, an artist living in Philadelphia who would later also design the state seals of Delaware and New Jersey and start a museum of the Revolutionary War. Each of these men proposed a design for the seal.
Franklin chose an allegorical scene from Exodus, described in his notes as "
MosesMoses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
standing on the Shore, and extending his Hand over the Sea, thereby causing the same to overwhelm
PharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
who is sitting in an open Chariot, a Crown on his Head and a Sword in his Hand. Rays from a
Pillar of FireA Pillar of Fire was one of the manifestations of the presence of the God of Israel in the Torah. According to Exodus, the pillar of fire provided light so that Jews could travel by night during the Exodus from Egypt . The pillar of fire is traditionally paired with the manifestation of the divine...
in the Clouds reaching to Moses, to express that he acts by Command of the Deity." Motto, "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God." Jefferson suggested a depiction of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for the front of the seal; and Hengest and Horsa, the two brothers who were the legendary leaders of the first
Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
settlers in
BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, for the reverse side of the seal. Adams chose a painting known as the "Judgment of Hercules" where the young
HerculesHercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
must choose to travel either on the flowery path of self-indulgence or the rugged, more difficult, uphill path of duty to others and honor to himself.
In August, Du Simitière showed his design, which was more along conventional heraldic lines. The shield had six sections, each representing "the Countries from which these States have been peopled" (England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, and Holland), surrounded by the initials of all thirteen states. The
supportersIn heraldry, supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. These figures may be real or imaginary animals, human figures, and in rare cases plants or inanimate objects...
were a female figure representing
LibertyGoddesses named for and representing the concept Liberty have existed in many cultures, including classical examples dating from the Roman Empire and some national symbols such as the British "Britannia" or the Irish "Kathleen Ni Houlihan"....
holding an anchor of hope and a spear with a
capThe Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
, and on the other side an American soldier holding a rifle and tomahawk. The
crestA crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
was the "The
Eye of ProvidenceThe Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
in a radiant Triangle whose
GloryA halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
extends over the Shield and beyond the Figures", and the motto
E Pluribus UnumE pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
(Out of Many, One) in a scroll at the bottom.
On August 20, 1776 the committee presented their report to Congress. The committee members chose Du Simitière's design, though it was changed to remove the anchor of hope and replace the soldier with
Lady JusticeLady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
holding a sword and a balance. Surrounding the main elements was the inscription "Seal of the United States of America MDCCLXXVI". For the reverse, Franklin's design of Moses parting the Red Sea was used. Congress was however not impressed, and on the same day ordered the report to "
lie on the tableIn parliamentary procedure, a motion to table has two different and contradictory meanings:*In the United States, table usually means the motion to lay on the table or motion to postpone consideration; a proposal to suspend consideration of a pending motion...
", ending the work of the committee.
While the designs in their entirety were not used, the E Pluribus Unum motto was chosen for the final seal, and the roman-numeral 1776 and Eye of Providence is used on the reverse. Jefferson also liked Franklin's motto so much, he ended up using it on his personal seal.
The motto was almost certainly taken from the title page of
Gentleman's MagazineThe Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
, a monthly magazine published in London which had used it from its first edition in 1731, and was well known in the colonies. The motto alluded to the magazine being a collection of articles obtained from other newspapers, and was used in most of its editions until 1833. The motto was taken in turn from
Gentleman's Journal, a similar magazine which ran briefly from 1692 to 1694. While variants turn up in other places (for example a poem often ascribed to
VirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
called
Moretum contains the phrase
E Pluribus Unus), this is the oldest known use of the exact phrase. Another source was some of the Continental currency issued earlier in 1776; these were designed by Franklin and featured the motto
We Are One surrounded by thirteen rings, each with the name of a colony. This design is echoed in the seal submitted by the first committee, and the motto was quite possibly a Latin version of this concept.
The
Eye of ProvidenceThe Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
had been a well-known classical symbol of the deity since at least the
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, which Du Simitiere was familiar with.
Second committee
For three and a half years no further action was taken, during which time the Continental Congress was forced out of Philadelphia before returning in 1778. On March 25, 1780 a second committee to design a great seal was formed, which consisted of
James LovellJames Lovell was an American educator and statesman from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1782. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation....
,
John Morin ScottJohn Morin Scott was a lawyer, military officer, and statesman before, during and after the American Revolution.-Ancestry:...
, and William Churchill Houston. Like the first committee, they sought the help of someone more experienced in heraldry, this time
Francis HopkinsonFrancis Hopkinson , an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania...
, who did most of the work.
Hopkinson was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, helped design the American flag, and also helped design state and other government seals. He made two similar proposals, each having an obverse and reverse side, with themes of war and peace.
Hopkinson's first design had a shield with thirteen diagonal red and white stripes, supported on one side by figure bearing an olive branch and representing peace, and on the other an Indian warrior holding a bow and arrow, and holding a shiver. The crest was a radiant constellation of thirteen stars. The motto was "Bello vel pace paratus", meaning "prepared in war or in peace". The reverse, in Hopkinson's words, was "Liberty is seated in a chair holding an olive branch and her
staffA liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap. They are associated with the Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century.-American Revolution:...
is topped by a
Liberty capThe Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
. The motto `Virtute perennis' means `Everlasting because of virtue.' The date in Roman numerals is 1776."
In his second proposal, the Indian warrior was replaced by a soldier holding a sword, and the motto was shortened to "Bello vel paci", meaning "For war or for peace".
The committee chose the second version, and reported back to Congress on May 10, 1780, six weeks after being formed. Their final blazon, printed in Congress journals on May 17, was: "The Shield charged on the Field Azure with 13 diagonal stripes alternate rouge and argent. Supporters; dexter, a Warriour holding a Sword; sinister, a Figure representing Peace bearing an Olive Branch. The Crest; a radiant Constellation of 13 Stars. The motto, Bella vel Paci." Once again, Congress did not find the result acceptable. They referred the matter back to the committee, which did no further work on the matter.
As with the first design, several elements were eventually used in the final seal; the thirteen stripes on the shield with their colors, the constellation of stars surrounded by clouds, the olive branch, and the arrows (from Hopkinson's first proposal). Hopkinson had previously used the constellation and clouds on a $40 Continental currency note he designed in 1778. The same note also used an Eye of Providence, taken from the first committee's design.
Third committee
After two more years, Congress formed a third committee on May 4, 1782, this time consisting of
John RutledgeJohn Rutledge was an American statesman and judge. He was the first Governor of South Carolina following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 31st overall...
,
Arthur MiddletonArthur Middleton , of Charleston, South Carolina, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence....
, and
Elias BoudinotElias Boudinot was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey...
.
Arthur LeeDr. Arthur Lee was an American diplomat during the American Revolutionary War. He was the son of Hon. Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Ludwell...
replaced Rutledge, although he was not officially appointed. As with the previous two committees, most of the work was delegated to a heraldic expert, this time 28-year-old
William BartonWilliam Barton was a Pennsylvania lawyer, scholar, and the designer of the Great Seal of the United States.- Family and Education :...
.
Barton drew a design very quickly, using a rooster on the crest, but it was much too complex. No drawing of this design seems to have survived.
Barton then came up with another design, which the committee submitted back to Congress on May 9, 1782, just five days after being formed. This time, the figures on each side of the shield were the "Genius of the American Confederated Republic" represented by a maiden, and on the other side an American warrior. At the top is an eagle and on the pillar in the shield is a "Phoenix in Flames". The mottos were "In Vindiciam Libertatis" (In Defense of Liberty) and "Virtus sola invicta" (Only virtue unconquered).
For the reverse, Barton used a
pyramidA pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
of thirteen
stepsStep pyramids are structures which characterized several cultures throughout history, in several locations throughout the world. These pyramids typically are large and made of several layers of stone...
, with the radiant Eye of Providence overhead, and used the mottos "Deo Favente" (With God's Favor, or more literally, God Favoring) and "Perennis" (Everlasting). The pyramid had come from another Continental currency note designed in 1778 by Hopkinson, this time the $50 note, which had a nearly identical pyramid and the motto "Perennis". Barton had at first specified "on the Summit of it a Palm Tree, proper", with the explanation that "The Palm Tree, when burnt down to the very Root, naturally rises fairer than ever", but later crossed it out and replaced it with the Eye of Providence, taken from the first committee's design.
Congress again took no action on the submitted design.
Final design
On June 13, 1782, the Congress turned to its Secretary
Charles ThomsonCharles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
, and provided all material submitted by the first three committees. Thomson was 53 years old, and had been a Latin master at a Philadelphia academy. Thomson took elements from all three previous committees, coming up with a new design which provided the basis for the final seal.
Thomson used the eagle – this time specifying an American
bald eagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
– as the sole supporter on the shield. The shield had thirteen stripes, this time in a chevron pattern, and the eagle's claws held an olive branch and a bundle of thirteen arrows. For the crest, he used Hopkinson's constellation of thirteen stars. The motto was
E Pluribus Unum, taken from the first committee, and was on a scroll held in the eagle's beak.
An eagle holding symbols of war and peace has a long history, and also echoed the second committee's themes. Franklin owned a 1702 emblem book, which included an eagle with olive branch and arrows near its talons, which may have been a source for Thomson. The arrows also mirror those in the arms of the
Dutch RepublicThe Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, the only country in Europe with a representative government at the time, which depicted a lion holding seven arrows representing their seven provinces. State currency may have provided further inspiration; a 1775 South Carolina bill showed a bundle of 13 arrows and a 1775 Maryland note depicted a hand with an olive branch of 13 leaves.
For the reverse, Thomson essentially kept Barton's design, but re-added the triangle around the Eye of Providence and changed the mottos to
Annuit Cœptis and
Novus Ordo Seclorum. Thomson sent his designs back to Barton, who made some final alterations. The stripes on the shield were changed again, this time to "
palewiseA pale is a term used in heraldic blazon and vexillology to describe a charge on a coat of arms , that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Writers broadly agree that the width of the pale ranges from about one-fifth to about one-third of the width of the...
" (vertical), and the eagle's wing position was changed to "displayed" (wingtips up) instead of "rising". Barton also wrote a more properly heraldic blazon.
The design was submitted to Congress on June 20, 1782 and was accepted the same day. Thomson included a page of explanatory notes, but no drawing was submitted. This remains the official definition of the Great Seal today.
The first brass die was cut sometime between June and September, and placed in the State House in Philadelphia. It was first used by Thomson on September 16, 1782, to verify signatures on a document which authorized
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
to negotiate an exchange of prisoners.
Charles Thomson, as the Secretary of Congress, remained the keeper of the seal until the
Federal governmentThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
was formed in 1789. On July 24, 1789, President Washington asked Thomson to deliver the seal to the Department of Foreign Affairs in the person of Roger Alden, who kept it until the Department of State was created. All subsequent Secretaries of State have been responsible for applying the Seal to diplomatic documents.
On September 15, 1789, the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
ordered that "that the seal heretofore used by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be, and hereby is declared to be, the seal of the United States."
Sources of elements
The final design was a combination of elements provided by all three committees:
- First committee
- E Pluribus Unum
- Eye of Providence in a triangle
- 1776 in Roman numerals
- Second committee
- Thirteen red and white stripes and blue chief on shield
- Constellation of 13 stars, surrounded by clouds and glory
- War and peace theme, including olive branch and (on first draft) arrows
- Third committee
- Eagle (though not a bald eagle)
- Unfinished pyramid
- Overall design of the reverse
- Charles Thomson
- Overall design of the obverse
- Bald eagle
- Annuit Cœptis
- Novus Ordo Seclorum
- William Barton
- Vertical stripes on shield
- Position of eagle's wings
Seal dies
The metallic die of the obverse side of the Great Seal is what actually embosses the design onto documents. These dies eventually wear down, requiring replacements to be made. The current die is the seventh engraving of the seal, and the actual design on the dies has evolved over time.
First die
The first die was made of brass, and measured 2 1/16 inches in diameter while being one half inch thick. It was cut sometime between June and September, 1782 (i.e. between the design being accepted and its first use), although the exact date is not known. The identity of the engraver is also not known; it may have been
Robert ScotRobert Scot was the first Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from its inception in 1793 until his death in 1823. He was succeeded by William Kneass.-Early life:...
but Thomson may also have found a private engraver on his own.
The first die depicts a relatively crude crested eagle, thin-legged and somewhat awkward. There is no fruit on the olive branch, and the engraver added a border of
acanthusAcanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches...
leaves. Depicting an eagle with a crest is typical in heraldry, but is at odds with the official blazon of the seal which specifies a bald eagle (which have no crests). The blazon does not specify the arrangement of the stars (which were randomly placed in Thomson's sketch) nor the number of points; the engraver chose six-pointed stars (typical of English heraldry), and arranged them in a larger six-pointed star. No drawing made by the engraver has ever been found, and it is not known if Thomson provided any.
This first die was used until 1841, and is now on display in the
National ArchivesThe National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
There was no die made of the reverse side of the seal (and in fact, one has never been made). The intended use was for pendant seals, which are discs of wax attached to the document by a cord or ribbon, and thus have two sides. However, the United States did not use pendant seals at the time, and there was no need for a die of the reverse.
According to Benson Lossing in 1856, who claimed to have a wax impression, Congress later ordered a version half the size to impress wax and paper. More recent research has not been able to verify this claim, with no record of this seal being found.
Continental Congress President's seal
Shortly after the first die, the
Congress of the ConfederationThe Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the states. It was the immediate successor to the Second...
ordered a smaller seal for the use of the
President of the CongressThe President of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates that emerged as the first national government of the United States during the American Revolution...
. It was a small oval, with the crest from the Great Seal (the radiant constellation of thirteen stars surrounded by clouds) in the center, with the motto
E Pluribus Unum above it. Benson Lossing claimed it was used by all the Presidents of the Congress after 1782, probably to seal envelopes on correspondence sent to the Congress, though only examples from
Thomas MifflinThomas Mifflin was an American merchant and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania, President of the Continental...
are documented.
This seal's use apparently did not pass over to the new government in 1789. Today's
Seal of the President of the United StatesThe Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. president to the United States Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S...
, which developed by custom over a long period before being defined in law, is a more full-featured version of the Great Seal.
Masi Treaty-Seal die of 1825
Starting with the ratification of the
Treaty of GhentThe Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, the United States began to use pendant seals on treaties, where the seal is impressed onto a separate wax disc and attached to the document with cords. Although the reverse side of the seal was designed for this purpose, a die was still not made but rather the obverse was impressed on one side only using the regular die. However, this did not conform to the European tradition of using much larger seals for treaties. To address this, Seraphim Masi of Washington D.C. was asked to design a larger seal specifically for treaties. Masi produced a quite different design, showing a much more realistic (and uncrested) eagle, turned somewhat to the side. He also added fruits to the olive branch, changed the shape of the shield, and depicted the crest differently (though using the same arrangement of six-pointed stars). It was 4 11/16 inches in diameter.
These seals were transported in metallic boxes called skippets, which protected the actual wax seal from damage. The skippets themselves also were engraved with the seal design. Several skippets were made at a time, which the State Department used as needed. Usually skippets were made out of
sterling silverSterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925....
, though for the Japanese
treatyOn March 31, 1854, the or was concluded between Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy and the Tokugawa shogunate.-Treaty of Peace and Amity :...
following Commodore Perry's mission a golden box was used (the ratification of that treaty, made later in 1854, had an even more elaborate and expensive seal and heavy gold skippet).
The Masi treaty die was used until 1871, almost exclusively for treaties, at which point the U.S. government discontinued the use of pendant seals. The die is also currently on display at the National Archives. Masi's company made most of the skippets for almost twenty years, after which the State Department switched to nearly identical versions made by Samuel Lewis. At least one 1871 treaty seal was actually made using a Lewis skippet mold instead of the Masi die, meaning it too is technically an official die.
1841 die
Over time, the original seal became worn and needed to be replaced. John Peter Van Ness Throop of Washington D.C. engraved a new die in 1841, which is also sometimes known as the "illegal seal" because only six arrows are shown rather than the required thirteen. Throop also chose to use five pointed stars, though kept the six-pointed star arrangement, a change which has continued in all subsequent dies. Other changes include a more vigorous and uncrested eagle, the removal of the acanthus leaves, a general crowding of the design upwards, a different shape to the shield, and fruit on the olive branch (four olives).
The seal was 2 1/8 inches in diameter. In 1866 the first counterdie was made, which is the same design in opposite relief. The paper was placed in between the die and counterdie, resulting in a sharper impression in the paper than from one die alone. The use of counterdies continues to this day.
1877 die
The United States Centennial in 1876 had renewed interest in national symbols, and articles appeared noting the irregularities in the 1841 seal. However, when it came time to replace the worn 1841 die, the Department of State kept with the same design.
The new die was engraved by Herman Baumgarten of Washington, D.C. His version followed the 1841 die very closely, including the errors, and was the same size. The most notable differences were slightly larger stars and lettering. The workmanship on the die was relatively poor, with no impression being very clear, and it is considered the poorest of all Great Seal dies. Ironically, it was the one in use during the seal's centennial in 1882.
1885 die
By early 1881 the State Department started responding to criticism of the seal, resulting first in an 1882 centennial commemorative coin, and then with Secretary of State Frederick Frelinghuysen asking for funds to create a new design and dies of both the obverse and reverse on January 11, 1884, after getting estimates of the cost. Congress eventually appropriated $1,000 for those purposes on July 7, 1884. The design contract went to
Tiffany & Co.Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
Theodore F. Dwight, Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library of the Department of State, supervised the process. He brought in several consultants to consider a design from historical, heraldric, and artistic points of view. These included
Justin WinsorJustin Winsor was a prominent American writer, librarian, and historian.-Background and education:Winsor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, son of Nathaniel Winsor III and Ann Thomas Howland Winsor...
, an historical scholar,
Charles Eliot NortonCharles Eliot Norton, was a leading American author, social critic, and professor of art. He was a militant idealist, a progressive social reformer, and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries considered the most cultivated man in the United States.-Biography:Norton was born at...
, a
HarvardHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
professor, William H. Whitmore, author of
Elements of Heraldry, John Denison Chaplin, Jr., an expert on engraving and associate editor of
American Cyclopædia, the sculptor
Augustus Saint-GaudensAugustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
, and even the botanist
Asa Gray-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
to help with the olive branch. Tiffany's chief designer, James Horton Whitehouse, was the artist responsible for the actual design.
On December 13, 1884, following much research and discussion amongst the group, Whitehouse submitted his designs. The result was a much more formal and heraldic look, completely different than previous dies, and has remained essentially unchanged since. The eagle is a great deal more robust, and clutches the olive branch and arrows from behind. The 13 arrows were restored, in accordance with the original law, and the olive branch was depicted with 13 leaves and 13 olives. The clouds surrounding the constellation were made a complete circle for the first time. The resulting die was made of steel, was 3 inches (76.2 mm) wide, and weighed one pound six ounces.
In a letter accompanying their designs, Tiffany gave their reasonings behind various elements. The eagle was made as realistic as the rules of heraldry would permit, and the scroll style was chosen to least interfere with the eagle. There were no stars in the
chiefIn heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
(the area at the top of the shield), as is sometimes seen, as there are none specified in the blazon and thus including them would violate the rules of heraldry. Some had suggested allowing the rays of the sun to extend through the clouds, as appears to be specified in the original law and sometimes seen in other versions, but Whitehouse rejected that idea and kept with the traditional die representation. He also considered adding flowers to the olive branch, but decided against it, as "the unspecified number of flowers would be assumed to mean something when it would not".
Tiffany also submitted a design for the reverse of the seal, but even though Congress had ordered one a die was not created. The members of the consulting group were somewhat disparaging of even the design of the obverse, but especially critical of the reverse, and suggested not making it at all. Dwight eventually agreed and did not order the die, though he said it was "not improper" that one eventually be made. To this day, there has never been an official die made of the reverse.
1904 die
After only 17 years, the seal was no longer making a good impression (probably due to a worn counterdie). On July 1, 1902, Congress passed an act to appropriate $1250 to have the seal recut. There was some discussion among State Department officials whether to redo the design again, but given the thought that had gone into the 1885 version, it was decided to recreate that design. Congress renewed the law on March 3, 1903, since no action had yet been taken, and this time specified that it be recut from the existing model which ended any further discussion.
The die was engraved by Max Zietler of the Philadelphia firm of Baily Banks & Biddle in 1903 (and is thus sometimes called the 1903 die), but final delivery was delayed until January 1904 due to issues with the press. There were slight differences; the impressions were sharper, the feathers more pointed, and the talons have shorter joints. Also, two small heraldic errors which had persisted on all previous seal dies were fixed: the rays of the glory were drawn with dots to
indicate the tinctureThe system of heraldry has two main methods to designate the tinctures of arms in uncolored illustrations: hatching and tricking. Hatching, i.e. patterns of lines and dots, is the most common method to designate colours on uncoloured surfaces, like engravings, seals and coins.The present day...
gold, and the background of the stars was drawn with horizontal lines to indicate azure.
The die was first used on January 26, 1904, and was used for 26 years. All dies made since have followed exactly the same design, and in 1986 the
Bureau of Engraving and PrintingThe Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...
made a master die from which all future dies will be made. The current die is the seventh, and was made in 1986.
Dorsett seal
In 1894 Palemon Howard Dorsett, a lifelong Department of Agriculture employee, turned up at the Department of State with a metal die engraved with the Great Seal claiming it had originally been given to his family by a nephew of
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. It was examined by
Gaillard HuntGaillard Hunt was an American author and civil servant.Gaillard Hunt is notable because several of his works have been republished, in electronic form.Available works include:...
, the author of a pamphlet on the Great Seal, who agreed that it appeared to be contemporaneous with the original 1782 seal but took no further interest in the matter.
Decades later in 1936, Dorsett wrote again regarding his die, and this time it was investigated more thoroughly. It is a very similar design to the first Great Seal die and obviously copied from it, even including a border of acanthus leaves. The eagle was different though, being more spirited with its wings more widely outspread. More significantly, the arrows and the olive branch are switched, indicating an intentional "difference" to distinguish it from the actual Great Seal. It is the same size as the first die, and is made of bronze. There was no indication that it could actually be used in a seal press, and a search of government documents showed no use of the seal anywhere.
The investigation also turned up some facts which supported Dorsett's story: documents relating to the sale of Washington's estate list "plates arms U.S." being sold to Thomas Hammond (a son-in-law of
Charles WashingtonCharles Washington was the youngest brother of United States President George Washington. He was a son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington....
and therefore a nephew by marriage to George Washington), and also the Hammond and Dorsett families both had roots in West Virginia just a few miles apart. Afterwards Dorsett loaned his seal to
Mount VernonThe name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
, and his heirs made it a donation. It was eventually put on display in a museum there.
The origins and purpose of this die remain unknown. Both Hunt and the authors of
Eagle and the Shield speculate it was meant to be used by either the President of the Congress or later by the President of the United States, but there is no other evidence to support this. In October and November 2007, two more dies were discovered in Rhode Island with exactly the same design (though cut in relief), even down to the same small flaws. They were made of silver-plated lead, which is sometimes used as an engraving test since it is a cheaper metal.
Notable depictions
The Great Seal very quickly became a popular symbol of the country. Combined with the heraldic tradition of artistic freedom so long as the particulars of the blazon are followed, a wide variety of official and unofficial emblazonments appeared, especially in the first hundred years. This is evident even in the different versions of the seal die. The quality of the 1885 design, coupled with a spirit of bureaucratic standardization that characterized that era, has driven most of these out of official use.
James Trenchard engravings
In 1786, for the first two issues of
Columbian Magazine, Philadelphia engraver James Trenchard wrote articles on the obverse (in September 1786) and reverse (in October 1786) of the Great Seal, and each issue included a full-page engraving of his own original version of the discussed side of the seal. The project apparently was aided by William Barton, as the official law was printed along with supplemental notes from Barton. Trenchard's obverse featured randomly placed stars, like Thomson's drawing, and had the rays of the glory extending beyond the clouds upward, with the clouds themselves being in an arc. The reverse also followed the blazon carefully, and featured an elongated pyramid with the requisite mottos and the Eye of Providence (a right eye, unlike versions which followed). While not official, Trenchard's depiction had an obvious influence on subsequent official versions, and was the first known public rendering of the reverse side (and only one for many years).
St. Paul's Chapel painting
St. Paul's Chapel in New York City has a large oil painting of the national coat of arms, believed installed sometime in 1786. It was commissioned on October 7, 1785, not long after the
Congress of the ConfederationThe Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the states. It was the immediate successor to the Second...
began meeting in nearby
Federal HallFederal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...
. The painting hangs over Washington's pew, across the room from a painting of the
arms of New YorkThe state seal of New York features the state arms surrounded by the words "The Great Seal of the State of New York." A banner below shows the New York State motto ....
over the Governor's pew. The painting has many similarities to Trenchard's version (or vice versa depending on which came first), including the random placement of stars and details of the eagle. The clouds are in a full circle though instead of an arc, and the rays extend beyond them in all directions. The shield has a gold chain border with a badge at the bottom. This is the earliest known full-color version of the seal design, and the artist is unknown.
Indian Peace Medals
European powers had traditionally given "peace medals" to native American Indians in an attempt to curry favor, and the newly created United States followed suit. On April 28, 1786, the Congress authorized creation of
Indian Peace MedalThe term Indian Peace Medals is most commonly associated with circular silver medallions distributed to Native American tribal representatives by representatives of the United States government. They were designed and created by a man named John Reich. They were made in three sizes: small, medium...
s with the coat of arms (obverse of the Great Seal) on one side, and various designs on the other. The medals were typically oval and made of silver, and were fairly large. The use of the arms on these medals continued through 1795, with the more famous ones having a scene with George Washington on the other side. Medals made after this time used other designs, and the practice continued through the administration of
Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
.
The design of the arms on these medals, made by the U.S. Mint, follow the Trenchard design very closely. The stars are six-pointed, and randomly placed. The clouds form an arc, with the rays of the glory upward and outwards, a design reminiscent of the modern-day
Seal of the President of the United StatesThe Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. president to the United States Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S...
.
Diplomatic Medal
In 1790 it was decided to award diplomatic medals to foreign envoys at the end of their service, as a less-extravagant version of the European custom to give diplomats expensive gifts upon their departure. Thomas Jefferson (then the Secretary of State) instructed the U.S.
chargé d'affairesIn diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
in Paris (
William ShortWilliam Short was Thomas Jefferson's private secretary when he was ambassador in Paris, from 1786 to 1789. Jefferson, later the third President of the United States, referred to Short as his "adoptive son". Short, along with Jefferson, was a co-founder of Phi Beta Kappa at the College of William &...
) to contract with a local engraver to make the medals, since the first was to go to the
Marquis de la LuzerneAnne-César, Chevalier de la Luzerne was a French soldier and diplomat. He served as the second French minister to the United States, from 1779 to 1784, succeeding Conrad Alexandre Gérard....
, the former French minister. Jefferson specified that one side must be the Arms of the United States, and gave suggestions for the other side though left the final decision to Short and the engraving artist. Short chose
Augustin DupréAugustin Dupré was an engraver of French currency and medals, the 14th Graveur général des monnaies ..- Biography :...
, a leading engraver of the time, who completed the medals in 1792.
Dupré created an elegant design, especially interesting for the position of the wings, which are more horizontal ("extended" in heraldic terms) than most other emblazonments. The eagle itself was unmistakably a bald eagle, without a crest. The five-pointed stars were arranged in a six-pointed star pattern (like the future 1841 die). The clouds are in an inverted arc, much like the official die, but the rays of the glory extend down beyond the clouds and in back of the eagle. Dupré added a
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA legend around the sides, and a small rosette of leaves in the exergue below the eagle. For the reverse, Dupré apparently followed one of Jefferson's suggestions, depicting a scene of international commerce portrayed as
MercuryMercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
(the god of diplomacy) in conference with the genius of America (shown as an Indian chief, similar to some early American copper coins).
Only two medals (both made of gold) were given before the practice was terminated, one posthumously to de la Luzerne and the other to his successor Count de Monstier. Six bronze versions were also delivered to William Short. Their existence was eventually forgotten until the 1870s, when references to the medals in Jefferson's papers were connected to the discovery of Dupré's lead working model.
Coins
The Coinage Act of 1792 established the
U.S. MintThe United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
and created the U.S. system of currency, and most of its rules were followed for many years. Among them was a basic design for any gold or silver coins; the obverse was required to have an "impression emblematic of liberty", with the reverse having a "figure or representation of an eagle". While using a depiction of the national arms was not necessary, various different arms designs were often used until the early 1900s, and still sometimes appear today on commemorative coins. Even before the mint, the 1787 Brasher Doubloon had a depiction of the arms on one side.
Senate carpet
When the U.S. government moved back to Philadelphia in 1790, the city, in an attempt to convince the federal government not to move to Washington, was determined to provide luxurious accommodations at Congress Hall, the recently constructed building where Congress was to meet. One of the finishing touches was in June 1791, when a large Axminster carpet was installed in the Senate's upper-floor chamber. The central design was the U.S. coat of arms, complete with the constellation of 13 stars, surrounded by the linked shields of all thirteen states. Under the arms, there was also a pole with a
liberty capThe Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
and a balance of justice. The carpet was 22 by 40 feet, and was made by William Peter Sprague, an Englishman from
AxminsterAxminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of Devon in England. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, and is in the East Devon local government district. It has a population of 5,626. The market is still...
(probably trained under
Thomas WhittyThomas Whitty was an English carpet manufacturer who founded Axminster carpets in 1755.The carpets were chosen by wealthy aristocrats to have in their English country homes and town houses...
) who had set up a factory in Philadelphia. The carpet was not brought to
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, when the government moved in 1800, and is long lost. The
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
had a reproduction made in 1978 as part of the restoration of Congress Hall; they had to speculate on the exact design of the eagle and chose the representation seen on the first seal die.
Benson Lossing reverse
In the July 1856
Harper's New Monthly MagazineHarper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, historian
Benson John LossingBenson John Lossing was a prolific and popular American historian, known best for his illustrated books on the American Revolution and American Civil War and features in Harper's Magazine. He was a charter trustee of Vassar College.-Biography:Lossing was born February 12, 1813 in Beekman, New York...
wrote an article on the Great Seal. To illustrate the article, along with copies of Hopkinson's and Barton's original drawings and his own interpretations of the first committee's designs, he also included an apparently original version of the reverse. This depiction more resembles the
Egyptian pyramidsThe Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found...
, and changed the Eye of Providence to a left eye. Lossing's reverse has heavily influenced all future renditions, including today's official version.
Centennial Medal
In February 1882,
C. A. L. TottenCharles Adelle Lewis Totten was an American military officer, a professor of military tactics, a prolific writer, and an influential early advocate of British Israelism....
(then a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army) wrote to both the Secretaries of State and Treasury to suggest some sort of commemoration for the Great Seal, which was to have its centennial later that year, in particular including a version of the never-cut and rarely seen reverse side. The State Department demurred, but the Treasury Department (having the ability to act without express permission of Congress) decided that a commemorative medal would be appropriate and agreed to make one later that year.
The medal was designed by
Charles E. BarberCharles Edward Barber was the sixth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1879 until his death in 1917. He succeeded his father, William Barber, in the position...
, the chief engraver of the U.S. Mint. For the obverse, Barber primarily used Trenchard's 1786
Columbian Magazine version, but replaced the eagle with the superior one from Dupré's 1792 Diplomatic Medal (which had been rediscovered a few years before). For the reverse, Barber directly copied Trenchard's 1786 design. According to Totten, two
proofsProof coinage means special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies and for archival purposes, but nowadays often struck in greater numbers specially for coin collectors . Many countries now issue them....
were made in time for the June 20, 1882, centennial date with general circulation following in October 1882. This was the first time a design for the reverse had been officially issued by the U.S. government.
1935 dollar bill
According to
Henry A. WallaceHenry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
(then the
Secretary of AgricultureThe United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other...
in President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's cabinet), in 1934 he saw a 1909 pamphlet on the Great Seal by
Gaillard HuntGaillard Hunt was an American author and civil servant.Gaillard Hunt is notable because several of his works have been republished, in electronic form.Available works include:...
. The pamphlet included a full-color copy of the reverse of the Great Seal, which Wallace had never seen. He especially liked the motto
Novus Ordo Seclorum ("New Order of the Ages"), likening it to Roosevelt's
New DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
(i.e., "New Deal of the Ages"). He suggested to Roosevelt that a coin be made which included the reverse, but Roosevelt instead decided to put it on the
dollar billThe United States one-dollar bill is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the oldest...
. The initial design of the bill had the obverse on the left and the reverse on the right, but Roosevelt ordered them to be switched around. The first bill to contain both sides of the seal was the series 1935 $1
Silver CertificateSilver Certificates are a type of representative money printed from 1878 to 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United...
.
The obverse had originally appeared on the back of the $20
Gold CertificateA gold certificate in general is a certificate of ownership that gold owners hold instead of storing the actual gold. It has both a historic meaning as a US paper currency and a current meaning as a way to invest in gold....
, Series 1905. In 2008, the redesigned front side of the
five-dollar billThe United States five-dollar bill or fiver is a denomination of United States currency. The $5 bill currently features U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's portrait on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes...
added a purple outline of the obverse of the Great Seal as a background, as part of freedom-related symbols being added to redesigned bills.
Current versions
Today's official versions from the Department of State are largely unchanged from the 1885 designs. The current rendering of the reverse was made by Teagle & Little of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1972. It is nearly identical to previous versions, which in turn were based on Lossing's 1856 version.
Speculation and conspiracy theory
Some conspiracy theories state that the Great Seal shows a sinister influence by
FreemasonryFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
in the founding of the United States. Such theories usually claim that the
Eye of ProvidenceThe Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
(found, in the Seal, above the pyramid) is a common Masonic emblem, and that the Great Seal was created by Freemasons. These claims, however, misstate the facts.
While the
Eye of ProvidenceThe Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
is
currently a common Masonic motif, this was not the case during the 1770s and 1780s (the decades when the Great Seal was being designed and approved). According to David Barrett, a Masonic researcher, the Eye seems to have been used only sporadically by the Masons in those decades, and was not adopted as a common Masonic symbol until 1797, several years after the Great Seal of the United States had already been designed. The Eye of Providence was, on the other hand, a fairly common Christian motif throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and was commonly used as such in Europe as well as America throughout the 18th century.
Furthermore, contrary to the claims of these conspiracy theories, the Great Seal was not created by Freemasons. While
Benjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
was a Mason, he was the only member of any of the various Great Seal committees definitively known to be so, and his ideas were not adopted. Of the four men whose ideas
were adopted, neither
Charles ThomsonCharles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
, Pierre Du Simitière nor
William BartonWilliam Barton was a Pennsylvania lawyer, scholar, and the designer of the Great Seal of the United States.- Family and Education :...
were Masons and, while
Francis HopkinsonFrancis Hopkinson , an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania...
has been alleged to have had Masonic connections, there is no firm evidence to support the claim.
See also
- Seal of the President of the United States
The Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. president to the United States Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S...
- Seal of the United States Senate
The Seal of the United States Senate is the seal officially adopted by the United States Senate to authenticate certain official documents. Its design also sometimes serves as a sign and symbol of the Senate, appearing on its official flag among other places. The current version dates from 1886,...
- Great Seal of the Confederate States
External links