Seal of Indiana
Encyclopedia
The Seal of the State of Indiana
is used by the Governor of Indiana
to certify official documents. The seal has gone through several revisions since the region was a part of the Northwest Territory
. It is likely the original seal, which is similar to the current one, was created by William Henry Harrison
during his administration of the Indiana Territory
. The current design of the seal was standardized by the Indiana General Assembly
in 1963.
. It is used to certify the authenticity of official state documents. The seal is placed on departmental reports, bills the Governor signs into law, and official communications from the Governor to other high ranking office holders. The seal is also used on all commissions granted by the state as proof of the commission's authority.
passed legislation on May 8, 1792, that directed the U.S. Secretary of State to "provide proper seals for the several and respective public offices in the said Territories". Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory
at that time and a seal was created by the United States Department of State to be used on official papers of the territory. The original seal was maintained by Governor Arthur St. Clair
and the first recorded use was in a proclamation made on July 26, 1788.
On May 10, 1800, the Indiana Territory
was created by an act of Congress, but no provision for an official seal was included in the measure. The earliest recorded use of Indiana Territory's seal was on court documents that were signed by Governor
William Henry Harrison
in January 1801. The seal he used was an adaptation of the original seal created for the Northwest Territory. Although its origin is uncertain, it is likely that it was Harrison who made the alterations.
The constitution
of 1816 contained a clause that stated the governor should maintain a state seal and use it in official communication. The design of the seal was first proposed during the first session of the Indiana General Assembly
in 1816. On November 22, 1816, representative Davis Floyd
of Harrison County
proposed the adoption of a seal with a design he referred to as "A forest and a woodman felling a tree, a buffalo
leaving the forest and fleeing through the plain to a distant forest, and sun in the west with the word Indiana." The bill was put through a joint conference of both houses of the General Assembly and funds where voted to purchase a printer to create the seal.
In 1819, the state seal was part of a state crisis. Lieutenant Governor
Christopher Harrison
became acting-governor when Governor Jonathan Jennings
was away conducting negotiations with northern Indiana's native tribes. When Jennings returned, Harrison refused to step down as governor, claiming that Jennings' actions had invalidated his governorship. Harrison seized the state seal and setup his own governor's office. After several weeks of debate in the state legislature, Harrison was forced to return the seal to Jennings and vacate the office of the governor.
During 1895, Robert S. Hatcher, the reading clerk of the Indiana Senate
, was directed to ascertain the legal status of the design of the state seal. After a thorough review, Hatcher found that the laws that authorized the seal did not explicitly state what its design should be. He recommended that a bill be passed to standardize the seal. Senator McCord submitted legislation for that purpose, but no action was taken on it.
On January 28, 1905, an article ran in the Indianapolis News
containing information on the origin of the seal, some of it dubious. The article received much attention and started an informal inquiry into the history of the seal, and namely to discover if the sun in the seal was rising or setting. Jacob Piatt Dunn
, the preeminent Indiana historian of the time, consulted several history and arrived at the conclusion that the sun was rising. Dunn cited the fact the state was young, and the mountains were to the east of the state, not the west—clearly indicating the sun was rising.
The current design of the seal was standardized by the Indiana General Assembly in 1963. During the meeting of the General Assembly, Representative Taylor I. Morris introduced legislation to standardize the design of the state seal. His bill described a seal that depicts a woodsman
chopping a sycamore
tree, while an American Bison
runs in the foreground and the sun
rises in the background. The leaves of the state tree, the tulip
, were to be the border design. The bill passed the assembly that session and became law.
In 2004, the 1963 statute came under criticism because it states the sun in the state seal is setting rather than rising. A thorough investigation by the Indiana Historical Bureau into the history of the seal led to the discovery that original seal was created with the intention that the sun should, in fact, be depicted as rising. In both 2004 and 2005 legislation was introduced to changed the wording of the statute, but as of 2008 no action had been taken to correct the error.
showing that Indiana is in the west. The woodman represents civilization subduing the wilderness that was Indiana. The buffalo represents the wilderness fleeing westward away from the advancing civilization.
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
is used by the Governor of Indiana
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
to certify official documents. The seal has gone through several revisions since the region was a part of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
. It is likely the original seal, which is similar to the current one, was created by William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
during his administration of the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory
The Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....
. The current design of the seal was standardized by the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
in 1963.
Usage
The state seal is maintained by the Governor of IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. It is used to certify the authenticity of official state documents. The seal is placed on departmental reports, bills the Governor signs into law, and official communications from the Governor to other high ranking office holders. The seal is also used on all commissions granted by the state as proof of the commission's authority.
History
The United States CongressUnited States Congress
The 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....
passed legislation on May 8, 1792, that directed the U.S. Secretary of State to "provide proper seals for the several and respective public offices in the said Territories". Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
at that time and a seal was created by the United States Department of State to be used on official papers of the territory. The original seal was maintained by Governor Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
and the first recorded use was in a proclamation made on July 26, 1788.
On May 10, 1800, the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory
The Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....
was created by an act of Congress, but no provision for an official seal was included in the measure. The earliest recorded use of Indiana Territory's seal was on court documents that were signed by Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
in January 1801. The seal he used was an adaptation of the original seal created for the Northwest Territory. Although its origin is uncertain, it is likely that it was Harrison who made the alterations.
The constitution
Constitution of Indiana
There have been two Constitutions of the State of Indiana. The first constitution was created when the Territory of Indiana sent forty-three delegates to a constitutional convention on June 10, 1816 to establish a constitution for the proposed State of Indiana after the United States Congress had...
of 1816 contained a clause that stated the governor should maintain a state seal and use it in official communication. The design of the seal was first proposed during the first session of the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
in 1816. On November 22, 1816, representative Davis Floyd
Davis Floyd
Davis Floyd was an Indiana Jeffersonian Republican politician who was convicted of aiding American Vice President Aaron Burr in the Burr conspiracy. Floyd was not convicted of treason however and returned to public life after several years working to redeem his reputation...
of Harrison County
Harrison County, Indiana
Harrison County is a county located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. It is divided into twelve townships, and the county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana. The county is part of the larger Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan...
proposed the adoption of a seal with a design he referred to as "A forest and a woodman felling a tree, a buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
leaving the forest and fleeing through the plain to a distant forest, and sun in the west with the word Indiana." The bill was put through a joint conference of both houses of the General Assembly and funds where voted to purchase a printer to create the seal.
In 1819, the state seal was part of a state crisis. Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
The Lieutenant Governor of Indiana is a constitutional office in the US State of Indiana. Republican Becky Skillman, whose term expires in January 2013, is the incumbent...
Christopher Harrison
Christopher Harrison
Christopher Harrison was the first Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, serving with Governor Jonathan Jennings. Harrison was briefly acting governor while Jennings' was conducting negotiation with the native tribes in northern Indiana, and later resigned from office over a dispute with Jennings...
became acting-governor when Governor Jonathan Jennings
Jonathan Jennings
Jonathan Jennings was the first Governor of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in Readington, New Jersey, he studied law with his brother before immigrating to Indiana in 1806 where he took part in land speculation...
was away conducting negotiations with northern Indiana's native tribes. When Jennings returned, Harrison refused to step down as governor, claiming that Jennings' actions had invalidated his governorship. Harrison seized the state seal and setup his own governor's office. After several weeks of debate in the state legislature, Harrison was forced to return the seal to Jennings and vacate the office of the governor.
During 1895, Robert S. Hatcher, the reading clerk of the Indiana Senate
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms without term limits...
, was directed to ascertain the legal status of the design of the state seal. After a thorough review, Hatcher found that the laws that authorized the seal did not explicitly state what its design should be. He recommended that a bill be passed to standardize the seal. Senator McCord submitted legislation for that purpose, but no action was taken on it.
On January 28, 1905, an article ran in the Indianapolis News
Indianapolis News
The Indianapolis News was an evening newspaper published for 130 years, beginning December 7, 1869, and ending on October 1, 1999. At one time it had the largest circulation in the state of Indiana, and was the oldest Indianapolis newspaper in existence....
containing information on the origin of the seal, some of it dubious. The article received much attention and started an informal inquiry into the history of the seal, and namely to discover if the sun in the seal was rising or setting. Jacob Piatt Dunn
Jacob Piatt Dunn
Jacob Piatt Dunn was an American historian and author of several books. He was instrumental in making the Indiana Historical Society an effective group, serving as its secretary for decades. He was also instrumental in the Indiana Public Library Commission...
, the preeminent Indiana historian of the time, consulted several history and arrived at the conclusion that the sun was rising. Dunn cited the fact the state was young, and the mountains were to the east of the state, not the west—clearly indicating the sun was rising.
The current design of the seal was standardized by the Indiana General Assembly in 1963. During the meeting of the General Assembly, Representative Taylor I. Morris introduced legislation to standardize the design of the state seal. His bill described a seal that depicts a woodsman
Woodsman
-History:Woodsmen or lumberjack competitions have their roots in competitions that took place in logging camps among loggers. As loggers were paid for piece work, the ability to perform a specific task more quickly, or with a degree of showmanship, was something to be admired...
chopping a sycamore
Sycamore
Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....
tree, while an American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
runs in the foreground and the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
rises in the background. The leaves of the state tree, the tulip
Liriodendron
Liriodendron is a genus of two species of characteristically large deciduous trees in the magnolia family .These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their large flowers superficially resembling tulips, but are closely related to magnolias rather than lilies, the...
, were to be the border design. The bill passed the assembly that session and became law.
In 2004, the 1963 statute came under criticism because it states the sun in the state seal is setting rather than rising. A thorough investigation by the Indiana Historical Bureau into the history of the seal led to the discovery that original seal was created with the intention that the sun should, in fact, be depicted as rising. In both 2004 and 2005 legislation was introduced to changed the wording of the statute, but as of 2008 no action had been taken to correct the error.
Current statute
The law created to standardize the state seal has been in effect since 1963. The stature states:Indiana State CodeIndiana CodeThe Indiana Code is the code of laws for the US State of Indiana. The contents are the codification of the all the laws currently in effect within Indiana...
: IC 1-2-4-1
The official seal for the state of Indiana shall be described as follows:
A perfect circle, two and five eighths (2 5/8) inches in diameter, inclosed by a plain line. Another circle within the first, two and three eighths (2 3/8) inches in diameter inclosed by a beaded line, leaving a margin of one quarter (1/4) of an inch. In the top half of this margin are the words "Seal of the State of Indiana".
At the bottom center, 1816, flanked on either side by a diamond, with two (2) dots and a leaf of the tulip tree (liriodendron tulipifera), at both ends of the diamond. The inner circle has two (2) trees in the left background, three (3) hills in the center background with nearly a full sun setting behind and between the first and second hill from the left.
There are fourteen (14) rays from the sun, starting with two (2) short ones on the left, the third being longer and then alternating, short and long. There are two (2) sycamore trees on the right, the larger one being nearer the center and having a notch cut nearly half way through, from the left side, a short distance above the ground. The woodsman is wearing a hat and holding his ax nearly perpendicular on his right. The ax blade is turned away from him and is even with his hat.
The buffalo is in the foreground, facing to the left of front. His tail is up, front feet on the ground with back feet in the air, as he jumps over a log.
The ground has shoots of blue grass, in the area of the buffalo and woodsman.
Iconography
The sun rising in the picture represents that Indiana has a bright future ahead and is just beginning. The mountains it rises over are a representation of the Allegheny MountainsAllegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
showing that Indiana is in the west. The woodman represents civilization subduing the wilderness that was Indiana. The buffalo represents the wilderness fleeing westward away from the advancing civilization.