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The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself (which is in the keeping of the U.S. Secretary of State), and more generally for the design represented upon it. The Great Seal was first publicly used in 1782. Seal as impression A seal is an impression, usually in wax or embossed on the paper itself, or other item attached to a legal instrument used to authenticate it in place of, or in addition to, a signature. ...
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ...
Events January 7 - The first American commercial bank opens (Bank of North America). ...
Though the United States has never adopted any "national coat of arms", the image from the obverse of the great seal is often used informally as national arms, and is used on state documents such as passports in this capacity. The description below refers to colored representations of the seal as often seen; the physical Great Seal itself, as affixed to paper, is of course monochrome. A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...
This article is about the international travel document. ...
Something which is monochromatic has a single color. ...
Design
Obverse The main figure on the obverse (front) of the seal is a Bald Eagle with its wings outstretched ("displayed", in heraldic terms). From the eagle's perspective, it holds a bundle of arrows in its left talon and an olive branch in its right talon, symbolic respectively of war and peace (see Olive Branch Petition) and a preference for peace. The eagle also has its head turned towards the olive branch, symbolizing again a preference for peace. The eagle clutches the motto "E Pluribus Unum" (Out of many, one) in its beak; over its head there appears a "glory" with thirteen stars on a blue field. Binomial name Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a raptor that is indigenous to North America, and is the national symbol of the United States of America. ...
Heraldry is the science and art of describing of coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ...
The petition The Olive Branch Petition, written in the early days of the American Revolutionary War, was a letter to King George III from members of the Second Continental Congress who—for the final time—appealed to their king to redress colonial grievances in order to avoid more bloodshed. ...
E pluribus unum is a national motto of the United States of America. ...
In heraldry the term mullet or molet refers to a charge or a difference in the conventional shape of a star - by default one with five points (compare pentagram). ...
The shield the eagle bears on its breast, though sometimes drawn incorrectly, has two main differences from the American flag; it has no stars on the blue chief (though other arms based on it do; the chief of the arms of the United States Senate shows thirteen, and that sometimes used by the September 11 Commission has fifty mullets on the chief), and unlike the flag the outermost stripes are white, not red. It is usually blazoned Paly of thirteen argent and gules, a chief azure. This is a technically incorrect blazon, as a shield cannot be paly (vertically striped) of an uneven number; a more proper blazon would be argent, six pallets gules... (six red stripes on a white field). But the incorrect blazon is used to preserve the reference to the thirteen original colonies. This article is about the handheld defensive device. ...
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The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ...
Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks including preparedness for and the immediate response to the...
This is an article about Heraldry. ...
Betsy Ross purportedly sewed the first American flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes representing each of the 13 colonies. ...
Reverse An unfinished pyramid appears on the reverse of the seal, inscribed on its base with the date 1776 in Roman numerals. Where the top of the pyramid should be, the so-called eye of Providence watches over it. Two mottos appear: Annuit Cœptis signifies that somebody (presumably Providence) has "nodded at (our) beginnings". Novus Ordo Seclorum, a quotation from Virgil, refers to a "new order of the ages", i.e. a paradigm shift. This is about the polyhedron. ...
The Eye of Providence floating above an unfinished pyramid on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States. ...
The phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum (Latin for New Order of the Ages or New Order for the Ages) was originally a motto of the Freemasonry, appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, first publicly revealed in 1782 and printed on the back of the American...
For other uses see Virgil (disambiguation). ...
A paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his famous 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe the process and result of a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. ...
Significance Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal appear on the reverse of the One-Dollar Bill of the United States. The symbolism of the obverse is obvious—the shield is reminiscent of the national flag, and the Bald Eagle is a well-known national symbol. The U.S. one dollar bill ($1) is a denomination of U.S. currency. ...
That of the reverse is more murky. Many consider the eye atop the pyramid to have its origins in Masonic iconography. However, the icon is not a Masonic symbol, nor designed by a mason. Among the Great Seal committee, only Benjamin Franklin was a Mason, but his ideas were not adopted by the committee. American Square & Compasses Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. ...
Franklin, an engraving from a painting by Duplessis Dr. Benjamin Franklin ( January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was an American printer, journalist, publisher, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, scientist, librarian, diplomat, and inventor. ...
The all-seeing eye was a well-known classical symbol of the Renaissance. The all-seeing eye of God is mentioned several times in the Christian Bible. The eye in a triangle design originally was suggested by Pierre Eugene DuSimitiere, and later heraldist William Barton improved upon the design. In Du Simitière's original sketch, two figures stand next to a shield with the all-seeing pyramid above them. The August 20, 1776 report of the first Great Seal Committee describes the seal as "Crest The Eye of Providence in a radiant Triangle whose Glory extends over the Shield and beyond the Figures." By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance -French Renaissance -German Renaissance -English Renaissance The Renaissance was a great cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ...
Pierre Eugene DuSimitiere (1726 - 1784) was a U.S. (Swiss-born) naturalist, patriot, and portrait painter. ...
August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
This article is about the year 1776. ...
Another controversy centers on the pattern of the glory of stars on the obverse. Some historians believe that Haym Solomon, the financial genius and banker of the American Revolution, played a role in the seal's design. He was Jewish, and the stars appear to be arranged, roughly, in a Star of David pattern; so the suggestion has been made that they might be a mark of "recognition" for Haym Solomon's efforts. However, this theory ignores the difficulty in arranging 13 stars in a symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing design, and in the then much commoner use of 6 pointed stars. It was only towards the end of the nineteenth century that the individual stars were drawn with only five points. Haym Solomon (or Salomon) (1740 - 1785) was a prime financier of the American side during the American War of Independence against Great Britain. ...
Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. ...
The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...
The Star of David The Star of David (Magen David or Mogen David in Hebrew, Shield of David, Solomons Seal, or Seal of Solomon) is a generally recognized symbol of Judaism and Jewish identity. ...
History Design for the recto of the Great Seal, 1782. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress named a committee to design a great seal for the country. Almost six years and three committees later they still had not agreed on a design. Finally the problem was turned over to Charles Thomson, the secretary of the congress, who merged elements from all three previous attempts. Congress finally approved his integrated design on June 20, 1782, still in use today, and had it engraved into brass cylinders ("matrices") about 2.25 inches in diameter. July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ...
This article is about the year 1776. ...
In May 1775 over 50 men arrived in Philadelphia, called the Continental Congress, their purpose was to represent the interest of colonist in America. ...
For the Stuckist artist, see Charles Thomson (artist). ...
June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ...
Events January 7 - The first American commercial bank opens (Bank of North America). ...
Design for the verso of the Great Seal, 1782. On September 16, 1782 Thomson used these matrices for the first time, to verify signatures on a document that authorized George Washington to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. Thomson took care of the seal until the Constitution installed a new American Government in 1789, when he passed it over to the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson. He and all following secretaries have been responsible for applying the seal to diplomatic documents. September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ...
Events January 7 - The first American commercial bank opens (Bank of North America). ...
Order: 1st President Vice President: John Adams Term of office: April 30, 1789 – March 3, 1797 Preceded by: None Succeeded by: John Adams Date of birth: February 22, 1732 Place of birth: Westmoreland, Virginia Date of death: December 14, 1799 Place of death: Mount Vernon, Virginia First Lady: Martha Washington...
1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
Order: 3rd President Vice President: Aaron Burr; George Clinton Term of office: March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1809 Preceded by: John Adams Succeeded by: James Madison Date of birth: April 13, 1743 Place of birth: Shadwell, Virginia Date of death: July 4, 1826 Place of death: Charlottesville, Virginia First Lady...
The first matrices of the seal were replaced in 1841 when they became too worn to be effective. 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
First Die of the Great Seal of the United States, 1782. On the Great Seal as depicted in the Seal of the President of the United States, the bald eagle originally faced its left talon holding the bundle of arrows, symbolizing the "power of war". Following World War II, President Harry Truman issued an executive order on October 25, 1945 specifying that the eagle face the olive branch instead, as such symbolizing a nation "both on the march and dedicated to peace". It is said that Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom told Truman during a 1946 visit that he thought the eagle's head should be on a swivel. First Die of the Great Seal of the United States, 1782. ...
First Die of the Great Seal of the United States, 1782. ...
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For the victim of Mt. ...
An Executive Order is a legally binding edict issued by a member of the executive branch of a government, usually the head of that branch. ...
October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ...
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent...
There have been a total of seven reengravings of the seal since the original, which is now on display in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., USA.
Current Seal The obverse side of the Great Seal is used to emboss the design on international treaties and other official US Government documents. It is stored in the Exhibit Hall of the US Department of State inside a locked glass enclosure. An officer from the State Department does the actual sealing of documents after the US Secretary of State has countersigned the President's signature. It is used 2,000 to 3,000 times a year. The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ...
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ...
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The Seal of the Senate, based on the Great Seal of the United States, includes a scroll inscribed with E Pluribus Unum floating across a shield with thirteen stars on top and thirteen vertical stripes on the bottom. ...
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