After six years and three committees, the Great Seal of the United States was adopted.
Most Americans have never looked closely at the back of a one-dollar bill. If they did, they would see the front and back of the Great Seal of the United States. Why were these symbols chosen to reflect the values of the United States? The process took many years and went through several variations. In fact, some of America’s most influential Founding Fathers had other visions for how the seal should look.
The delegates of the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On that very same day, a new committee was formed and tasked with creating a great seal for the new nation. Its members were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. The ideas these men came up with are not widely known but represent a look into how these influential Founding Fathers viewed their new nation.
In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams described the original ideas for the seal. Adams envisioned the Greek mythological figure of Hercules having to decide between the female personifications of Pleasure and Virtue. In other words, America is constantly being reminded of the choices before it.
Possessing the characteristic of virtue was important for the founding generation. They believed that a society could only remain free if it were made up of good and moral people. This belief applied to personal virtue and the concept of “public virtue,” meaning that individuals needed to sacrifice their own desires and interests for the betterment and love of their country or community.
Thomas Jefferson had ideas for both sides of the seal. He turned to the Book of Exodus in the Bible and proposed an image of the ancient Israelites escaping the Pharaoh of Egypt led by God’s pillar of fire. This was analogous to the Americans escaping British rule. On the opposite side, Jefferson chose two Anglo-Saxon warriors from the 5th century, Hengist and Horsa. These were two brothers who brought their people to England around 450 A.D.
Like Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin chose the Israelites from the Book of Exodus but had a different image in mind. In his version, Moses is parting the Red Sea while Pharaoh and his chariots are drowning. Franklin also devised a motto, one Jefferson particularly liked and often repeated – “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”
Including the ancient Israelites and Anglo-Saxons on the Great Seal was not an accident. The founding generation, especially the three men on the committee, studied past societies for guidance on how the new American nation should be governed moving forward. These two ancient societies provided a model for the values they wanted America to embrace.
The Israelites and Anglo-Saxons practiced what author W. Cleon Skousen calls “people’s law.” These societies emphasized local self-government and individual rights and were not at the mercy of a single ruler or some small governing council of rulers. The people had a say in their governance. Thomas Jefferson wanted the Anglo-Saxons included on the seal as one “whose political principals and form of government we have assumed.”
The famous Liberty Bell, made in 1751, has the inscription “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” This is from the Book of Leviticus in the Bible, in reference to ancient Israel.
A rendition of Thomas Jefferson’s Great Seal design:
A rendition of Benjamin Franklin’s Great Seal design:
A rendition of John Adam’s Great Seal design:
The three great Founding Fathers brought in an outside consultant, a Switz-born artist named Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere. His seal consisted of a shield with six symbols representing the European nations of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, and Germany, the nations that helped settle North America. There were thirteen gold-linked shields marked with the designation of each of the thirteen states. The shield was flanked by the Goddess of Liberty and the Goddess of Justice.
Two aspects of Du Simitiere’s design were incorporated into the final design. E Pluribus Unum, or “Out of Many, One,” was first introduced as an American motto by Du Simitiere. Likely taken from London’s Gentleman’s Magazine, popular reading at the time, its original meaning referred to the original thirteen states becoming one. The motto quickly grew to mean that many people in the United States were uniting as one in liberty. Second, this proposed seal included the Eye of Providence, whose Glory or light extends over the shield. This is a reference to God watching over and blessing the American nation.
A rendition of Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere’s Great Seal:
The committee made final recommendations that essentially combined the ideas of Du Simitiere and Franklin and submitted them to the Continental Congress on August 20, 1776. They did not submit drawings, only written recommendations. On one side would be the thirteen linked shields bearing a state designation, the motto E Pluribus Unum, the Eye of Providence, and 1776 in Roman numerals. On the other side would be Franklin’s preferred scene from the Book of Exodus and the motto “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” The Continental Congress rejected these ideas because they were more concerned about the ongoing Revolutionary War and also because these ideas proved too complicated for a simple seal.
On March 25, 1780, the Second Continental Congress established a new committee to create a seal consisting of James Lovell, John Morin Scott, and William Churchill Houston. These men brought Francis Hopkinson in as a consultant, known in history as both a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the likely designer of the American flag.
This committee proposed seals that were similar to those of the first committee. Images of the Lady Liberty, warriors, a shield with thirteen red and white stripes, constellations of thirteen stars, and other similar kinds of images were purposed. Also, the mottos, Bello vel Paci or “For war or for peace,” as well as Virtute Perennis or “Everlasting because of virtue,” were recommended. Ultimately, the Continental Congress rejected these ideas, although the constellation of thirteen stars would be included on the final seal.
In May 1782, a third committee was formed. The secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson, and William Barton, a Philadelphia lawyer, were the principal members contributing to the final design. Starting with the previous committees’ ideas, the Great Seal’s final version took shape. On June 20, 1782, Congress adopted the work of Thomson and Barton as the Great Seal of the United States.
This is how Charles Thomson explained the front of the seal to the Continental Congress (from State Department literature):
“The red and white stripes of the shield “represent the several states…supporting a [blue] Chief which unites the whole and represents Congress.” The colors are adopted from the American flag: “White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the colour of the Chief, signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.” The shield, or escutcheon, is “born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue.”
The number 13, denoting the 13 original States, is represented in the bundle of arrows, the shield stripes, and the constellation stars. The olive branch and the arrows “denote the power of peace & war.” The constellation of stars symbolizes a new nation taking its place among sovereign states. The motto E Pluribus Unum, emblazoned across the scroll and clenched in the eagle’s beak, expresses the union of the 13 States.”
The olive branch contains thirteen olives and thirteen leaves. The eagle faces the olive branch to show America prefers peace. Thomson wanted the eagle, “on the wing and rising,” both more visually pleasing and to show America as always rising higher. The bald eagle was chosen because it is native to North America and eagles represent strength, courage, freedom, and long life.
This is how State Department literature describes the back of the Great Seal:
“The reverse, sometimes referred to as the spiritual side of the seal, contains the 13-step pyramid with the year 1776 in Roman numerals on the base. At the summit of the pyramid is the Eye of Providence in a triangle surrounded by a Glory (ray of light) and above it appears the motto Annuit Coeptis. Along the lower circumference of the design appear the words Novus Ordo Seclorum, heralding the beginning of the new American era in 1776.
The pyramid is a symbol of strength and duration and is left unfinished to remind succeeding generations that they must build on the foundation they have inherited to keep America a strong and virtuous nation. Annunit Coeptis means “He [God] has favored our undertakings.” and Novus Ordo Seclorum means “A New Order of the Ages.”
At least one Founding Father disapproved of the final seal. In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter expressing his disappointment that the bald eagle was chosen to represent the country. According to Franklin, the bald eagle “is a bird of bad moral character” because the bald eagle is “too lazy to fish for himself,” instead taking prey from other birds. Franklin saw the eagle as an aristocrat, “classy looking but unconcerned with helping the helpless.” He preferred the turkey. Although “a little vain and silly,” the turkey was still a “bird of courage” and also native to North America. Despite Franklin’s objections, the bald eagle remains one of the great symbols of America.
While Charles Thomson and William Barton worked together on the final design and incorporated aspects of the work of prior committees, the seal we see today is primarily Thomson’s vision. The Great Seal has undergone several subtle changes over the years, but the basic design from 1782 has remained the same.
Americans should appreciate the thought that went into the Great Seal. It was the Founder’s attempt to show values they wanted to endure through the ages. Values such as virtue, strength, God-given liberty, self-rule, and a new beginning for America and the world.