In 1776, Congress sought to produce an official “seal” or logo for the United States, just like all European monarchies had. Metal seals pressed into sealing wax were used to authenticate official documents and treaties.

The first entry, submitted by a French artist in Philadelphia, featured a decorated shield like a European coat of arms. A goddess of liberty and a rifleman in buckskin flank the shield, which depicts thirteen mini-shields, one per state, encircling six central shields honoring the European countries that contributed (white) people to the United States. Do you recognize the single eye in a triangle? By old convention, an eye radiating lines of vision represented the watchful eye of God. The phrase E Pluribus Unum, or Out of many, One, was this Latin motto’s first appearance in the United States. The entire design was a nonstarter; can you suggest several reasons why?

Four years later another artist prepared this crowded emblem with the Latin motto “For War or For Peace” at the bottom. In an earlier draft, the artist sketched an Indian warrior on the left, but a second draft changed this figure to a Roman centurion brandishing a sword, paired with a female figure holding an olive branch to signify peace. As before, a shield dominates the center but now carries thirteen diagonal stripes set underneath a cloud of randomly placed stars. Clearly the number thirteen had symbolic importance. Did they not anticipate there would be more states, and soon?

In 1782, Congress considered a third variation on the theme of war and peace: a classically gowned and crowned woman holds a dove; a soldier in a contemporary uniform wears a sword. The Latin mottoes read “In Defense of Liberty” (top) and “Only Virtue Unconquered” (bottom). A spread-winged eagle makes its first appearance, clutching a sword and a flag. Reportedly the artist first placed a rooster here but switched. Why might an eagle be more appealing than a rooster? Not everyone loved the eagle. Benjamin Franklin later wrote his daughter that he preferred the turkey as the nation’s preeminent symbol. Eagles were “of bad moral character,” he wrote, taking food from hard-working birds. The turkey was smarter, more respectable, and more courageous, he claimed, and “a true original Native of America.” This effort was set aside.

In June 1782, the congress knew that the peace treaty would soon require the seal. After dithering for years, they commissioned and approved the winning seal in just one week. The designer, a member of congress, combined several elements from the first three plans; can you identify them? How did the eagle change from its appearance in image 3? How are the themes of war and peace differently represented?

SOURCES: Pierre Eugene du Simitiere’s Design for the Great Seal, 1776: Library of Congress; Francis Hopkinson’s Design, 1780: National Archives; William Barton’s Design, 1782: National Archives; Charles Thomson’s Design, 1782: National Archives.

Questions for Analysis

Connect to the Big Idea

In addition to the Great Seal, in what other ways did the fledgling U.S. government engage in nation-building activities that encouraged citizens to feel increased patriotism and allegiance to the new country?