The Great Seal's design, used as our national coat of arms, is also used officially as decoration on military uniform buttons, on plaques above the entrances to U.S. embassies an consulates, and in other places. Both the obverse and the less familiar reverse, which is never used as a seal, are imprinted on the one-dollar bill.
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What are some things that the Great Seal is used for?
The Great Seal of the United States is the symbol of our sovereignty as a nation. Its obverse is used on official documents to authenticate the signature of the President and it appears on proclamations, warrants, treaties, and commissions of high officials of the government.
What is the main part of the reverse side of the Great Seal?
The design of the obverse is the coat of arms of the United States—an official emblem, mark of identification, and symbol of the authority of the government. On the reverse is an unfinished pyramid topped with an eye enclosed in a triangle. Above this are the words Annuit Cœptis (“He Has Favored Our Undertaking”).
Where can you find both sides of the Great Seal?
Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal have appeared on the reverse of the one-dollar bill. The coat of arms is used on official documents—including United States passports—military insignia, embassy placards, and various flags.
How is the front obverse of the Great Seal used by the President?
How is the front (obverse) of the Great Seal used by the president? The obverse of the Great Seal authenticates the president's signature on many official documents.
Who may use the Great Seal of our country?
Today the Secretary of State is the custodian of our national symbol, the Great Seal of the United States. The seal is impressed upon documents such as treaties and commissions, and it is also found on documents such as U.S. passports and the reverse of the $1 bill.
What do the 13 arrows represent?
It represents the original colonies and first 13 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.
What seal is on the US passport?
The Great Seal of the United StatesThe Great Seal symbolizes independence and self-government and appears on official documents such as proclamations, treaties and communications from the President to heads of foreign governments. You will also find it on U.S. passports and the U.S. one dollar bill.
What does the shield mean on the Great Seal?
Symbolism in the Great Seal The white stripes represent purity and innocence, the red hardiness and valor, and the blue vigilance, perseverance and justice. That the shield is placed on the breast of the eagle with no supporters is meant to encourage the people of the United States to rely on their own virtue.
What famous words appear on the Great Seal of the USA?
According to the U.S. Treasury, the motto E pluribus unum was first used on U.S. coinage in 1795, when the reverse of the half-eagle ($5 gold) coin presented the main features of the Great Seal of the United States. E pluribus unum is inscribed on the Great Seal's scroll.
What does each part of the Great Seal symbolize?
The red and white stripes of the shield represent the states united under and supporting the blue, which represents the President and Congress. The color white is a symbol of purity and innocence; red represents hardiness and valor; and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
What does the state seal symbolize?
A coat of arms of a nation or state is usually the design or device of the obverse of its seal. It is an official emblem, mark of identification, and symbol of the authority of the government of a nation or state. A nation or state's coat of arms is oftentimes referred to as the national or state arms.
Which symbols on the Great Seal represent God and his protection of the United States?
The Crest: At the top of the seal is a cluster of thirteen white stars on a blue field, which represents the original thirteen states that made the nation. A ring of golden light is breaking through a white cloud which surrounds the stars. This light is a symbol of God's constant protection and guidance.
What is the message behind the Great Seal of the US?
The Great Seal symbolizes independence and self-government and appears on official documents such as proclamations, treaties and communications from the President to heads of foreign governments. You will also find it on U.S. passports and the U.S. one dollar bill.
What happened to the Great Seal of James II?
The king 'took away' the Great Seal; he was prepared l'emporter au besoin; he destroyed it; he told someone to throw it in the Thames; he flung it into the river himself; he gave it to the queen (who presumably took it to France with her); it was carried off by Jeffreys; it was delivered to the king by Jeffreys; the ...
What famous words appear on the Great Seal of the United States?
While Annuit cœptis ("He favors our undertakings") and Novus ordo seclorum ("New order of the ages") appear on the reverse side of the great seal, E Pluribus Unum appears on the obverse side of the seal (designed by Charles Thomson), the image of which is used as the national emblem of the United States, and appears on ...
What does the Great Seal stand for in the Philippines?
The Great Seal of the Philippines (Filipino: Dakilang Sagisag ng Pilipinas) is used to authenticate official documents of the government of the Philippines.
When was the Great Seal used?
Except for the commissions of a few civil officers, the Great Seal is now used only in connection with international affairs. Legally the seal has two names, "Seal ...
Who brought the seal to the United States?
Accordingly, when the United States came into existence, the Continental Congress acted to provide a seal for the new nation. Declaring independence on July 4, 1776, Congress that evening named Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson a committee “to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America.”.
What is the coat of arms on the reverse?
The design of the obverse is the coat of arms of the United States—an official emblem, mark of identification, and symbol of the authority of the government. On the reverse is an unfinished pyramid topped with an eye enclosed in a triangle. Above this are the words Annuit Cœptis (“He Has Favored Our Undertaking”).
What is the purpose of the seal affixed to the envelope?
It is affixed also to the envelope enclosing a ceremonial communication from the president to the head of a foreign state or government. To commissions that issue under the seal, the secretary of state is required by law to cause it to be affixed after the president has signed.
What are the arms of the American Eagle?
ARMS. Paleways of thirteen pieces, argent and gules; a chief, azure; the escutcheon on the breast of the American eagle displayed proper, holding in his dexter talon an olive branch, and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows, all proper, and in his beak a scroll, inscribed with this motto, “E pluribus Unum.”
When was the seal of the United States affixed?
The act of 1789, however, declared the seal of 1782 to be the “seal of the United States”; in documents to which it is affixed there is long-standing precedent for the same wording; and several publications of the Department of State have been so titled.
When was the Stars and Stripes adopted?
Meanwhile, on June 14, 1777, Congress had adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag.
What is the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States?
The reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States is composed of four symbolic elements derived from nature and culture that combine to create a dynamic design whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In the zenith of an unfinished pyramid, an eyein a triangle is surrounded with rays of golden light.
Why does the Great Seal have a reverse side?
Note: The Great Seal has a reverse side because in the 18th century when it was designed, pendant sealswere used. These were in the form of a two-sided disk of wax attached to the document by ribbons or cords. Historical content is based on the official historyof the Great Seal.
What does the seal mean in the monarchy?
The seal meant that the monarch did not need to sign every official document in person ; authorisation could be carried out instead by an appointed officer. In centuries when few people could read or write, the seal provided a pictorial expression of Royal approval which all could understand.
Which country has a separate seal?
Separate seals exist for Scotland - the Great Seal of Scotland - and for Northern Ireland.
What is the Great Seal matrix?
The Great Seal matrix is used to create seals for a range of documents requiring Royal approval, including letters patent, Royal proclamations, commissions, some writs (such as writs for the election of Members of Parliament), and the documents which give power to sign and ratify treaties. Each year more than 100 documents pass under the Great Seal.
Why is the seal important?
In today's constitutional monarchy, the Sovereign acts on the advice of the Government of the day, but the seal remains an important symbol of the Sovereign's role as Head of State.
How many seals does Queen Victoria have?
In the case of some long-reigning monarchs, such as Queen Victoria, the original seal simply wore out and a series of replacements was required. The Queen has had two Great Seals during her reign. The first was designed by Gilbert Ledward and came into service in 1953.
When is the Great Seal matrix engraved?
The Great Seal matrix has changed many times throughout the centuries. A new matrix is engraved at the beginning of each reign on the order of the Sovereign. It is traditional that on the death of the Sovereign the old seal is used until the new Sovereign orders otherwise. For many monarchs, a single seal has sufficed.
What is the difference between a blue and a dark green seal?
Dark green seals are affixed to letters patent which elevate individuals to the peerage. Blue seals are used for documents relating to the close members of the Royal Family. Scarlet red is used for documents appointing a bishop and for most other patents.
Overview
Origin
On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from Great Britain was declared by the thirteen colonies, the Continental Congress named the first committee to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country. Similar to other nations, the United States needed an official symbol of sovereignty to formalize and seal (or sign) international treaties and transactions. It took six years, thre…
Obverse
The obverse (or front) of the seal displays the full achievement of the national coat of arms.
The 1782 resolution of Congress adopting the arms, still in force, legally blazoned the shield as:
Paleways of 13 pieces, argent and gules; a chief, azure.
Reverse
The 1782 resolution adopting the seal blazons the image on the reverse as "A pyramid 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, the year of the United States Declara…
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 …
See also
• Great Seal
• "National Emblem March", by E. E. Bagley
• Seal of the Confederate States
• Seal of the President of the United States
External links
• PDF booklet from U.S. State Department, 2003 version, and 1996 version—Bureau of Public Affairs
• Webpage for the United States Department of State Traveling Exhibit on the Great Seal of the United States (available on Internet Archive as found on August 16, 2017)
• Website on the Great Seal