It’s an image that all those in America instantly recognize: The Presidential Seal (see the image below). For something so familiar, it’s interesting that we know little of its origin. What follows is what we know.
At first, the Presidential Seal was likely to be nothing more than a seal to be used on envelopes transmitting correspondence from the President to the Congress. Basically, the seal was pressed down in wax to ensure the message inside was kept confidential. We know nothing of the designs of those seals because the envelopes were discarded. The first recorded document seal was from 1850, but we know little about the seals prior to that time.
In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes used a design of an eagle with wings. In the eagle’s claws were arrows on the right and olive branches on the left as we look at the eagle. The eagle’s head was pointing to the side with the arrows. Above the eagle’s head were 13 stars representing the original states in the union.
The Hayes seal was used until the administration of Woodrow Wilson. The change in the design of the seal came at Wilson’s desire to change the presidential flag. The seal was featured in the current flag at the time. The essence of the Hayes seal was maintained, but it had a more artistic design. Wilson’s seal remained the official seal until 1845.
Following President Roosevelt’s death, President Truman issued Executive Order 4646, formatting the decision with specific pictures of:
- The eagle in color (rather than white as before).
- A ring of 48 stars surrounding the eagle (later adjusted to 50).
- An olive branch in the eagle’s right talon (left as we see it).
- A collection of 13 arrows in the eagle’s left talon (right as we see it).
- The eagle’s head pointed to the olive branch.
- 13 cloud puffs above the eagle representing the original 13 states.
- A red/white/blue shield.
- A scroll coming out of the eagle’s beak stating ‘E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
The Presidential Seal is also now used on the Presidential flag and generally appears as a symbol whenever the President is in public. What began as a wax seal has now become a symbol of our democracy.
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“Symbols are powerful because they are the visible signs of invisible realities.”–Saint Augustine