2022 is the 240th anniversary of the adoption by Congress of the Great Seal of the United States. As 1782 progressed, it became clear that the United States of America, now a free nation, needed a Great Seal. This was not the first time it was considered. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin proposed it and over the years there were three committees that attempted, without success, to get Congress to agree on what such a Great Seal would be. But finally, in 1782, with peace treaty negotiations with Britain underway, the establishment of a Great Seal became more urgent.
The great seal of a nation is the primary method of authenticating a nation’s documents of high ceremonial importance. Its use dates back thousands of years to Egypt, Phoenicia, and Babylonia. Lesser seals were used as well, to document various transactions including land transfers. Hopefully, there would soon be a treaty to ratify. Congress turned the job over to Charles Thomson.
Thomson was the Secretary of Congress and its longest serving member (1774 – 1789). His minutes were the glue that provided continuity in a constantly changing Congress where members came and went rapidly. He alone decided what to put into the minutes, the forerunner of the Congressional Record: (proposals, speeches, proclamations, etc.). Any new member of Congress who wanted to know what had come before, had to go to Thomson. He was the “go to” person. So, in spring of 1782, Congress asked Thomson to use the results of the previous committee meetings to propose a design of the Great Seal for Congressional approval.
The History
On July 2nd, 1776, Congress passed a resolution: That the connection between the United Colonies and Great Britain should be totally dissolved.
On July 4th, 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, also on July 4th, it adopted a resolution that: “Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. Jefferson, be a committee to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America”[1]
Seeking advice, the committee hired as a consultant Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere. Living in Philadelphia, he was an artist who also knew something about heraldry, and had experience designing seals. Later, in 1781, the College of New Jersey in Princeton granted Du Simitiere an honorary degree of Master of Arts.
The most noteworthy items of the design of the first committee were “the Eye of Providence in a radiant triangle” and a motto “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of Many, One). “The phrase expresses exactly in words what Du Simitiere was expressing in his sketch. The design depicts the diversity of the European origins of the American people…”[2] Adams, Franklin and Jefferson submitted their report on August 20th, 1776, but nothing was done. The report just sat there.
On March 25th 1780, Congress created a second committee consisting of James Lovell of Massachusetts, John Morin Scott of New York, and William Churchill Houston of New Jersey. They sought assistance from Francis Hopkinson a well-known Philadelphian. The first graduate, in 1757, of the College of Philadelphia, Hopkinson was a lawyer, musician, writer, and also had some knowledge of heraldry. Hopkinson had the idea of adding an unfinished pyramid as a design feature, as well as including red and white stripes and blue background that he had recommended for a new flag design. Hopkinson had previously provided to Congress his flag design which they adopted on June 14, 1777. The report of the second committee was delivered to Congress on May 10, 1780. Some modifications were requested by Congress, but nothing was done. This second report also just sat on the shelf, gathering dust.
Next, on January 28, 1782 Congress passed a resolution specifying the duties of the Secretary of Congress. One of these duties was: “6th. To keep the public seal, and cause the same to be affixed to every act, ordinance or paper, which Congress shall direct”[3]. This resolution undoubtedly created some new urgency to create a seal.
On May 4, 1782 Congress appointed a third committee to devise a great seal. This committee consisted of Elias Boudinot from New Jersey, and Arthur Middleton and John Rutledge, both from South Carolina. As before, this committee sought expert advice, this time from William Barton a native Philadelphian. This third design, which Barton created drawing on the features of the previous two, was submitted to Congress on May 9, 1782. Again, nothing happened until June 13 when Congress placed the entire project in the hands of the Secretary, Charles Thomson.
Charles Thomson, the longest serving person in Congress, had already been Secretary for eight years. He would also play a central role in Princeton the following year, when Congress abruptly left Philadelphia and reconvened in Princeton New Jersey where it remained in session for 4 ½ months.
Arriving from Ireland at New Castle Delaware as one of six orphaned children of John Thomson, Thomson overcame his challenged youth, and became a teacher, and successful Philadelphia businessman. Active in politics, he became a strong advocate in opposing British repression of the colonies. John Adams, referring to Thomson, was quoted as saying: “This Charles Thomson is the Sam Adams of Philadelphia, the life of the cause of liberty.”[4]
Along with Thomson, Elias Boudinot would play a central role in 1783 when Congress held its session in Princeton, New Jersey. Boudinot, the President of Congress in 1783, in fact was responsible for the final decision to move Congress to Princeton. A graduate of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and a trustee of the school, he knew Princeton well. His sister, Annis Boudinot Stockton, wife of Richard Stockton III (a signer of the Declaration of Independence), was a widow then, living in her home, Morven, which served as a venue for many important meetings and social events of the summer and fall of 1783.
With all three reports and designs at hand, Thomson went to work to create the final design. After William Barton rewrote Thomson’s final design into heraldic terms, Thomson presented his report to Congress on June 20, 1782. Congress adopted the design that same day. So, the final design was an amalgam of the ideas from the first two designs plus Thomson’s and Barton’s ideas translated into heraldic terms.
The Symbolism
The Obverse
The motto – E Pluribus Unum – “out of many, one”, signifying the diversity of European countries from which people came, to create a single nation.
The bald eagle signifying independence and freedom – with an olive branch (peace) in his right talon and thirteen arrows (war) in his left talon. Importantly, the eagle faces the olive branch, showing a preference for peace.
“The olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace and war which is exclusively vested in Congress” - Charles Thomson.[5]
The Reverse[6]
Eye above the pyramid – “The Eye of Providence” surrounded by a Glory (heraldic term for rays of light)
Annuit Coeptis – “Providence Favors our Undertakings”
Unfinished pyramid of 13 steps. The bottom step includes MDCCLXXVI, the date of the Declaration of Independence
Novus Ordo Seclorum – “new order of the ages”
The eye and the first motto allude to the many times Providence intervened in favor of the American cause.
The unfinished pyramid with the date, and the motto beneath, signify the beginning of a new American age.
Footnotes
[1] The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States”, Richard S. Patterson and Richardson Dougall, Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State, 1978, p. 6
[2] Ibid., p. 24
[3] Ibid., p. 43
[4] Ibid., p. 72
[5] Ibid., pp. 84-85 for a more complete explanation of the symbolism, in Thomson’s own words in the Remarks and Explanation portion of his report to Congress.
[6] Use of this image of the Reverse of the Great Seal is thanks to permission from Florida Center for Instructional Technology at USF. It is located on the web at https://etc.usf.edu/clippix/
Barry Singer
West Windsor, New Jersey. October, 2022
The author, a volunteer with the Historical Society of Princeton, is a speaker about the American Revolution and conducts walking tours in historic Princeton