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Before it adjourned on July 4, 1776, theContinental Congress of the newlyindependent United States passed aresolution:

Resolved, that Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adamsand Mr. Jefferson, be a committee, tobring in a device for a seal for the UnitedStates of America.

Thus, three of the five men who haddrafted the Declaration of Indepen-dence were brought together in furtherservice to their country. The revolution-aries needed an emblem and nationalcoat of arms to give visible evidence ofa sovereign nation and a free peoplewith high aspirations and grand hopesfor the future. The task proved far moredifficult than anticipated; it took sixyears, two more committees, and thecombined efforts of 14 men before theGreat Seal of the United States becamea reality on June 20, 1782.

The Great Sealof the United States

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Designinga Seal

The First CommitteeThe challenge facing the committee was totranslate intangible principles and idealsinto graphic symbols. Three of the bestminds of the Age of Enlightenment—Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson—struggledunsuccessfully with Biblical and classicalthemes, including the Children of Israel inthe Wilderness and the Judgement ofHercules. Finally they sought the help of atalented “drawer” and portrait artist,Pierre Eugene du Simitiere. To the post ofconsultant, Du Simitiere brought someknowledge of heraldry—the art of describ-ing coats of arms—and also experience indesigning seals.

Four features recommended by the firstcommittee and its consultant were lateradopted in the final seal: the Eye of Provi-dence and the date of independence(MDCCLXXVI), both of which appeared onthe final reverse side of the seal, and theshield and Latin motto, E Pluribus Unum(Out of many, one), on the obverse side.

The first committee submitted its designon August 20, 1776, but the Congress or-dered the report “to lie on the table,” indi-cating lack of approval.

Portrait artist DuSimitiere’s design forFranklin, Adams, andJefferson suggestedshield, Eye of Provi-dence in radianttriangle, and motto, EPluribus Unum, all usedin final design. Drawnfrom original in ThomasJefferson papers.

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The Second CommitteeIn March 1780, the Congress turned thedesign and final report of the first commit-tee over to a new committee, composedof James Lovell, John Morin Scott, andWilliam Churchill Houston. They askedFrancis Hopkinson, the gifted Philadel-phian who had designed the American flagand the great seal of the State of New Jer-sey, to serve as their consultant. They toofailed to create an acceptable seal, but, in-fluenced by the flag adopted in 1777, theycontributed to the final design 13 red andwhite stripes, the constellation of 13 six-pointed stars, and the olive branch, a sym-bol of peace.

Great Seal Origins

Great seals have their ori-gins in the royal seals ofthe 7th, 8th, and 9th cen-turies, but the first seal tobe called “great” was thatof England’s King John(1199-1216). The King’sChamber acquired asmaller seal of its own,called the “privy seal,” foruse in the sovereign’s pri-vate business, and there-after the King’s seal be-came known as the “GreatSeal.” The U.S. seal iscalled “Great Seal” al-though no “lesser” sealexists. ❏

Second committee’s consultant, FrancisHopkinson, contributed red, white, andblue colors to shield, an arrow and olivebranch, and radiant constellation of 13stars.

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The Third CommitteeIn May 1782 the Congress appointed athird committee. The three members—John Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and EliasBoudinot—did little or no serious work

themselves, relying on the ser-vices of William Barton of Phila-delphia. A young lawyer withartistic skill and well versed inheraldry, he became a centralfigure in the seal’s refinement. Barton’s chief contribution atthis stage was the eagle, notthe American bald eagle, but asmall crested white eagle “dis-played” (with its wings spread).He combined it with a smallflag and a design for the re-verse which contained a 13-stepunfinished pyramid and the

first committee’s Eye of Providence. Hequickly drew up two designs and theirtechnical explanations, and the committeeturned in its report five days after it wasappointed.

Charles Thomson’s ProposalThe Congress still was not satisfied. OnJune 13, 1782, it presented the collectedwork and recommendations of the threecommittees to Charles Thomson, Secretaryof Congress. Thomson was not an artist,but he was a practical man with the abilityto get things done. He selected the bestfeatures of all the previous designs, assign-ing prominence to the eagle. Feeling thatthe new nation’s symbol should be strictlyAmerican, however, Thomson replacedBarton’s crested Imperial eagle with the na-tive American bald eagle, wings extendingdownward as though in flight. He placedin the left talon a bundle of arrows and inthe right, the olive branch.

Lawyer William Barton’sdesign for third commit-tee combined whiteeagle, flag, and reverseside with 13-steppyramid and firstcommittee’s Eye ofProvidence.

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Thomson’s modified crest (a deviceplaced above the shield) was a constella-tion of 13 stars surrounded by clouds. Theshield, borne on the eagle’s breast, was achevron design with alternating red andwhite stripes. Adopting the motto EPluribus Unum from the first committee’sreport, Thomson included it on a scrollclenched in the eagle’s beak. His was thefirst proposal in which the final design ofthe obverse can be seen.

In his design of the seal’s reverse,Thomson retained the pyramid with theEye of Providence in a triangle at the ze-nith and, as products of his Latin scholar-ship, introduced the mottos Annuit Coeptis(He [God] has favored our undertakings)over the eye and Novus Ordo Seclorum (A

Secretary of CongressCharles Thomson unitedearlier suggestions, gavethem fresh and novelarrangement, pleasing inits simplicity and lack ofclutter. His design wasfirst to foreshadow oneCongress adopted.

Charles Thomson’s “Remarks and Explanation,” Adopted bythe Continental Congress, June 20, 1782

“The Escutcheon is composed of the chief [upper part of shield] & pale[perpendicular band], the two most honorable ordinaries [figures of heraldry].The Pieces, paly [alternating pales], represent the several states all joined inone solid compact entire, supporting a Chief, which unites the whole &represents Congress. The Motto alludes to this union. The pales in the armsare kept closely united by the Chief and the Chief depends on that union & thestrength resulting from it for its support, to denote the Confederacy of theUnited States of America & the preservation of their union through Congress.

“The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States ofAmerica; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, andBlue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice. TheOlive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclu-sively vested in Congress. The Constellation denotes a new State taking itsplace and rank among other sovereign powers. The Escutcheon is born on thebreast of an American Eagle without any other supporters [figures repre-sented as holding up the shield] to denote that the United States of Americaought to rely on their own Virtue.

“Reverse. The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & theMotto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of theAmerican cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Indepen-dence and the words under it signify the beginning of the New American Æra,which commences from that date.” ❏

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new order of the ages) beneath the pyra-mid. He gave his rough sketches and re-ports to Barton, depending on him to pol-ish the designs.

The Final “Device”

Barton portrayed the eagle with its wingsdisplayed, but with wing tips upward, andsimplified Thomson’s chevron arrangementof stripes on the shield. He arranged 13vertical stripes, alternately white and red,below a rectangular blue “chief” (upperpart of the shield). And he specified thatthe arrows in the eagle’s left talon shouldnumber 13.

The designs were returned to Thomsonon June 19, 1782. He made a few alter-ations and overnight produced the “bla-zon” (written description) with accompany-ing “Remarks and Explanation” and pre-sented them to the Continental Congresson June 20. The Congress acted the sameday to adopt the report, which did notcontain a drawing of either design.

Thus, nearly six years after establishmentof the first committee, Charles Thomsonand William Barton “brought in a device.”The Great Seal of the United States wasunique—simple and uncluttered, yet bold—the composite product of many minds.

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Symbolically, the seal reflects the beliefs andvalues that the Founding Fathers attached tothe new nation and wished to pass on to theirdescendants. The report which Thomson sub-mitted to the Congress explained the obversethis way: The red and white stripes of theshield “represent the several states... support-ing a [blue] Chief which unites the whole andrepresents Congress.” The colors are adoptedfrom the American flag: “White signifies pu-rity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour,and Blue, the colour of the Chief, signifiesvigilance, perseverance & justice.” The shield,or escutcheon, is “born on the breast of anAmerican Eagle without any other supportersto denote that the United States of Americaought to rely on their own Virtue.”

The number 13, denoting the 13 originalStates, is represented in the bundle of arrows,the stripes of the shield, and the stars of theconstellation. The olive branch and the arrows“denote the power of peace & war.” The con-stellation of stars symbolizes a new nationtaking its place among other sovereign states.The motto E Pluribus Unum, emblazonedacross the scroll and clenched in the eagle’sbeak, expresses the union of the 13 States. Re-cent scholarship has pointed out the probablesource of this motto: Gentlemen’s Magazine,published in London from 1732 to 1922, waswidely read by the educated in the AmericanColonies. Its title page carried that samemotto and it is quite possible that it influencedthe creators of the seal.

The reverse, sometimes referred to as thespiritual side of the seal, contains the 13-steppyramid with the year 1776 in Roman numer-als on the base. At the summit of the pyramidis the Eye of Providence in a triangle sur-rounded by a Glory (rays of light) and aboveit appears the motto Annuit Coeptis. Along thelower circumference of the design appear thewords Novus Ordo Seclorum, heralding the be-ginning of the new American era in 1776.

Meaning of the Seal

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1782The first die was cut from brass in 1782 byan engraver who has not been positivelyidentified (possibly Robert Scot of Philadel-phia). It is thought that Charles Thomson,since he was to have custody of the seal asSecretary of the Continental Congress,took it upon himself to find an engraverand someone to supply a suitable press. IfThomson provided a drawing to the en-graver, it has disappeared and no drawingmade by the engraver has been found. Inany case, the seal and its press came intoexistence sometime between June and Sep-tember 1782. They were placed in the StateHouse in Philadelphia and on September16, Thomson used them for the first time.That first sealed document was a fullpower authorizing General Washington tonegotiate and sign with the British anagreement for the exchange, subsistence,and better treatment of prisoners of war. Itwas signed by President of the ContinentalCongress John Hanson and countersignedby Secretary Thomson. Thomson contin-ued as keeper of the seal until the Con-gress handed over power to the new gov-ernment in 1789 and custody of the sealpassed to the Secretary of State.

The 1782 seal, now on public display inthe National Archives, is rather archaic inappearance. It measures 25/16 inches in di-ameter and carries a relatively crude ren-dering of a crested eagle,1 thin-legged andawkward, its head protruding into the con-stellation of six-pointed stars. The bundleof 13 arrows and the olive branch, bare offruit, are pressed against the border ofmodified acanthus leaves.

1The eagle on the Great Seal has always facedto its own right. The eagle that faced to its ownleft (toward the arrows) was in the Presidentialseal and this was the design President Trumanaltered in 1945 when he ordered the eagle’s headturned toward the olive branch.

The Die Is Cut

First Great Seal, possiblyengraved by Robert Scotof Philadelphia in 1782.Brass die of seal was inuse almost 60 years.

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The Masi Treaty-Seal Die of 1825

European custom in the late 18thcentury called for the use of pen-dant seals on certain state docu-ments, such as treaties. Theseseals consisted of impressions ofthe die on red or white wax discswhich were then placed in silver orsilver gilt boxes called skippets. Theseal and skippet were suspendedfrom the document being sealed byheavy ornamental cords that boundthe pages together, passed throughthe seal and its box, and ended intassels.

The United States did not begin touse pendant seals until 1815 (on theinstrument of ratification of the Treatyof Ghent), and then it used the dieof the 1782 seal to make the waximpressions. But its small size com-pared unfavorably with the impres-sive European pendants. SeraphimMasi of Washington, DC, was askedto design a special treaty seal. Heproduced an elegant and gracefuldesign, quite in contrast to the 1782seal, and 411/16 inches in diameter.He didn’t follow the official descrip-tion of 1782 closely but produced arealistic, uncrested eagle turnedslightly to one side, as though rest-

ing on the branch of an olive tree.He clearly defined 13 arrows, madethe shield narrower and morepointed and altered its crest, andcentered the motto E Pluribus Unumover the eagle’s head. This beautifulseal was used for treaties until1871, when the government ceasedusing pendant seals and retired thedie. It is available for viewing in theNational Archives. ❏

Masi Treaty-Seal Die of 1825, used forpendant seals impressed in wax andenclosed in gold or silver boxes, thenfastened with ornamental cords andtassels to treaties.

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Great Seal of 1841,engraved in steel by JohnPeter Van Ness Throop ofWashington, DC. Itdeparted from 1782design by showing onlysix arrows in eagle’s clawand by giving stars five,rather than six, points. Italso added fruit to olivebranch.

1841By 1841, the original die of 1782 hadbecome worn, and a new steel diewas cut by John Peter Van NessThroop of Washington, DC. This diehas been called “the illegal seal” be-cause of its faulty design. Whereasthe law called for 13 arrows in theleft talon, Throop gave his eagle only6. It is assumed that he didn’t workfrom the text of the resolution of1782 but rather from an impressionmade by the worn, original die,which would have shown a bundle ofarrows but perhaps not the precise

number. This may also account for the factthat he engraved five-pointed stars,2 in-stead of the heraldic six-pointed stars ofthe original. However, these departuresfrom the official design didn’t affect the le-gality of the documents on which this sealwas affixed.

The Throop die is steel, 23/8 inches in di-ameter, about the same size as the original.In fact, it is thought that the same presswas used for both. But the differences instyle are marked: The border is withoutacanthus leaves; the whole design has beencrowded upward; the eagle is more vigor-ous and uncrested; two arcs, instead of astraight line, form the top of the shield;and the olive branch bears fruit, i.e., fourolives.

In early 1866, a crude counter-die of thedie was cut for the first time and put intouse. It was a duplicate cut in relief, appar-ently in bronze. Its purpose was to im-prove the impression from the die when adocument was pressed between them.However, the impressions grew less dis-tinct and the die was retired after some 36years of use.

2This innovation has been carried from die todie through the one now in use.

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The Great Sealof the United States

Obverse Side of the Great Seal

The most prominent feature is the Ameri-can bald eagle supporting the shield, or es-cutcheon, which is composed of 13 red andwhite stripes, representing the originalStates, and a blue top which unites theshield and represents Congress. The motto,E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one), al-ludes to this union. The olive branch and 13arrows denote the power of peace and war,which is exclusively vested in Congress.The constellation of stars denotes a newState taking its place and rank among othersovereign powers (see next pages).

Reverse Side of the Great Seal

The pyramid signifies strength and dura-tion: The eye over it and the motto, AnnuitCoeptis (He [God] has favored our under-takings), allude to the many interventionsof Providence in favor of the Americancause. The date underneath is that of theDeclaration of Independence and the wordsunder it, Novus Ordo Seclorum (A new or-der of the ages), signify the beginning ofthe new American era in 1776 (see nextpages).

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Obverse Side of the Great Seal

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Reverse Side of the Great Seal

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1877With the celebration of the Centennial in1876, Americans were reminded of theirheritage and interest was aroused in theorigins and forms of the Great Seal. An ar-ticle appeared in the press about this timerevealing that there were “irregularities” inthe 1841 die of the seal’s obverse and thatthe reverse, although created by law in1782, had never been cut.3 The Depart-ment of State seemed unaware of any pub-lic criticism, and the irregularities in the ob-verse were not corrected when the Throopdie began to wear and a new die was cutduring 1877. The engraver was HermanBaumgarten of Washington, DC, who fol-lowed the design of the 1841 die veryclosely, including the errors. The seal wasthe same size as its two predecessors, butBaumgarten enlarged the stars and the let-tering on the motto. It is considered thepoorest of all the Great Seal dies, and,ironically, it was the one in use for theGreat Seal’s own centennial in 1882.

3Charles Thomson’s written description, asadopted by the Continental Congress, providedfor the reverse in case it was decided to impressthe back of pendant seals. It was never intendedthat it be used apart from the obverse. A designwas drawn in 1786, another in 1856, but no diewas produced and pendant seals carried onlythe obverse of the seal.

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1885By early 1881, the Department of State re-sponded to comments from the public andthe press about the errors and omissions,and bids were asked for engraving a re-verse and a new obverse to correct them.The firm selected was Tiffany & Co. inNew York, and its head designer, JamesHorton Whitehouse, was asked to submitsketches. Whitehouse was a seal engraver,jewel cutter, and art designer of excep-tional skill, taste, and artistic judgment. Agreat deal of research went into these twodesigns, going back to the original writtendescription adopted in 1782. The Tiffanydie of the obverse differs radically from allearlier dies. It is formal and heraldic, ratherthan realistic, and it served as the patternfor the die in use today. Its 3-inch diametermakes it larger than its predecessors, andthe eagle once again carries 13 arrows. Theolive branch has 13 leaves and 13 olives onit, and for the first time, the cloud of thecrest is in the form of a complete circle.

But it is the eagle itself that has under-gone the greatest change. Gone are thethin-kneed eagles with L-shaped legs, re-placed by a muscular and unmistakablyAmerican bald eagle. More of the body ap-pears above the shield, and the engravingis so skillfully done that the break betweenthe white feathers of the head and neckand the dark feathers of the body is visiblein both the die and the impressions. In an-other departure, the eagle grasps the olivebranch and arrows in large, strong clawsfrom behind, not from the front, as previ-ously drawn.

Although a die for the reverse was or-dered from Tiffany & Co. and funds wereappropriated, the die was not cut. With thepassing of pendant seals in 1871, there wasno practical use for it.

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1904After only 17 years of use, the steel Tiffanydie of 1885 was no longer producing asharp impression, probably due to a worncounter-die. Whatever the reason, the De-partment ordered a new die in 1902 andfunds were appropriated. Although therewas some debate about changing the de-sign, the instructions that went to thePhiladelphia firm of Bailey Banks & Biddlewere to “furnish a fac-simile” of the designof the Tiffany die “not later than June 15,1903.”4 The new die was engraved in hard-ened steel by Max Zeitler, and impressionsfrom it are nearly identical to the 1877 die.There are differences, however. Impres-sions from the Zeitler die are sharper andclearer, particularly in the feathering of theeagle and in the 19 clouds of the crest. Theeagle’s feathers are more pointed, and itstalons have shorter joints. Zeitler also cor-rected two heraldic errors which had beencalled to the Department’s attention. But ittakes close inspection to see any of thesechanges.

The Zeitler die of the Great Seal was firstused on January 27, 1904, and remained inuse for 26 years. In 1986, the Bureau of En-graving and Printing made a master diefrom which the present die and counter-diewere produced. Future dies and counter-dies will be cut from this master die.

Great Seal of 1904 byBailey Banks & Biddlein Philadelphia. Theengraver, Max Zeitler,was instructed toreproduce 1885 die asexactly as possible.

4Actual delivery was delayed until January1904, although the press is engraved “June 15,1903.” The die has been referred to as the die of1903 because of this, but the 1904 date is morecustomary.

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Designs of the Reverse

Although drawings of the obverse side of the Great Seal were done immedi-ately upon adoption of the design in 1782, the first reverse was not drawn untilfour years later. A Philadelphia engraver, James Trenchard, working from thewritten description, produced a full page engraving of the reverse for the Octo-ber 1786 issue of Columbian Magazine. He followed the law closely and pro-duced an elongated, 13-step unfinished pyramid, with the two mottos, the datein Roman numerals, and the Eye of Providence in a blaze of glory.

The second drawing of the reverse was probably done by the artist and his-torian, Benson J. Lossing, to accompany an article he wrote on the Great Sealfor the July 1856 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. Lossing gave hisrather square pyramid a deep perspective and filled the ground around it withflowers and grass. He also changed Trenchard’s right Eye of Providence to aleft eye, which it has been ever since. This drawing has influenced all later re-alizations of the written description of 1782, with the exception of the GreatSeal Centennial Medal struck in 1882. The back of this medal, which followedclosely Trenchard’s design, was the first realization of the reverse to be issuedofficially by the U.S. Government.

The design for the reverse was made available by the Continental Congressin case it was desired to impress the back surfaces of wax pendant seals.The United States used pendant seals for treaties from 1815 to 1871, but thebacks were never impressed. Enthusiasm for cutting a die of the reverse hasdiminished, and to this day one has not been cut. The current official design ofthe reverse of the Great Seal follows almost exactly the Lossing drawing, andcan be seen on the $1 bill. ❏

Uses of the Seal and theCoat of Arms

The Great Seal is used to seal documents2,000-3,000 times a year. Although custodyof the first seal had been assigned to theSecretary of the Continental CongressCharles Thomson in 1782, the 1789 govern-ment assigned it to the Secretary of State.Mr. Thomson hand-carried the seal andpress to President Washington; deliveredhis resignation with genuine regret; andsurrendered the books, papers, andrecords of the late Congress. ThomasJefferson thus became the first of a longline of Secretaries of State to have custodyof the Great Seal.

The actual sealing is done by an officerfrom the Department’s Presidential Ap-

Reverse side of GreatSeal. Although descrip-tion was adopted in1782, no die has everbeen cut.

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Model of back of 1935 dollar bill submitted to President FranklinRoosevelt for approval. The President changed his mind after approv-ing it, reversed placement of obverse and reverse and added legend“The Great Seal of the United States” in two parts under his roughlysketched pyramid and eagle.

pointments Staff. At present it is impressedon the following types of documents, afterthey have been signed by the Presidentand countersigned by the Secretary ofState:

• Instruments of ratification of treatiesand other international agreements;

• Proclamations of treaties and other in-ternational instruments;

• Appointment commissions of ambassa-dors, Foreign Service officers, Cabinet of-ficers, and all other civil officers appointedby the President whose commissions arenot required by law to issue under anotherseal; and

• Assignment commissions for consularofficers.

The seal is also affixed to the envelopesthat contain letters accrediting and recallingour ambassadors and other ceremonialcommunications from the President toheads of foreign governments.

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The design of the obverse of the GreatSeal, which is the coat of arms of theUnited States, is used by the governmentin many ways. It appears in some form oncoins, postage stamps, stationery, publica-tions, flags, military uniforms, publicmonuments, public buildings, passports,and other items the U.S. Government hasissued, owns, or uses. In full color it is dis-played above the doors to all U.S. embas-sies, consulates general, and consulatesthroughout the world. It may also appearin black and white, and it may be printed,engraved, embossed, shown in relief,etched, carved, stamped, painted, litho-graphed, stitched, or reproduced by anyother process appropriate to the materialsbeing used. One of the more unusual usesof the coat of arms is in a stained glasswindow of the Prayer Room at the U.S.Capitol.

We see the seal design almost every day,both the obverse and the little-noticed re-verse, as it passes through our hands onthe $1 bill. In 1935, the Department of theTreasury sent President Roosevelt a newdesign for the bill, incorporating the ob-verse and reverse of the Great Seal. Afterapproving it rather routinely, the Presidentchanged his mind, scratched out his signa-ture, and inked in several significantchanges. He switched the obverse and re-verse and added “The Great Seal” under arough outline of the pyramid and “of theUnited States” under an even roughersketch of the eagle, and initialed the whole“FDR.” Upon receipt, Treasury’s Bureau ofEngraving and Printing duly noted “Re-ceived by the Engraving Division June 26,1935,” and revised the model.

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Requests To Use the Great SealAnd Coat of ArmsAll of these uses of the Great Seal die andthe design, or coat of arms, are official. Of-ten private, non-official requests to use oneor the other come to the Department ofState. The Great Seal can be affixed only asprovided by law and impressions of theseal cannot be made for display purposesor in response to requests for souvenirs orsamples. This position has been applied notonly to impressions made from the presentdie but also to impressions from earlierdies still in existence.

As for the coat of arms, the Departmenthas expressed concern in the past over theincreasing tendency to use it in commercialenterprises and in ways that give the im-pression of U.S. Government sponsorshipor involvement. However, it is theDepartment’s current practice not to pro-vide an opinion as to the suitability of pro-posed uses. The matter of legality is left tothe Department of Justice. Title 18 of theU.S. Code, as revised in January 1971, pro-hibits use of the likeness of the Great Sealor any facsimile in “any advertisement, cir-cular, book, pamphlet, or other publication,play, motion picture, telecast, or other pro-duction” for the purpose of conveying afalse impression of sponsorship or ap-proval by the U.S. Government underthreat of a fine of not more than $250 orimprisonment of not more than sixmonths, or both.

“The Eagle and theShield”A history of the GreatSeal by historiansRichard S. Patterson andRichardson Dougall wasreleased by the Depart-ment of State in 1978.Replacing the laststandard official historydone in 1909 by GaillardHunt, the 637-page bookcontains a fascinatingstudy of the seal and itsorigins, as well aschapters on the seals ofthe President, VicePresident, and theDepartment of State;answers to frequentlyasked questions aboutthe seal; and more than50 pages of illustrations.Copies of The Eagle andthe Shield are available atFederal DepositoryLibraries. ❏

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Sealing of DocumentsIn the Department of State, the term“Great Seal” has come to include not justthe die, but the counter-die, the press, andthe cover, or cabinet in which it is housed,as well. These stand in the Exhibit Hall ofthe Department, inside a glass enclosurewhich is kept locked at all times, even dur-ing the sealing of a document. The ma-hogany cabinet’s doors are also keptlocked and the press is bolted and pad-locked in position except when in use. Theseal can be affixed only by an officer of theDepartment of State, under the authorityof its custodian, the Secretary of State.When there are documents ready for seal-ing, one of the officers carries them to theenclosure where the Great Seal is kept andprepares them for impressing.

First, a 33/4-inch, scalloped, blank paperwafer of off-white linen stock is glued inthe space provided for it to the left of thedocument’s dating clause. If ribbons areused in binding the document, they arerun under the paper wafer and glued fast.Second, the document is inserted betweenthe counter-die, with the wafer carefullylined up between them. Third, the docu-ment is held in place with the left handand the weighted arm of the press ispulled sharply forward with the righthand, from right to left. This drives the diedown onto the wafer, document, andcounter-die, which impresses the seal in re-lief. The die is then raised, releasing thedocument and allowing for its removal.When an envelope containing letters ofcredence or recall is to be sealed, the waferis impressed first, and then glued to thesealed envelope, leaving the envelope itselfunmarked.

Great Seal Today

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The Great Seal on DisplayThe Great Seal is no longer portable as itwas in Charles Thomson’s day. Althoughthe seven Great Seals have had manyhomes and have been in the custody of 58Secretaries of State since Thomas Jeffersonfirst took the responsibility, only the 1904seal seems to have found more or less per-manent quarters.

In 1955, it was put on public display forthe first time during a ceremony in the De-partment of State lobby opening an exhibiton the history of the Great Seal, afterwhich it was returned to the mezzaninewhere the public could view it.

On September 16, 1957, the 175th anni-versary of the earliest known use of theseal, another public ceremony took placeand four documents were sealed by theActing Secretary of State, before televisionand movie cameras.

It was not until March 1961 that the GreatSeal was placed in what everyone consid-ered its first appropriate location —the Ex-hibit Hall of the Department. This hall ison the first floor, centered between thenorth and south open-air courts which liestraight ahead of the diplomatic entranceat 2201 C Street NW. There the Great Seal,the press, and the cabinet are on displaytoday.

On June 15, 1982, Secretary of StateAlexander Meigs Haig, Jr., hosted a cer-emony commemorating the 200th Anni-versary of the Great Seal of the UnitedStates—June 20, 1982. This was also the in-augural for the new enclosure and exhibitin the Hall for the Great Seal. ■

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Publication No. 10411 • Published bythe United States Department of State •Bureau of Public Affairs • Office of PublicCommunication • Washington, DC •September 1996

For sale by the Superintendent ofDocuments, U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington, DC 20402