Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 212, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 September 1919 — Origin and Design of Great Seal of the United States [ARTICLE]

Origin and Design of Great Seal of the United States

The great seal of the United States was adopted by congress 136 years ago. The design was suggested by Sir John Prestwich, an eminent English antiquary, to John Adams/ then United States minister to Great Britain, and was formally accepted by congress on June 20, 1782. It is composed of a spread eagle, bearing on its breast an escutcheon with 13 stripes, ajid in its talons holding an olive branch and 13 arrows, symbolic of both peace and wart The ettgle;- the~suggestiotr-of -an national bird of the United States.