The Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress on June 20, 1782, can be found in your wallet. Displayed on the back of the $1 bill, both sides of the seal deserve careful attention and analysis as they represent many of the ideals early leaders of this country believed should endure.
Following the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Continental Congress assigned a committee of political all-stars to come up with a coat of arms for the new nation. That first committee failed to produce a suitable option, but subsequent committees built on attempts from the first to create what today is a tangible representation of centuries-old beliefs.
On the front side of the Great Seal is an American bald eagle, an interpretation of freedom and strength. In its talons are an olive branch and arrows, symbols of peace and a readiness to defend freedom. A shield covers the eagle’s chest, layered with 13 red and white stripes, one for each of the original states. A blue chief stripe holds them together, representing Congress or government.
The reverse side depicts a pyramid, purposefully left unfinished, as the designers and Founding Fathers predicted there would be more than just the 13 original states. Conspiracy theorists try to explain what the pyramid and the illuminated eye at its zenith signify, but no further explanation is needed than that delivered by Charles Thomson, one of the two actual designers of the Great Seal, to Congress in 1782: “The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause.”
The motto Thomson refers to is one of three Latin phrases found on the Great Seal — Annuit Coeptis, or He has favored our undertakings. As early Americans acknowledged the influence of God in their lives, so do Americans and people of other nations similarly acknowledge the role God plays in their lives today. The designers had the courage to acknowledge God’s hand in their day; so modern Americans should continue that legacy.
The Great Seal is still used today, a stamp of approval on presidential proclamations, treaties and other documents. Its longstanding heritage is one of perseverance: It took three official committees and six years to be finalized. Perhaps most applicable then, for the seal and for the American people, is the first of the three Latin phrases — E Pluribus Unum, or One from many.
At over 318 million people, the United States has as diverse a population as any on earth. As different as we may be, we are stronger when we pull together, when we are unified in a good cause. We can be one from many.