The bald eagle is associated with America as a national symbol — as American as apple pie — but it’s never been official. President Joe Biden signed a law that makes the bald eagle officially a national symbol.
When did the bald eagle first become a national emblem?
It first appeared on the Great Seal of the U.S., which was used on U.S. documents in 1782, according to NBC News. Then, it was designated as the national emblem by the U.S. Congress during the Revolutionary War. You’ve likely noticed the seal’s eagle, which is “carrying a flag-emblazoned shield holding an olive branch in one talon and arrows in the other.”
“For nearly 250 years, we called the bald eagle the national bird when it wasn’t,” Jack Davis, co-chair of the National Bird Initiative for the National Eagle Center, said in a statement. “But now the title is official, and no bird is more deserving.”
What took so long to make it official?
No one had taken the time to submit legislation and provide the bird of prey with an appointed position. Because of its presence on the seal and following associations with national symbolism, most people likely already thought it was official, according to the National Eagle Center.
With the new legislation spearheaded by Minnesota legislators signed into law, it makes what was long thought to be official to be actually official.
“The bald eagle is a symbol of our country’s freedom and strength. In Minnesota, we know a thing or two about eagles: We are home to one of the largest populations of bald eagles in the country as well as the National Eagle Center in Wabasha,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), one of the bill’s sponsors in the upper chamber, said earlier this month, per The Hill.
What changes now that the bald eagle is officially a national symbol?
Bald eagles were already “protected under the National Emblem Act of 1940, which makes it illegal to sell or hunt the creature,” BBC reported.
The newest designation simply makes it so that no other bird could be considered the national bird symbol. It provides the receipts that the bald eagle is America’s bird.