Chapter IX: Uses of the Seal

When the Continental Congress made the obverse of the great seal the national arms it intended that the device should pass into common use among the people, as the flag has done, and like the flag the arms at first met with general approval, which soon gave place to an acceptance of it as an emblem of the power and sovereignty of the United States, which placed it above criticism.

Not all of the fathers of the Republic, however, were pleased with the selection of the eagle as the national emblem. When the badge of the Order of the Society of the Cincinnati was made in France in 1784 it was objected to by some because the displayed eagle resembled a turkey.

For my part [wrote Benjamin Franklin January 26, 1784, to his
daughter], I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the
representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; he
does not get his living honestly; you may have seen him perched on
some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the
labor of the fishing-hawk; and, when that diligent bird has at length
taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his
mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him, and takes it from
him. With all this injustice he is never in good case; but, like those
among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and
often very lousy. Besides, he is a rank coward; the little _kingbird_,
not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him boldly and drives him out of
the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the
brave and honest Cincinnati of America, who have driven all the
_kingbirds_ from our country; though exactly fit for that order of
knights, which the French call _Chevaliers d’Industrie_.

I am, on this account, not displeased that the figure is not known as
a bald eagle, but looks more like a turkey. For in truth, the turkey
is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true
original native of America. Eagles have been found in all countries,
but the turkey was peculiar to ours; the first of the species seen in
Europe, being brought to France by the Jesuits from Canada, and served
up at the wedding table of Charles the Ninth. He is, besides, (though
a little vain and silly, it is true, but not the worse emblem for
that,) a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier
of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with
a _red_ coat on.[32]

The seal itself has, of course, a very limited use, which is strictly guarded by law. The Secretary of State is its custodian, but even he has no authority to affix it to any paper that does not bear the President’s signature.

In 1803 Chief Justice Marshall, in delivering an opinion of the Supreme Court, used the following language relative to the seal. It may be considered applicable to all instruments to which the seal is affixed.

The signature [of the President] is a warrant for affixing the great
seal to the commission, and the great seal is only to be affixed to an
instrument which is complete. It attests, by an act supposed to be of
public notoriety, the verity of the presidential signature.

It is never to be affixed till the commission is signed, because the
signature which gives force and effect to the commission, is
conclusive evidence that the appointment is made.

The commission being signed, the subsequent duty of the Secretary of
State is prescribed by law, and not to be guided by the will of the
President. He is to affix the seal of the United States to the
Commission, and is to record it. (1 U. S. Reports, 374.)

As the duties of the Government have expanded, the impracticability of having the seal of the United States attached by the Department of State to the commissions of officers who are under some other Department has been recognized by Congress. By the act of March 18, 1874,[33] the commissions of postmasters were directed to be made out under the seal of the Post-Office Department; the act of March 3, 1875,[34] placed the commissions of officers of the Interior Department under that Department; by act of August 8, 1888,[35] all judicial officers, marshals, and United States attorneys were ordered to be appointed under the seal of the Department of Justice; and by an Executive order of June 16, 1893, President Cleveland directed that all warrants of pardon and commutations of sentence granted to offenders convicted in the courts of the United States should thereafter be made out under the seal of the Department of Justice.

At the present time the seal of the United States is affixed to the commissions of all Cabinet officers and diplomatic and consular officers who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate; all ceremonious communications from the President to the heads of foreign governments; all treaties, conventions, and formal agreements of the President with foreign powers; all proclamations by the President; all exequaturs to foreign consular officers in the United States who are appointed by the heads of the governments which they represent; to warrants by the President to receive persons surrendered by foreign governments under extradition treaties; and to all miscellaneous commissions of civil officers appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, whose appointments are not now especially directed by law to be signed under a different seal.

]

GLOSSARY OF HERALDIC TERMS.

Argent—silver, represented in engraving by plain surface.

Atchievement or achievement—a complete heraldic composition.

Azure—blue, represented in engraving by horizontal lines.

Barways or barwise—horizontally.

Barry—divided into bars.

Bearing—a charge on a coat of arms.

Blazonment or blazon—a correct heraldic description.

Canton—a part of the chief cut off on the left or right hand corner.

Charged—bearing a charge or figure upon the escutcheon.

Chevrons—bars, as the rafters of a roof, leaning against one another.

Chief—upper part of escutcheon.

Counter flory—flowers divided and separated by the whole width of the
bearing.

Coupé—cut off evenly.

Crest—the part of the achievement outside of and above the escutcheon.

Damasked—decorated with an ornamental pattern.

Dignity, cap of dignity—a symbol of dignity.

Displayed—with expanded wings.

Emblazon. See Blazon.

Ensigned—distinguished by mark or ornament.

Entoire—charged with bearings not living creatures.

Ermine—fur represented by black spots on a white ground.
Escutcheon—the shield.

Exergue—the part of the reverse of a medal below the main device.

Fess-point—the central point of the escutcheon.

Flory or fleury—decorated with fleur-de-lis.

Gules—red, represented in engraving by close vertical lines.

Or—gold or yellow, represented in engraving by dots on a white ground.

Ordinary—a common bearing bounded by straight lines.

Pale—a perpendicular stripe on the escutcheon.

Paleways, palewise, or paly—divided into equal parts by perpendicular
lines.

Parti (party)—divided into parts.

Proper—of natural color or colors.

Quarters—the various smaller escutcheons within the larger escutcheon.

Sable—black, represented in engraving by a network of vertical and
perpendicular lines.

Saltier—in the shape of a St. Andrew’s cross.

Sanguinated—blood stained, or blood color.

Scutcheon—escutcheon.

Semé—covered with small bearings.

Tenants—supporters.

Tinctures—the metals or colors.

Tressure—a double border within the escutcheon, and not reaching the
edge.

Vert—green, represented in engraving by diagonal lines.

INDEX

ADAMS, JOHN, on first committee, 7;
describes device, 8;
design of, 9, 10;
connection with Prestwich, 38.

ALDEN, ROGER, keeper of the seal, 45.

ARMS OF ENGLAND, changes in, 50.

BAILEY, BANKS & BIDDLE, cut fourth seal, 64.

BARTON, THOMAS, father of William Barton, 23.

BARTON, WILLIAM, called into consultation on design, 23;
first design, 24;
second design, 28;
claims paternity of arms, 32;
improves Thomson’s design, 35;
credit due to, 37.

BOUDINOT, ELIAS, on seal committee, 23.

BRADSHAW, JOHN, supposed epitaph on, 14, 15, 16.

CHAMPLIN, JOHN D., Jr., opinion of, on seal, 48, 54, 59.

CHICAGO EXPOSITION, illustrations of seal at, 61.

CINCINNATI, ORDER OF, eagle on badge of, 65.

COAT OF ARMS OF THE UNITED STATES. _See_ Seal of the United States.

DWIGHT, THEODORE F., Chief, Bureau of Rolls and Library, superintends
new seal, 54;
opinion on designs, 56.

DEANE, SILAS, complains of want of seal, 18.

E PLURIBUS UNUM, motto, first suggested, 12;
by whom, 13;
origin of, 14;
adopted, 41.

EAGLE, first suggestion of, 24, 28;
Thomson’s treatment of, 33, 34;
adopted as emblem, 41;
Franklin’s opinion of, 65.

ELLERY, WILLIAM, recommends that seal be considered, 18.

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, on first committee, 7;
design of, 9, 10;
suggests motto, 14, 16;
criticises eagle, 65.

FRELINGHUYSEN, THEODORE F., Secretary of State, seal cut by order of,
51;
writes about seal, 53.

FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES, adopted, 18.

GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES. _See_ Seal of the United States.

GRIBELIN, engraving by, 9, 10.

HAY, JOHN, Secretary of State, fourth seal cut by direction of, 63.

HOLLIS, THOMAS, gives motto, Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God,
14.

HOUSTON, WILLIAM CHURCHILL, on seal committee, 19;
writes report, 21.

JEFFERSON, THOMAS, on first committee, 7;
design of, 9, 10;
connection with motto, 13;
suggestion of, 13, 14;
adopts motto, 14.

LEE, ARTHUR, acts with seal committee, 24.

LEWIS, SAMUEL, jeweler, keeps seal for treaties, 52.

LOVELL COMMITTEE, appointed, 18;
reports, 19;
report recommitted, 23.

LOVELL, JAMES, on seal committee, 19.

MARSHALL, JOHN, Chief Justice, opinion of, on use of seal, 66.

MATHÆIS, PAULO DE, picture by, 10.

MIDDLETON, ARTHUR, on seal committee, 23.

NORTON, CHARLES ELIOT, opinion of, on seal, 54, 56.

PRESTWICH, SIR JOHN, connection of, with seal, 38.

REBELLION TO TYRANTS IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD, motto proposed, 9, 10;
origin of, 14, 15, 16.

RUTLEDGE, EDWARD, on seal committee, 23.

SCOTT, JOHN MORIN, on seal committee, 19.

SEAL, GREAT, of England, 8.

SEAL, GREAT, of France, 7, 8.

SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES, first committee to design, 7;
first designs for, 8;
motto for, 13;
need of, 18;
second committee for, 19;
Barton’s designs for, 24, 28, 35;
Thomson’s designs for, 34, 37;
Sir John Prestwich’s connection with, 38;
adopted, 41;
cutting of, 43;
proposed less seal, 44;
correct name for, 46;
second seal, 48;
correction of, 49;
treaty seal, 52;
reverse of, 53, 56, 61;
seal of 1884, 53;
the fourth seal, 63;
device criticised, 65;
uses of, 66.

SECRETARY OF STATE, keeper of the seal, 45.

SHAFTESBURY, EARL OF, engraving in Treatise, 10.

SIMITIÈRE, EUGÈNE PIERRE DU, consulted by first committee, 8;
design of, 9, 11, 12, 17.

SNOWDEN, A. LOUDEN, Director of the Mint, seal medal struck by, 50.

STABLER, EDWARD, cuts second seal, 48.

THOMSON, CHARLES, consults Barton, 31;
ordered to prepare design, 33;
submits design, 34;
design improved, 35;
credit due to, 37;
has charge of seal, 44.

TIFFANY & CO., submit designs, 57.

TOTTEN, C. A. L., writes about seal, 50.

WEBSTER, DANIEL, Secretary of State, seal cut under, 49.

WHITEHOUSE, JAMES HORTON, consulted about seal, 54;
submits designs, 56;
argument for, 59.

WHITE, ALEXANDER, proposes less seal, 44.

WHITMORE, WILLIAM H., consulted relative to seal, 54;
opinion on design, 55;
submits designs, 56.

WINSOR, JUSTIN, consulted concerning seal, 54;
gives opinion, 55.

-----

Footnote 1:

Journals of Congress (W. C. Ford, editor), 1906, V, 517.

Footnote 2:

Benson J. Lossing, in Harper’s Magazine, 1856, vol. 13, p. 178 _et
seq._

Footnote 3:

It so appears attached to the exchange copy of the treaty of peace
with the United States.

Footnote 4:

The Great Seals of England, by Alfred Benjamin and Allen Wyon, London,
1888. Review in The Spectator, 61, 173.

Footnote 5:

Familiar Letters of John Adams and his Wife, 210.

Footnote 6:

Journals of the Continental Congress (W. C. Ford, editor), 1906, V,
690 _n._

Footnote 7:

Our Great Seal, by C. A. L. Totten, 1, 25, gives a reproduction of the
frontispiece.

Footnote 8:

Reports of Committees relating to Congress, vol. 23, Continental
Congress MSS. All the committee reports bearing on the seal are in
this volume.

Footnote 9:

See note at the end for a glossary of heraldic terms used.

Footnote 10:

Delaware counties.

Footnote 11:

Journals of Congress (W. C. Ford, editor), 1906, V, 689.

Footnote 12:

See, however, Historic Side-lights, by Howard Payson Arnold, p. 284.

Footnote 13:

Writings of Jefferson (P. L. Ford), edition of 1892, I, p. 420.

Footnote 14:

The first use of the motto is traced in Preble’s History of the
American Flag, p. 694.

Footnote 15:

Memoirs of Thomas Hollis, Esq., F. R. and A. S. S.; London: MDCCLXXX;
vol. 2, p. 789.

Footnote 16:

Randall’s Life of Jefferson, 3, 585.

This would seem to be conclusive, but since the writer prepared his
brochure on the great seal in 1892 several people whose opinions are
entitled to consideration have expressed a doubt whether the
inscription does not, or at any rate did not, exist. Bradshaw died
during the closing years of the Commonwealth and was buried in
Westminster Abbey. Upon the Restoration his body was disinterred and
hanged, when several other regicides were executed, after which the
trunk was thrown into a hole at the foot of the gallows and the head
publicly displayed, as the custom was in those times. Some members of
the court of which he was president are said to have gone to Jamaica,
and it was declared by some that Bradshaw spread the report of his
death and retired secretly to that island. There is even a surviving
rumor that he and his colleagues were in this country, and a
well-known landmark near New Haven is the “Regicides’ Cave.” In all of
this we see merely an example of one of those myths which so often
surround the death of one whose life was peculiarly conspicuous. In
Bradshaw’s case his double burial in England would still not render
impossible a third burial in Jamaica, and even if he was not buried
there an inscription upon a cannon in his commemoration might possibly
have once existed. But the whole story was investigated in the
beginning of the last century by Bryan Edwards, the historian of the
West Indies, whose work is an authority. In the fifth edition (London,
1819) of his History of the West Indies (vol. 1, p. 213) he says:

“Some of these men who sat as judges at the trial of Charles I are
said to have become peaceable settlers here, and to have remained
after the restoration. * * * It is reported also, that the remains of
President Bradshaw were interred in Jamaica; and I observe in a
splendid book, entitled ‘Memoirs of Thomas Hollis,’ an epitaph which
is said to have been inscribed on the president’s grave; but it is to
my own knowledge a modern production.”

It may be added that the author made inquiry of Louis A. Dent, esq.,
lately Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, when he was
United States consul at Kingston, concerning traditions of this
epitaph, and he declared he knew of none. As his knowledge of Jamaica
was thorough such traditions would hardly have escaped him if
existent.

That anyone should seize upon the rumors surrounding Bradshaw’s death
and make them the basis of a fictitious epitaph is a cause of wonder,
until we remember that the author was Benjamin Franklin, whose unique
imagination was amused by constructing epitaphs and kindred
compositions. His object in this case may easily have been the very
effect of inflaming public opinion which Hollis noticed had resulted.
The statement that the epitaph was on a cannon at Martha Bay was
presumably attached to the copies Hollis saw and accepted by him in
good faith.

Footnote 17:

Preble’s History of the Flag, 259 _et seq._

Footnote 18:

Journals of Congress (W. C. Ford, editor), 1907, VII, 59.

Footnote 19:

Austin’s Life of Elbridge Gerry, vol. 1, p. 336.

Footnote 20:

When the committee was appointed from which emanated in 1782 the seal
finally accepted, a memorandum, endorsed “proceedings respect^g. a
seal of the United States Mr. Middleton Mr. Boudinot Mr. Lee,” was
made by Lovell for the committee’s use, showing from the papers in the
office of the Secretary of Congress what had already been done in the
matter of the seal. After setting forth the action of 1776 it states
that the Lovell committee was appointed March 25, _1779_, and the
report is given as follows:

“Original Report of May 10 1779

the Seal to be 4 inches Diametre On one Side The arms of the United
States as follows The Shield charged on the Field with 13 diagonal
Stripes alternate red & white—Supporters, dexter, a Warriour holding a
Sword; Sinister a Figure representing Peace bearing an Olive
Branch—The Crest a radiant Constellation of 13 Stars—The motto Bello
vel Paci—The legend round the Atchievement Seal of the United States

“On the Reverse—The Figure of Liberty seated in a Chair holding the
Staff & cap. The motto Semper—Underneath MDCCLXXVI”

The memorandum also says that on May 17 “The Report of the Com^{tee}.
on the Device of a great Seal was taken into Consideration and after
Debate Ordered, That it be recommitted.”

Evidently an error was made in the dates by Lovell when he transcribed
the memorandum. A committee appointed in _1779_, if its report had
been submitted May 10, _1779_, and recommitted May 17, _1779_, could
hardly have made a second report May 10, _1780_, to have it
recommitted May 17, _1780_. The MS. journal for March 25, 1780, says:

“_Ordered_, That the report of the committee on the device of a great
Seal for the United States in Congress assembled, be referred to a
committee of three:

“The members chosen, Mr. Lovell, Mr. Scott and Mr. Houston.”

The MS. journal for May 17, 1780, says:

“The report of the committee on the device of a seal was taken into
consideration; and after debate,

“_Ordered_, That it be recommitted.”

Footnote 21:

Pennsylvania Magazine, X, 414.

Footnote 22:

Note by Barton: “In the Arms of Scotland, as marshalled in the Royal
Atchievement, the double Tressure which surrounds the Lion is borne
_flory_ and _counter flory_ (with Fleurs-de-lis); which is in
Consequence of a Treaty that was entered into, between Charlemagne,
then Emperor & King of France, and Achaius King of Scotland; to denote
that the French Lillies should guard & defend the Scottish Lion.”

Footnote 23:

Totten, I, 104, 108; Mass. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, 1866–1867, p. 351.

Footnote 24:

Note by Henry Livingston Thomas, late Translator, Department of State.

Footnote 25:

Note by Barton: “As the Pales or Pallets consist of an uneven Number,
they ought, in strictness, to be blazoned—Arg^t. 6 Pallets gules: but
as the 13 pieces allude to the thirteen States, they are blazoned
according to the Number of _pieces paleways_.”

Footnote 26:

Vol. II, p. 656.

Footnote 27:

For discussion of the Prestwich claim, see Totten, I, 63 _et seq._

Footnote 28:

Journals of Congress, vol. 4 (ed. 1823), p. 39.

Footnote 29:

The Department of State of the United States; Its History and
Functions (Hunt), 50, 51.

Footnote 30:

See Totten, I, 212.

Footnote 31:

Totten, I, 171 _et seq._

Footnote 32:

Life of Franklin (Bigelow), III, p. 252.

Footnote 33:

18 Stat., 23.

Footnote 34:

18 Stat., 420.

Footnote 35:

25 Stat., 387.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Page Changed from Changed to

12 the Israelites; Rays from a the Israelites; Rays from a
pillow of Fire in the Cloud pillar of Fire in the Cloud

● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained. ● Used numbers for footnotes, placing them all at the end of the last chapter. ● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. ● The caret (^) serves as a superscript indicator, applicable to individual characters (like 2^d) and even entire phrases (like 1^{st}).