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The bald eagle had been on the nation’s Great Seal since the Revolutionary War and upheld as a proud emblem of the nation, but it was never codified in law as the official bird.
Symbol Name File References Flag: Flag of the United States [1]Seal: Great Seal of the United States (obverse)(reverse) [2]National motto "In God We Trust" E pluribus unum [3] [4]
Thomson used the eagle—this time specifying an American bald eagle—as the sole supporter on the shield. The shield had thirteen stripes, this time in a chevron pattern, and the eagle's claws held an olive branch and a bundle of thirteen arrows. For the crest, he used Hopkinson's constellation of thirteen stars.
The two flags in the eagle's talons represent the span of America's history from 13 colonies to the present 50 states. The flags are bound by a golden cord symbolic of those Americans who have fallen in service to their country. The eagle holds the cord to perpetuate the memory of those veterans who have fallen and sacrificed for the nation.
The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor on Tuesday: It officially became the country’s national bird.
The eagle's wings were shown "displayed" (wingtips up), with an arc of cloud puffs between the wings, and thirteen stars scattered below the arc and surrounding a scroll reading E Pluribus Unum. The eagle's head was turned to its left toward the arrows for the first time, a feature which would last until 1945.
This first design had an eagle with a shield on its breast, olive branches in its left talon, and arrows in its right. Above the eagle were rays of light emanating from clouds, representing the emergence of the new nation. Encircling the design was the legend SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. [1]
The representation of the American Eagle is thus a unique combination between a naturalistic depiction of the bird, and the traditional heraldic attitude of the "eagle displayed". The American bald eagle has been a popular emblem throughout the life of the republic, with an eagle appearing in its current form since 1885, in the flags and seals ...