The Great Seal of the United States

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

The work to create our Great Seal began on July 4, 1776, when Congress formed a committee including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson to design an official seal for our new country. It took three committees and Charles Thompson, secretary of Congress, six years to come up with the final design!

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, explores how the Great Seal offers a glimpse of where our founders were philosophically when they created our nation, and why it still matters today. On June 20, 1782, Congress approved the final design of the Great Seal of the United States.


Images courtesy of National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, Penn Libraries - University of Pennsylvania, National Archives, Wikipedia.

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Tom Hand
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