The Citizen's Almanac - uscis

On July 4, 1776, theContinental Congressappointed a committee tocreate a seal for the United Statesof America. Following the appointmentof two additional committees,each building upon the other,the Great Seal was finalized andapproved on June 20, 1782.The Great Seal has two sides—an obverse, or front side, anda reverse side. The obverse sidedisplays a bald eagle, the nationalObverse side of the Great Seal of theUnited States. Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Statebird, in the center. The bald eagleholds a scroll inscribed E pluribusunum in its beak. The phrase means“out of many, one” in Latin andsignifies one nation that wascreated from thirteen separatecolonies. In one of the eagle’sclaws is an olive branch and inthe other is a bundle of thirteenarrows. The olive branch signifiespeace and the arrows signify war.24