original design of the great seal of the United States, 1782?

Question

i was given this document out of the 100 documents in the presidental library to do my research paper...i have found most of the info i needed except i cant find ....What was teh long term impact of the documnet on American History
and WHAT is the purpose of the document and why was it written....if any one can please help me out that would be great...


ps...just a little info would be good and i can do more research in depth...Thanx a lot in Advance!!

Answer 1

Well, first of all, the Great Seal isn't really a "document"; instead it's used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States government.

"The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself (which is in the keeping of the U.S. Secretary of State), and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The Great Seal was publicly first used in 1782.
The design on the obverse of the great seal is the national coat of arms of the United States and is officially used on documents such as passports as well as for military insignia, embassy placards, and various flags. As a coat of arms, the design has official colors; the physical Great Seal itself, as affixed to paper, is monochrome.
Since 1935, both sides of the Great Seal appear on the reverse of the One-Dollar Bill of the United States.
On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from England was declared by the thirteen states, the Continental Congress named the first committee to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country. Similar to other nations, The United States of America needed an official symbol of sovereignty to formalize and seal (or sign) international treaties and transactions. It took six years and three committees in order for the Continental Congress to agree on a design.
The first of these committees was formed by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. Each of these men proposed a design for the seal. Franklin chose an allegorical scene that demonstrated the Motto, "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God," where there is a depiction of the Exodus when the Jewish people are confronted by Pharaoh and achieve their liberation from slavery in Egypt. Jefferson suggested a depiction of the children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night for the front of the seal; and Hengist and Horsa, the two brothers who were the legendary leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain, for the reverse side of the seal. Adams chose the painting known as the "Judgment of Hercules" where the young Hercules must choose to travel either on the flowery path of self-indulgence or the rugged, more difficult, uphill path of duty to others and honor to himself. Of these initial designs, Congress ultimately chose none but did use four of the design elements from this committee in its final design (Eye of Providence, the date of independence, the shield and the E Pluribus Unum Motto (Out of Many, one).


Design for the recto of the Great Seal, 1782.


Design for the verso of the Great Seal, 1782.
Finally the problem was turned over to Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Congress, who merged elements from all three previous attempts. Congress finally approved Thomson's integrated design on June 20, 1782, still in use today; and had it engraved into brass matrices, which were about 2.25 inches in diameter.
On September 16, 1782 Thomson used these matrices for the first time, to verify signatures on a document that authorized George Washington to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. Thomson took care of the Seal until the Constitution installed a new American Government in 1789, when he passed it over to the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson. All subsequent Secretaries of State have been responsible for applying the Seal to diplomatic documents.
The first matrices of the seal were replaced in 1841 when they became too worn to be effective.
There have been a total of seven re-engravings of the Seal since the original, which is now on display in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Symbolism

Upon close inspection one may notice strong symbolic themes used in the seal. For example, the shield is reminiscent of the national flag, and the Bald Eagle is a well-known national symbol of the United States.
Among unanswered questions is what the historical significance of the large Star of David pattern formed by the glory of stars above the eagle's head on the obverse side is. Beginning in 1841, the individual stars themselves were drawn with only five points, rather than six.
That of the reverse is murkier. Some conspiracy theorists believe the eye atop the pyramid to have its origins in Masonic iconography. However, the icon is not solely a Masonic symbol, nor was it designed by a Mason. Benjamin Franklin was the only Mason among the Great Seal committee, but his ideas were not adopted by the committee.

see link 2 for much more, please.

Answer 2

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