The Escutcheon is composed of the chief & pale, the two most honorable ordinaries. The pieces, paly, represent the Several States all joined in one solid compact entire, supporting a Chief, which unites the whole & represents Congress. The Motto alludes to this union. The pales in the arms are kept closely united by the chief and the chief depends on that Union & the strength resulting from it for its support, to denote the Confederacy of the United States of America & the preservation of their Union through Congress. The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance perseverance & justice. The Olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclusively vested in Congress. The Constellation denotes a new State taking its place and rank among other sovereign powers. The Escutcheon is born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters, to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue. Reverse. The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American Æra, which commences from that date. [Illustration: THE FIRST SEAL (1782) ] [Illustration: THE SECOND SEAL (1841) Face p. 43 ] This entire report is in Thomson’s handwriting and is endorsed by him: “Device for a Great Seal for the United States in Congress Assembled. Passed June 20, 1782.” In the journals of Congress the “Remarks and explanation” are left out, but they constitute an essential part of the fundamental law as Congress adopted it. The different features of the seal had all been in common use in America. In the North Carolina paper currency of 1775 appears a bundle of thirteen arrows; in the Maryland currency of the same year a hand grasping an olive branch with thirteen leaves; on a fifty-dollar bill issued in 1778 is an unfinished pyramid, with the motto “Perennis;” in the Massachusetts copper penny of 1776 are thirteen stars, surrounding an _eagle_; the flag had the thirteen stripes, and so had the seal of the Board of Admiralty, adopted May 4, 1780.