What do the arrows represent?
Answer
War or defense
Explanation
The 13 arrows held in the eagle's left talon on the Great Seal of the United States represent war or, more broadly, the country's readiness and capacity to defend itself. The number 13 honors the original 13 colonies that declared independence from Britain in 1776 and ratified the Constitution between 1787 and 1790. The cluster of arrows (a bundle, in heraldic terms a sheaf) is paired with the olive branch in the eagle's right talon, which represents peace, and the eagle's head is turned toward the olive branch, signaling that the country prefers peace but is prepared for war.
The pairing of arrows and olive branch is a classical motif drawn from the iconography of the goddess Pallas Athena (who carried both peace and war symbols) and from earlier European royal seals; the specific American arrangement was chosen by Charles Thomson, Secretary of Congress, in 1782. By choosing arrows rather than swords, spears, or muskets, the designers used a weapon associated with Native American iconography and with the new American hemisphere, and they avoided the European associations of feudal warfare.
The 13 arrows mirror the 13 olives, 13 leaves, 13 stripes on the shield, 13 stars in the glory above, 13 courses of the pyramid on the reverse, and 13 letters in the mottos E Pluribus Unum and Annuit Coeptis. The arrows are held in the left talon because heraldic tradition placed the dexter (right) side of the design in the position of greatest honor, and the country wished to honor peace over war.
Federal usage of the arrow motif is widespread: the Department of Defense seal includes a sheaf of arrows, the seal of the U.S. Air Force includes an eagle with arrows, and military unit insignia frequently incorporate eagles, shields, and arrows drawn from the Great Seal vocabulary. The constitutional structure that the arrows symbolize (the country's capacity to defend itself) is allocated across the branches: Article I, section 8 gives Congress the power to declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, make rules for the armed forces, and call forth the militia; Article II, section 2 designates the President as Commander in Chief; and the Second Amendment recognizes a right of the people related to the maintenance of a well-regulated militia.
Why this matters for your test
Understanding what the arrows represent rounds out the meaning of the Great Seal: the country prefers peace but is prepared for war. That balance is built into the Constitution and into many of the country's symbols, and seeing it on the Seal helps applicants read the visual logic of American government.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
