What is the Great Seal?
Answer
The official U.S. government seal
Explanation
The Great Seal is the official emblem of the United States government. It is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the federal government, including treaties, presidential proclamations, ambassadorial commissions, and instruments of ratification. The Seal was designed by a series of three committees over six years and was approved by the Continental Congress on June 20, 1782, with the final design prepared by Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress, who drew on heraldic ideas submitted by William Barton. The first die was cut by Robert Scot in September 1782 and was first impressed in wax for the ratification of the Provisional Treaty of Peace with Great Britain in April 1783.
The Seal has two sides. The obverse (front) shows a bald eagle with wings outstretched, a shield of 13 red and white vertical stripes (representing the original colonies) topped by a blue chief (representing the federal government uniting them) covering its chest, an olive branch with 13 olives and 13 leaves in its right talon, 13 arrows in its left talon, and a banner in its beak reading E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one). Above the eagle's head, a crest of clouds parts to reveal a glory of 13 stars in a blue field (a new constellation). The reverse (back) shows an unfinished pyramid of 13 courses with the date MDCCLXXVI (1776) on its base, surmounted by a triangular eye of providence in a glory, with the mottos Annuit Coeptis (He has favored our undertakings) above and Novus Ordo Seclorum (A new order of the ages) below. The reverse is rarely used as a seal but appears on the back of the one-dollar bill, on the right-hand side.
The Great Seal is held by the Secretary of State, who is responsible for its custody under 4 U.S.C. section 41. The current die, the seventh, was cut in 1986 and is kept in a glass enclosure in the Exhibit Hall of the Harry S. Truman Building, the State Department's Washington headquarters. The Seal is impressed in wax or ink on documents authenticated by the Department of State; it is used about 2,000 to 3,000 times each year. The Great Seal is a federally protected symbol; its use without authorization for commercial or political purposes is prohibited under federal law (18 U.S.C. section 713).
Why this matters for your test
Understanding the Great Seal connects applicants to the official emblem of the federal government, which appears on currency, treaties, presidential papers, and many federal documents. Knowing what it is and what it means also unlocks the meaning of E Pluribus Unum, the bald eagle on the Presidential Seal, and other symbols an applicant will encounter.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
