The Controversy Over The Great Seal of The United States of America

An Englishman, Sir John Prestwich, first conceived the design of The Great Seal of the United States of America. You can believe that. Or not. There are US historians that don't believe this is true. The same historians can't specifically say who did design the Great Seal and one can conclude that those historians just don't like the idea that an Englishman designed the great American icon. I wonder how those historians feel about the Statue of Liberty being designed by a Frenchman.

The fact that a number of historians don't actually believe that Sir John Prestwich was involved with The Great Seal makes it somewhat apropos that the event was included in Ripley's Believe It or Not! The first time it was published in 1940 and the same historical fact, without illustrations, was repeated by Ripley's in 1951. This fact was brought to Ripley's attention in a letter written to them in 1937 from a Walter Charon of Chicago, Illinois. The letter cites it's source as being a book, The Footprints of Time - A Complete Analyses of Our American System of Government by Charles Bancroft.

Below is the text from the book.

History of the Great Seal

Soon after the formal establishment of the Republic by Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were appointed a committee to prepare a seal. They employed an artist and furnished various devices; Jefferson combining them all at the request of others. The paper still exists in the office of the Secretary of State at Washington. They reported Aug. 10 1776, but for some unknown reason, probably neglect, it was not acted upon.

In 1779 another committee was appointed, to make a device. They reported May 10th 1780. It was not acceptable, and was recommitted, being reported a year afterwards, but not adopted. In 1782 a third committee was appointed but could not satisfy Congress in their report. It was referred to the Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, who procured various devices that were unsatisfactory.

After vainly striving to perfect a seal which should meet the approval of Congress, Thomson finally received from John Adams, then in London, an exceedingly simple and appropriate device, suggested by Sir John Prestwich, a baronet of the West of England, who was a warm friend of America, and an accomplished antiquarian.

Then follows a detailed description of the seal which, incidentally, conforms to the Funk and Wagnalls description of same. The text resumes.

It met with general approbation, in and out of Congress, and was adopted in June, 1782; so it is manifest, although the fact is not extensively known, that we are indebted for our national arms to a titled aristocrat of the country with which we were then at war.

It doesn't make much difference, but there was a tiny fact that our founding fathers didn't know, and neither did Charles Bancroft or Ripley's Believe It or Not! John Prestwich had no real title. He was never given the title of baronet but assumed it at some point, no doubt for some social gain.

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And of course you might want to visit one of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! sites.