Great Seal of the United States the crest, he used Hopkinson's constellation of thirteen stars. The motto was "E Pluribus Unum", taken from the first committee, and was on a scroll held in the eagle's beak. An eagle holding symbols of war and peace has a long history, and also echoed the second committee's themes. Franklin owned a 1702 [[emblem book]], which included an eagle with olive branch and arrows near its talons, which may have been a source for Thomson. The arrows also mirror those in the arms of the [[Dutch Republic]], the only country in Europe with a representative government at the time, which
Great Seal of the Realm Great Seal of the Realm The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (known prior to the Treaty of Union of 1707 as the Great Seal of Great Britain and the Great Seal of Ireland; and from then until the Union of 1801 as the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents. Scotland has had her own great seal since the 14th century. The Acts of Union 1707, joining the