Olive branch adopted by the American Continental Congress in July 1775 in the hope of avoiding a full-blown war with Great Britain was called the Olive Branch Petition. On July 4, 1776, a resolution was passed that allowed the creation of the Great Seal of the United States. On the Great Seal, there is an eagle grasping an olive branch in its right talon. The olive branch traditionally has been recognized as a symbol for peace. It was added to the seal in March 1780 by the second committee appointed by Congress to design the seal. The olive branch has thirteen olives
Great Seal of the Irish Free State Full Powers, and not always on the latter. Lesser seals were used on lesser documents: The first use of the External Great Seal was not until 1937, for ratifying the Montreux Convention Regarding the Abolition of the Capitulations in Egypt. Successive governments minimised the use of monarch and the External Great Seal. The state typically conducted bilateral agreements at inter-government level rather than the nominally more prestigious head-of-state level, so that the Minister for External Affairs would use the internal Great Seal for any documents. After signing some multilateral treaties that would have required the External Great Seal for ratification,