Editing Great Seal of the United States (section)

===Second committee===
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| footer = Second committee's seal proposal, drawn by Francis Hopkinson
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For three and a half years no further action was taken, during which time the Continental Congress was forced out of Philadelphia before returning in 1778. On March 25, 1780, a second committee to design a great seal was formed, which consisted of [[James Lovell (delegate)|James Lovell]], [[John Morin Scott]], and [[William Churchill Houston]]. Like the first committee, they sought the help of someone more experienced in heraldry, this time [[Francis Hopkinson]], who did most of the work.<ref name="gs2nd">{{cite web |url = http://greatseal.com/committees/secondcomm/index.html |title = Second Great Seal Committee: March 1780 |publisher = greatseal.com |first = John D. |last = MacArthur |access-date = February 3, 2009 }}</ref>

Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed the American flag,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n77/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', pp. 34–35] "He created the American flag that
Congress adopted on June 14, 1777."</ref> and also helped design state and other government seals. He made two similar proposals, each having an obverse and reverse side, with themes of war and peace.<ref name="ahdesign"/>

Hopkinson's first design had a shield with thirteen diagonal red and white stripes, supported on one side by a figure bearing an olive branch and representing peace, and on the other an Indian warrior holding a bow and arrow, and holding a quiver. The crest was a radiant constellation of thirteen stars. The motto was ''Bello vel pace paratus'', meaning "prepared in war or in peace". The reverse, in Hopkinson's words, was "Liberty is seated in a chair holding an olive branch and her [[Liberty pole|staff]] is topped by a [[phrygian cap|Liberty cap]]. The motto 'Virtute perennis' means 'Everlasting because of virtue.' The date in Roman numerals is 1776."<ref name="ahdesign"/><ref name="gs2nd"/>

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| footer = Hopkinson's first proposal
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In his second proposal, the Indian warrior was replaced by a soldier holding a sword, and the motto was shortened to ''Bello vel paci'', meaning "For war or for peace".<ref name="gs2nd"/>

The committee chose the second version, and reported back to Congress on May 10, 1780, six weeks after being formed. Their final blazon, printed in Congress journals on May 17, was: "The Shield charged on the Field Azure with 13 diagonal stripes alternate rouge and argent. Supporters; dexter, a Warriour holding a Sword; sinister, a Figure representing Peace bearing an Olive Branch. The Crest; a radiant Constellation of 13 Stars. The motto, Bella vel Paci."<ref name="ahdesign"/> Once again, Congress did not find the result acceptable.<ref name="statepub"/> They referred the matter back to the committee, which did no further work on the matter.<ref name="ahdesign"/>

As with the first design, several elements were eventually used in the final seal; the thirteen stripes on the shield with their colors, the constellation of stars surrounded by clouds, the olive branch, and the arrows (from Hopkinson's first proposal).<ref name="statepub"/> Hopkinson had previously used the constellation and clouds on a $40 [[Continental currency]] note he designed in 1778. The same note also used an Eye of Providence, taken from the first committee's design.<ref name="gsmoney"/>

The shield of the Great Seal has seven white stripes and six red ones—essentially, a white background with six red stripes. Hopkinson incorporated this stripe arrangement into the Great Seal from the [[Flag of the United States]] that he had designed. Hopkinson also designed a seal for the Admiralty (Navy), which incorporated a chevron consisting of seven red stripes and six white ones. The seven red stripes in his Admiralty seal reflected the number of red stripes in his Naval flag. When Hopkinson designed these flags, he was running the Navy as chairman of the Continental Navy Board.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Williams |first1 = Earl P. Jr. |title = Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags? |journal = NAVA News |date = October 2012 |issue = 216 |pages = 7–9 |url = http://www.flagguys.com/pdf/NAVANews_2012_no216.pdf |access-date = February 16, 2017 |archive-date = March 6, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160306083443/http://www.flagguys.com/pdf/NAVANews_2012_no216.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref>