Editing Great Seal of the United States (section)

===Final design===
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| footer = [[Charles Thomson]]'s report to Congress, which was accepted and is still the law today
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On June 13, 1782, the Congress turned to its Secretary [[Charles Thomson]], and provided all material submitted by the first three committees.<ref name="statepub"/> Thomson was 53 years old, and had been a Latin master at a Philadelphia academy.<ref name="gsfinal">{{cite web |url = http://www.greatseal.com/committees/finaldesign/index.html |title = The Final Design of the Great Seal: June 20, 1782 |publisher = greatseal.com |first = John D. |last = MacArthur |access-date = February 3, 2009 }}</ref> Thomson took elements from all three previous committees, coming up with a new design which provided the basis for the final seal.<ref name="statepub"/>

Thomson used the eagle—this time specifying an American [[bald eagle]]—as the sole supporter on the shield. The shield had thirteen stripes, this time in a [[Chevron (insignia)|chevron]] pattern, and the eagle's claws held an olive branch and a bundle of thirteen arrows. For 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.<ref name="statepub"/><ref name="gsfinal"/>

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.<ref name="ahsource"/> 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 depicted a lion holding seven arrows representing their seven provinces.<ref name="heraldica"/><ref name="ahsource"/> State currency may have provided further inspiration; a 1775 South Carolina bill showed a bundle of 13 arrows and a 1775 Maryland note depicted a hand with an olive branch of 13 leaves.<ref name="hunt1909">{{cite book |last = Hunt |first = Gaillard |author-link = Gaillard Hunt |title = The History of the Seal of the United States |year = 1909 |publisher = United States Department of State |location = Washington, D.C. |url = https://www.questia.com/read/1518543 |oclc = 2569489 |access-date = August 29, 2017 |archive-date = April 26, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110426070350/http://www.questia.com/read/1518543 |url-status = live }}</ref>

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| footer = [[Charles Thomson|Thomson's]] drawing, the basis for the final seal
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For the reverse, Thomson essentially kept Barton's design, but re-added the triangle around the Eye of Providence and changed the mottos to ''Annuit Cœptis''<ref>Gardiner, Richard. (2024). [https://agcjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AGC-Journal-Vol-4-No-1-Spring-2024.pdf "Annuit Coeptis," ''AGC Journal'' (Spring 2024) Volume 4, No. 1, p. 13ff.]</ref> and ''Novus Ordo Seclorum''.<ref name="gsfinal"/> Thomson sent his designs back to Barton, who made some final alterations. The stripes on the shield were changed again, this time to "[[Pale (heraldry)|palewise]]" (vertical), and the eagle's wing position was changed to "displayed" (wingtips up) instead of "rising". Barton also wrote a more properly heraldic blazon.<ref name="statepub"/>

The design was submitted to Congress on June 20, 1782, and was accepted the same day. Thomson included a page of explanatory notes, but no drawing was submitted. This remains the official definition of the Great Seal today.<ref name="statepub"/>

[[File:WashingtonNegotiatingAuthorizationSept1782.jpg|thumb|First sealed document]]
The first brass die was cut sometime between June and September, and placed in the State House in Philadelphia. It was first used by Thomson on September 16, 1782, to verify signatures on a document which authorized [[George Washington]] to negotiate an exchange of prisoners.

Charles Thomson, as the secretary of Congress, remained the [[keeper of the seal]] until the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] was formed in 1789.<ref name="statepub"/> On July 24, 1789, President Washington asked Thomson to deliver the seal to the Department of Foreign Affairs in the person of Roger Alden, who kept it until the Department of State was created.<ref name="hunt1909"/> All subsequent secretaries of state have been responsible for applying the seal to diplomatic documents.

On September 15, 1789, the [[United States Congress]] ordered "that the seal heretofore used by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be, and hereby is declared to be, the seal of the United States."<ref name="ahcritic"/><ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=191 Chap. XIV. 1 Stat. 68] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904071929/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001%2Fllsl001.db&recNum=191 |date=September 4, 2015 }} from [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406043000/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/ |date=April 6, 2012 }}. [[Library of Congress]], [[Law Library of Congress]]. Retrieved March 24, 2012.</ref>

*'''First committee'''
**''[[E Pluribus Unum]]''
**[[Eye of Providence]] in a triangle
**1776 in Roman numerals
*'''Second committee'''
**Thirteen red and white stripes and blue chief on shield
**Constellation of 13 stars, surrounded by clouds and glory
**War and peace theme, including olive branch and (on first draft) arrows
*'''Third committee'''
**Eagle (though not a bald eagle)
**Unfinished pyramid
**Overall design of the reverse
*'''Charles Thomson'''
**Overall design of the obverse
**Bald eagle
**''[[Annuit Cœptis]]''
**''[[Novus Ordo Seclorum]]''
*'''William Barton'''
**Vertical stripes on shield
**Position of eagle's wings