Editing Great Seal of the United States (section)

==Reverse==
The 1782 resolution adopting the seal [[blazon]]s the image on the reverse as "A [[pyramid]] unfinished. In the zenith an [[Eye of Providence|eye in a triangle]], surrounded by a [[Halo (religious iconography)|glory]], [[Tincture_(heraldry)#Proper|proper]]." The pyramid is conventionally shown as consisting of 13 [[Course (architecture)|courses]] to refer to the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen original states]]. The adopting resolution provides that it is inscribed on its base with the date <small>MDCCLXXVI</small> (1776, the year of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]) in [[Roman numerals]]. Where the top of the pyramid should be, the [[Eye of Providence]] watches over it. Two mottos appear: ''[[Annuit cœptis]]'' signifies that Providence has "approved of (our) undertakings."<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ll/lljc/022/0300/03490339.gif Journals of the Continental Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527212508/http://memory.loc.gov/ll/lljc/022/0300/03490339.gif |date=May 27, 2016 }}, June 201782</ref> ''[[Novus ordo seclorum]]'', freely taken from [[Virgil]],<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.greatseal.com/mottoes/seclorumvirgil.html |title = Source of NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM |publisher = greatseal.com |first = John D. |last = MacArthur }}</ref> is Latin for "a new order of the ages."<ref>The word ''seclorum'' does not mean "secular", as one might assume, but is the [[genitive]] (possessive) plural form of the word ''saeculum'', meaning (in this context) generation, century, or age. ''Saeculum'' did come to mean "age, world" in late, Christian, Latin, and "secular" is derived from it, through ''secularis''. However, the adjective "secularis," meaning "worldly," is not equivalent to the genitive plural ''seclorum'', meaning "of the ages." ({{cite book |author = (([[Lewis and Short]])) |title = A Latin Dictionary: Founded on Andrews' Edition of Freund's Latin Dictionary: Revised, Enlarged, and in Great Part Rewritten by Charlton T. Lewis, PhD and Charles Short, LL.D |publisher = Clarendon Press |location = Oxford |year = 1879 |at = s. vv. }})</ref> The reverse has never been cut (as a seal) but appears, for example, on the back of the one-dollar bill.

The primary official explanation of the symbolism of the great seal was given by [[Charles Thomson]] upon presenting the final design for adoption by Congress. He wrote:

{{quote|The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American Æra, which commences from that date.<ref name="greatseal.com"/>}}

Thomson took the symbolism for the colors from ''Elements of Heraldry'', by Antoine Pyron du Martré, which [[William Barton (heraldist)|William Barton]] had lent him.<ref name="archive.org"/> That book said that argent (white) "signifies Purity, Innocence, Beauty, and Genteelness", gules (red) "denotes martial Prowess, Boldness, and Hardiness", and azure (blue) "signifies Justice, Perseverance, and Vigilance".<ref name="The Elements of Heraldry"/><ref name="Martre, Antoine 1771"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/>

A brief and official explanation of the symbolism was prepared in the form of a historical sketch (or pamphlet) of the seal of the United States, entitled, ''The Seal of the United States: How it was Developed and Adopted''. It was written by [[Gaillard Hunt]] in 1892 under the direction of then Secretary of State [[James G. Blaine]].<ref name=":4"/><ref name="The Washington Herald"/> When the copyright on the pamphlet expired, Hunt expounded upon the information in more detail.<ref name=":4" /> This was published in 1909 in a book titled'' The History of the Seal of the United States.''<ref name=":4" /> This work was largely based on a two-volume work written in 1897 by [[C. A. L. Totten|Charles A. L. Totten]] titled ''Our Inheritance in the Great Seal of Manasseh, the United States of America: Its History and Heraldry; and Its Signification unto the 'Great People' thus Sealed.''<ref name=":4" /> Hunt's account greatly details how the seal was chosen, containing sketches of other suggestions for a great seal which were made, such as Franklin's suggested motto "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to [[God]]", information on the illegal seal, iterations and changes that have been made to the seal, and it also includes detailed descriptions of the symbology of the great seal (such as that provided by Charles Thomson).<ref name=":4" />

===Conspiracy theories===
[[File:Pontormo - Cena in Emmaus - Google Art Project.jpg|130px|thumb|''Supper at Emmaus'', a 1525 [[Jacopo Pontormo]] painting, contains the [[Eye of Providence]] in a triangle.]]
Some [[Masonic conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories]] state that the Great Seal shows a sinister influence by [[Freemasonry]] in the founding of the United States. Such theories usually claim that the [[Eye of Providence]] (found, in the Seal, above the pyramid) is a common Masonic emblem, and that the Great Seal was created by Freemasons.<ref>for example: [http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/All_Seeing_Eye.htm conspiracyarchive.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615073829/http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/All_Seeing_Eye.htm |date=June 15, 2010 }}, and [http://www.masoncode.com/The%20Great%20Seal.htm www.masoncode.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620010304/http://www.masoncode.com/The%20Great%20Seal.htm |date=June 20, 2006 }}</ref> These claims, however, misstate the facts.

While the Eye of Providence is today a common Masonic motif, this was not the case during the 1770s and 1780s, when the Great Seal was designed and approved. According to David Barrett, a Masonic researcher, the Eye seems to have been used only sporadically by the Masons in those decades, and was not adopted as a common Masonic symbol until 1797, several years after the Great Seal of the United States had already been designed.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/masonic_dollar.html |title = Masonic Dollar? |publisher = Freemasons-freemasonry.com |access-date = December 26, 2013 |archive-date = December 19, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131219114521/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/masonic_dollar.html |url-status = live }}</ref> The Eye of Providence was, on the other hand, a fairly common Christian motif throughout the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Renaissance]], and was commonly used as such in [[Europe]] as well as America throughout the 18th century.<ref name="eagleshieldeye"/><ref name="Center for Studies on New Religions-Great Seal">{{cite web |url = http://www.cesnur.org/2005/mi_illuminati_en.htm |work = Angels & Demons from the Book to the Movie FAQ |title = Do the Illuminati Really Exist? |publisher = Center for Studies on New Religions |access-date = May 25, 2009 |archive-date = January 28, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220128144103/https://www.cesnur.org/2005/mi_illuminati_en.htm |url-status = live }}</ref> It is still found in Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches, and it symbolizes the [[Holy Trinity]] (the triangle) and God's [[omniscience]] (the eye) surrounded by rays of glory, denoting God's [[divinity]].

Furthermore, contrary to the claims of these conspiracy theories, the Great Seal was not created by Freemasons.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330388,00.html |title = Associated Press story, Tuesday, February 12, 2008 as hosted by |publisher = Foxnews.com |date = February 12, 2008 |access-date = December 26, 2013 |archive-date = April 27, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130427134056/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330388,00.html |url-status = live }}</ref> While [[Benjamin Franklin]] was a Mason, he was the only member of any of the various Great Seal committees definitively known to be so, and his ideas were not adopted.<ref>Hodapp, Christopher; Freemasons for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, 2005, pp 155–156</ref> Of the four men whose ideas were adopted, neither [[Charles Thomson]], [[Pierre du Simitière]] nor [[William Barton (heraldist)|William Barton]] was a Mason and, while [[Francis Hopkinson]] has been alleged to have had Masonic connections, there is no firm evidence to support the claim.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.greatseal.com/mythamerica/notmasonic.html|title=Is the Pyramid & Eye a Masonic Symbol on the Great Seal and Dollar Bill?|last=MacArthur|first=John D.|website=greatseal.com|access-date=August 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheEagleAndTheShield/The%20Eagle%20and%20the%20Shield#page/n575/mode/2up ''The Eagle and the Shield'', p. 529]</ref><ref>{{cite web |author = Design by King & Associates (www.edking.com) |url = http://www.msana.com/eyeinpyramid.asp |title = the Masonic Service Association |publisher = Msana.com |access-date = December 26, 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131115112010/http://msana.com/eyeinpyramid.asp |archive-date = November 15, 2013 |df = mdy-all }}</ref>