The Great Seal of the State of Georgia is a device that has historically been used to authenticate government documents executed by the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The first great seal of the state was specified in the State Constitution of 1777, and its current form was adopted in 1799 with alterations in 1914. Its specifications are currently spelled out by

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

Description

The original seal from 1777 was specified as such: "The great seal of this State shall have the following device: on one side of a scroll, whereon shall be engraved “The Constitution of the State of Georgia;” and the motto “Pro bono publico.” On the other side, an elegant house, and other buildings, fields of corn, and meadows covered with sheep and cattle; a river running through the same, with a ship under full sail, and the motto, “Deus nobis haec otia fecit.” On February 8, 1799 an Act of the Legislature stated the seal as "On the one side a view of the seashore with a ship bearing the flag of the United States, riding near a wharf, receiving aboard hogsheads of tobacco and bales of cotton, emblematic of the exports of this State; at a small distance a boat landing from the interior of the State with hogsheads etc., on board representing her internal traffic; in the back part of the same side, a man in the act of ploughing; and at a small distance a flock of sheep in different postures shaded by a flourishing tree, the motto on this side agriculture and commerce, 1799. That the other side contain three pillars supporting an arch, with the word Constitution, engraven within the same, emblematic of the Constitution supported by three departments of the government, viz.: the legislative, judicial and executive, the first pillar to have engraven on its base, wisdom; the second justice; and the third, moderation; on the right of the last pillar a man standing with a drawn sword, representing the aid of the military in defense of the Constitution; the motto, State of Georgia, 1799".

Current design

The obverse (front) of the seal is centered on the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the state: an

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

with three columns, the arch symbolizing the state's Constitution and the columns representing the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial). The words of the official state motto, "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation," are inscribed on scrolls that are wrapped around the columns. A member of the

Georgia Militia The Georgia Militia existed from 1733 to 1879. It was originally planned by General James Oglethorpe before the founding of the Province of Georgia, the Crown colony that would become the U.S. state of Georgia. One reason for the founding of the c ...

stands between the second and third columns, holding a drawn sword in his right hand, representing the citizen/soldier's defense of the state's Constitution. A border surrounds the coat of arms, and the motto "State of Georgia, 1776" is inscribed outside the arms. The reverse (back) of the seal contains an image of Georgia's coast, with a ship (bearing the

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

) arriving to take aboard

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

, symbolizing Georgia's export trade. A second, smaller boat represents the state's "internal traffic." Towards the left of the image, there is a man plowing and a flock of sheep. The motto "Agriculture and Commerce, 1776" is inscribed around the outside of the image. The dates listed on the obverse and reverse of the seal were originally 1799. The dates were changed by the Georgia state legislature in 1914 to reflect the date of the signing of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

History and lore

In 1902, the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

mandated that the coat of arms (the central portion of the obverse) be included in the state flag of Georgia. Either the coat of arms or the state seal has appeared on every state flag since that date. By law, the Secretary of State is the official custodian of the Great Seal, which is attached to official papers by executive order of the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. This custodianship has led to some controversies:

Period of the False Seal

From 1868 to 1871, during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

, the Great Seal was not used for state business. It had been hidden under the home of wartime Secretary of State Nathan C. Barnett, to prevent its use by Federal forces. The Reconstruction government, having failed to locate the official seal, had a duplicate seal fabricated. The duplicate was a perfect match for the original, except for one small detail: the soldier held his sword in his left hand. Reconstruction in Georgia became known as the "Period of the False Seal". In 1872, when local rule resumed in Georgia, Barnett (who had been re-elected by that point) unearthed the original seal and returned it to the Capitol.

Three governors controversy

In December 1946, Governor-elect

Eugene Talmadge Eugene Talmadge (September 23, 1884 – December 21, 1946) was an attorney and American politician who served three terms as the 67th governor of Georgia, from 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a fourth term in November ...

died before assuming office. Talmadge's son, Herman, was appointed governor by the

State Legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

. This was challenged by the Lieutenant Governor-elect

Melvin Thompson Melvin Ernest Thompson (May 1, 1903 – October 3, 1980) was an American educator and politician from Millen, Georgia, Millen in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Generally known as M.E. Thompson during his political career, h ...

, who maintained that the state constitution authorized him to assume the office upon the death of the governor. Outgoing governor

Ellis Arnall Ellis Gibbs Arnall (March 20, 1907 – December 13, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 69th Governor of Georgia from 1943 to 1947. A liberal Democrat, he helped lead efforts to abolish the poll tax and to reduce Georgia's votin ...

announced that he would not relinquish the office until it was clear who the new governor was. The political turmoil that ensued became known as the "three governors controversy". In January 1947, while all three governors occupied different portions of the

State Capitol A capitol, or seat of government, is the building or complex of buildings from which a government such as that of a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or the organized territories of the United States, exercises its authority. Although m ...

, Secretary of State Ben W. Fortson, Jr., took the seal and hid it. This prevented any of the claimants to the governorship from executing any business until the Supreme Court of Georgia could make a ruling on the rightful winner. Thompson was eventually declared "acting governor" until a special election could be held to fill the remainder of the original term. Herman Talmadge won the special election and served out the remaining portion of his father's term. ArchUGA2

The Arch

In 1857, the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

constructed a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

representation of the architectural elements featured on the obverse of the Great Seal. It stands at the north entrance of the campus, and has become known as ''The Arch''. Fashioned from existing material, The Arch is a representation but not an exact replica of the elements of the Seal. Originally serving both symbolic and practical functions, it was connected to a barrier which kept cows from roaming over parts of the campus, and was initially known as The Gate. Today, The Arch is an important symbol of the University. According to legend, it is bad luck for

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...

(or, in some versions, any

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

student) to walk under the arch. Legend suggests that any student walking through the arch prematurely will never graduate. State of Georgia stylized seal icon

Government Seals of Georgia

File:Georgia State Senate seal.png, Seal of the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

File:GAHouseSeal.png, Seal of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

File:Seal of the Supreme Court of Georgia.gif, Seal of the Supreme Court of Georgia

Notes

References

External links

Image of Georgia historical marker - Hiding Place of the Great Seal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Georgia (U.S. State) Symbols of Georgia (U.S. state)