Wherever the commander in chief is located, the seal is always close by.
The presidential seal is the symbol of the authority and executive power of the nation’s highest elected official. It is universally recognized as the hallmark of America’s chief executive and leader of the free world.
Unlike the national flag and the Great Seal of the United States that were created by Congressional legislation in the fledgling days of the republic, the presidential seal, flag and coat of arms have evolved through multiple administrations.
Although much of the initial history is vague, the insignias that unfolded over time were inspired by the design of the Great Seal. While some early presidents used this national crest on official papers and in their correspondence with Congress, others adopted a more personal escutcheon. James Polk’s own unique mark was employed on the document that proclaimed war against Mexico in 1846.
Four years later, the first known rendering of a presidential seal was fashioned.
President Millard Fillmore submitted a primitive sketch to an engraver in Baltimore. It portrayed an eagle holding an olive branch, arrows in its talons and a shield, all reminiscent of the Great Seal. Many of Fillmore’s design features remained in future renditions. Information about this pioneer depiction was not well known until after a newspaper article was published in 1885 revealing the story.
In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes is credited as being the first chief executive to use a presidential seal/coat of arms on an invitation to a White House event.
The coat of arms, the center portion of the seal, had both similarities and differences with the Great Seal. The eagle is skinnier, and for the first time its head was turned toward to the bundle of arrows, not the olive branch. While the shield remained a prominent design feature, the internal components were altered. The 13 stars representing the original states were also rearranged.
Hayes did not use the coat of arms on any official documents; its application was confined to invitations for social activities at the executive mansion.
Subsequent administrations made a few changes. In 1895, a legend was added in a circular border around the coat of arms motif. It stated, “THE SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” In an article for the Potomac Association, author Les Dropkin notes that “the use of small capitals for the words ‘of the’ continues to be a particular feature of presidential seals up to the present time.”
In the midst of the evolution of the seal, presidential flags emerged to highlight the commander in chief’s role as head of the nation’s military forces.
When James Buchanan was in the White House, the Navy first grappled with the schema of the pennant that would be flown to denote that the president was on board a ship. At the outset, the Navy’s Union Jack was chosen; a few years later the national flag took its place. The two banners alternated back and forth multiple times over nearly 25 years.
In 1882, the Navy settled the confusion by launching a custom created ensign — it was the first presidential flag. While it had similarities to the presidential seal, it was unique.
Not to be outdone, the Army marched out its own presidential flag during William McKinley’s time in office. Compared to the Navy’s blue field setting, its backdrop of scarlet red was quite striking. In 1912, President Taft ordered both flags to have the same blue background.
Woodrow Wilson brought some uniformity to the divergent designs present in the seal, flags and coat of arms.
Early in his administration, he appointed a committee to fabricate just one flag. Included in the group was the youthful Franklin Roosevelt, the assistant secretary of the Navy. Their task was completed in a year; the new banner was adopted on May 29, 1916. It consolidated many of the motifs present in earlier versions.
The following year the presidential seal was also altered to mirror the coat of arms portrayed in the revised single flag. Wilson’s modifications introduced a degree of consistency in all three trappings of the office. There were no further revisions until 1945.
Franklin Roosevelt, according the White House Historical Association, “was deeply interested in symbols and insignia, asked military personnel and heraldry experts to redesign the presidential flag and seal.” This request, that occurred a month before his death, was sparked by questions about the presidential flag that had only four stars compared to those banners of the five star admirals and generals.
The advisers’ recommendations were completed after FDR died. They were passed onto President Harry Truman who agreed to most of the suggestions. These included: a new coat of arms, the eagle was changed to face the olive branch rather than the arrows and a surrounding circle of stars corresponding to the number of states in the union was added.
By the executive order signed by Truman on October 25, 1945, for the first time, the coat of arms and seal were officially described. His action united the presidential symbols under a single design. The only changes since then have been the update of two additional stars for Alaska and Hawaii.
Until the last decade of the 20th century, the utilization of the presidential seal outside the government was forbidden without prior approval. After several controversial cases in which permission was refused, the federal statute guiding its employment was changed. Today, the law is so broad that it bars very few applications.
So, go ahead and fly the presidential flag on your boat — the Secret Service will not be swooping down to arrest you.
Stolz is a resident of James City County.
