Seal of Indiana
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The seal of Indiana has gone through several revisions since the region was a part of the Northwest Territory. It is likely the original seal, which is similar to the current one, was created by William Henry Harrison during his administration of the Indiana Territory.
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[edit] History
Congress passed legislation on May 8, 1792 that directed the U.S. Secretary of State to “provide proper seals for the several and respective public offices in the said Territories". Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory at that time and a seal was created by the United States Department of State to be used on official papers of the territory. The original seal was maintained by Governor Arthur St. Clair and the first recorded use was in a proclamation made on July 26, 1788.[1]
On May 10, 1800 the Indiana Territory was created by and act by Congress, but no provision for a state seal was included in the measure. The earliest recorded use of Indiana Territory's seal was on court documents that were signed by Governor William Henry Harrison in January 1801. The seal he used was an adaptation of the original seal created for the Northwest Territory. Although it is not certain, it is likely that it was Harrison himself who made the alterations.[2]
The constitution of 1816 had a clause that stated the governor should maintain a state seal and use it in official communication. The seal design was first proposed during the first session of the Indiana General Assembly in 1816. On November 22, 1816 representative Davis Floyd of Harrison County proposed the adoption of a seal he referred to as A forest and a woodman felling a tree, a buffalo leaving the forest and fleeing through the plain to a distant forest, and sun in the west with the word Indiana.[3] The bill was put through a joint conference of both houses of the General Assembly and funds where voted to purchase a printer to create the seal.
In 1819 the state seal was part of a state crisis. Lt. Gov. Christopher Harrison became acting governor when Governor Jonathan Jennings was away conducting negotiations with northern Indiana's native tribes. When Jennings returned Harrison refused to step down as governor claiming that Jennings' actions had invalidated his governorship. Harrison seized the state seal and setup his own governor's office. After several days of wrangling in the state legislature Harrison was forced to return to seal to Jennings and vacate the office of the governor.[4]
In 1895 Robert S. Hatcher, the reading clerk of the Indiana Senate, was directed to ascertain the legal status of the design of the state seal. After a through review Hatcher found that the laws creating the seal did not explicitly state the design of the seal. He recommended that a bill be passed to standardize the seal. Senator McCord submitted legislation for that purpose but no action was taken on it.[5]
The current design was standardized by the Indiana General Assembly in 1963. During the meeting of the Indiana General Assembly Representative Taylor I. Morris introduced legislation to standardize the state seal. It depicts a woodsman chopping a sycamore tree, while an American Bison runs in the foreground and the sun rises in the background. The leaves of the state tree, the tulip, are in the border design.[6]
In 2004 the 1963 statute came under criticism for stating the sun in the state seal is "setting" rather than "rising". Thorough investigation into the history of the seal has led to the discovery that original seal was created with the intention that the sun was in fact rising. In both 2004 and 2005 legislation was introduced to changed the wording of the statute but as of 2008 no action has been taken to correct the error.[7]
[edit] Current statute
The law created to standardize the state seal has been in effect since 1936. The statute was last revised in 2005. The stature states:
Indiana State Code: IC 1-2-4-1 The official seal for the state of Indiana shall be described as follows: A perfect circle, two and five eighths (2 5/8) inches in diameter, inclosed by a plain line. Another circle within the first, two and three eighths (2 3/8) inches in diameter inclosed by a beaded line, leaving a margin of one quarter (1/4) of an inch. In the top half of this margin are the words "Seal of the State of Indiana". At the bottom center, 1816, flanked on either side by a diamond, with two (2) dots and a leaf of the tulip tree (liriodendron tulipifera), at both ends of the diamond. The inner circle has two (2) trees in the left background, three (3) hills in the center background with nearly a full sun setting behind and between the first and second hill from the left. There are fourteen (14) rays from the sun, starting with two (2) short ones on the left, the third being longer and then alternating, short and long. There are two (2) sycamore trees on the right, the larger one being nearer the center and having a notch cut nearly half way through, from the left side, a short distance above the ground. The woodsman is wearing a hat and holding his ax nearly perpendicular on his right. The ax blade is turned away from him and is even with his hat. The buffalo is in the foreground, facing to the left of front. His tail is up, front feet on the ground with back feet in the air, as he jumps over a log. The ground has shoots of blue grass, in the area of the buffalo and woodsman.[8]
[edit] Iconography
The sun rising in the picture represents that Indiana has a bright future ahead and is just beginning. The mountains it rises over are a representation of the Allegheny Mountains showing that Indiana is in the west. The woodman represents civilization subduing the wilderness that was Indiana. The buffalo represents the wilderness fleeing westward away from the advancing civilization.[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Pamela J. Bennett & Alan January. Indiana's State Seal—An Overview. Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
[edit] References
- ^ Pamela J. Bennett & Alan January. Indiana's State Seal—An Overview. Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ What is the State Seal of Indiana?. = The Indiana Historical Society. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Jacob Piatt Dunn (1919). Indiana and Indianians. American Historical Society, 378.
- ^ Jacob Piatt Dunn (1919). Indiana and Indianians. American Historical Society, 376-378.
- ^ Pamela J. Bennett & Alan January. Indiana's State Seal—An Overview. Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Pamela J. Bennett & Alan January. Indiana's State Seal—An Overview. Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Pamela J. Bennett & Alan January. Indiana's State Seal—An Overview. Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Indiana State Seal. IN.gov. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ Jacob Piatt Dunn (1919). Indiana and Indianians. American Historical Society, 376-378.
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