US Symbols

US National Symbols - Liberty Bell

• The bell was rung on July 8, 1776 when the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place

• The Liberty Bell is inscribed with the following bible passage: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Lev. 25:10)

• The bell is symbolic of freedom and Independence

• The bell is made of 70% copper, 25% tin and the other 5% is made up of small amounts of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold and silver

• The bell weighs 2080 pounds

• The liberty bell can be found at the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historic Park where it is an extremely popular tourist attraction

• There are many stories about how the bell was cracked, the most popular story is that it cracked while being rung in honor of George Washington's birthday in 1846
  

US National Symbols - US Seal

• The seal is attached to certain important documents including foreign treaties. It is kept in a wooden cabinet on display to the public in the Exhibit Hall of the Department of State, Washington, D.C.

• The US seal features many individual US National Symbols and there are different images on both sides

• The motto 'E pluribus Unum' meaning 'Out of Many, One' appears on the front of the seal and symbolises that America was a single nation made from 13 colonies

• The Bald Eagle is Americas national bird and is pictured with a shield on its breast containing thirteen red and white stripes

• The eagle grasps an olive branch in its left talons and a bundle of thirteen arrows in its right

• The olive branch and arrows are symbols for the power of peace and war.

• There are also several US National Symbols on the reverse of the state seal including a Pyramid with thirteen steps and the year 1776 in Roman numerals engraved at its base (1776 was the beginning of the American new era)

• An eye (also referred to as the eye of providence) with the Latin motto Annuit Coeptis above it

• A scroll appears under the pyramid and reads: Novus Ordo Seclorum which is Latin for New Order of the Ages (1776 was the beginning of the American new era)
  

US National Symbols - National Bird

• The Bald Eagle is the national bird of America

• It became the national emblem of the United States of America in 1792

• The bald eagle symbol appears on US currency and is a symbol of power, freedom and strength

• Its scientific name is Haliaeetus leucocephalus

• The bald eagle is the only sea eagle which is endemic to North America and its range includes North America, part of Canada and some sightings have occured in Northern Mexico

• The bald eagle is also featured on the US seal where he is is depicted with a shield against its breast which contains thirteen red and white stripes. The eagle on the state patriotic seal is grasping an olive branch in its left talons and a bundle of thirteen arrows in its right talons
  

US National Symbols - Statue of Liberty

• The full name of the Statue of Liberty sculpture is 'Liberty Enlightening the World'

• The patriotic sculpture can be found on Liberty Island, New York Harbour, Manhattan, to the south of Ellis Island

• It was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and was a gift from the people of France to America

• The statue itself is of 'Libertas' who is the Roman goddess of freedom

• Liberty holds a torch in one hand and carries a tablet in the other with the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4 1776 engraved upon it

• She has a broken chain at her feet to symbolise freedom

• Since its dedication on October 28, 1886 the statue has welcomed immigrants arriving from abroad to begin a new life in America

• The statue of Liberty is a recognised all over the world as a symbol of freedom

US National Symbols - National Anthem

• The American national anthem is the "Star Spangled Banner"

• It was designated the national anthem in 1931 by an Act of Congress signed by President Herbert Hoover

• The lyrics to the national anthem come from "Defence of Fort McHenry" which was a poem written in 1814 by amateur poet Francis Scott Key

• President Woodrow Wilson requested that "The Star Spangled Banner" was played at military and naval occasions President Woodrow Wilson as early as 1916, before it was the official anthem of America

• The Navy began to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" for official use in 1889

• In America today, the national anthem is played before football, baseball, hockey, basketball matches as well as NASCAR and Motocross races

• It is customary to stand in silence when the national anthem is played. Military personnel in uniform stand giving the military salute while other citizens should hold their hand over their heart

US National Symbols - National Motto

• The national motto of America since 1956 is "In God we Trust" after a law was signed by President Dwight D Eisenhower

• The original motto of America was 'E Pluribus Unum' which is Latin for 'one from many' or 'one from many parts'

• The motto appears on the reverse of the one dollar bill

• The motto also appears on US coins and first appeared on coins in 1864

• It has been used continuously use on the one cent coin since 1909 and on ten-cent coins since 1916

• The national motto forms part of the lyrics to the national anthem, the fourth verse of the 'Star Spangled Banner' contains the following line "Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"

• As well as the national motto, each individual US state has its own motto

US National Symbols - Mount Rushmore

• Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is one of Americas most US National Symbols

• Construction began on the mountain sculpture on October 4th 1927 by Gutzon Borglum

• Although work began on the monument on October 4, 1927 it was not completed until October 31, 1941.

• The actual drilling took six and a half years but there were many stoppages due to lack of funds when American was hit with the great depression and the original sculptor died, the monument was finally completed by his son Lincoln Borglum

• The sculpture features George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln representing the first one hundred and thirty years of the history of the United States

• The Mount Rushmore Memorial Sculpture is a huge tourist attraction in the Black Hills of South Dakota

• The sculpture is carved in granite and each of the four presidents head are approximately 60 feet in height