Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782)

Citation: Charles Thomson's design for the Great Seal of the United States, 1782; Reports of Committees of Congress; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, Record Group 360; National Archives

引文：查尔斯·汤姆森 (Charles Thomson) 设计的美国国玺，1782 年；国会委员会的报告；大陆会议和邦联会议以及制宪会议的记录，1774-1789 年，记录组 360；国家档案馆

Just a few hours after the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the first committee to design a seal for the United States was appointed, and its design began.

1776 年 7 月 4 日大陆会议通过《独立宣言》几个小时后，第一个为美国设计印章的委员会被任命，并开始设计。

After undergoing numerous changes, on June 20, 1782, the seal was officially adopted by the Continental Congress.

经过多次修改，1782年6月20日，该印章被大陆会议正式通过。

The Great Seal of the United States is the symbol of our sovereignty as a nation.

美国国玺是我们作为一个国家主权的象征。

Its obverse is used on official documents to authenticate the signature of the President and it appears on proclamations, warrants, treaties, and commissions of high officials of the government.

其正面用于官方文件，以验证总统的签名，并出现在政府高级官员的公告、授权令、条约和委员会中。

The Great Seal's design, used as our national coat of arms, is also used officially as decoration on military uniform buttons, on plaques above the entrances to U.S. embassies an consulates, and in other places.

英国国玺的设计被用作我们的国徽，也被正式用作军装纽扣、美国大使馆和领事馆入口上方的牌匾以及其他地方的装饰。

Both the obverse and the less familiar reverse, which is never used as a seal, are imprinted on the one-dollar bill.

正面和不太常见的反面（从未用作印章）都印在一美元纸币上。

The history of the Great Seal begins with the day of our founding as a nation.

国玺的历史始于我们建国之日。

The Continental Congress appointed a committee to design a seal for the United States on July 4, 1776, just a few hours after they adopted the Declaration of Independence.

1776 年 7 月 4 日，大陆会议任命了一个委员会为美国设计印章，就在他们通过《独立宣言》几个小时后。

The committee members—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams—prepared a very complicated design that was promptly tabled by Congress.

委员会成员——本杰明·富兰克林、托马斯·杰斐逊和约翰·亚当斯——准备了一项非常复杂的设计，并立即提交国会审议。

However, one prominent feature of their design appeared in the design that was originally adopted—the motto E Pluribus Unum, "Out of Many, One."

然而，他们设计的一个突出特点出现在最初采用的设计中——座右铭 E Pluribus Unum，“Out of Many, One”。

In 1780, a second committee—James Lovell of Massachusetts and John Morin Scott and William Churchill Houston of Virginia—developed a second design, but it was also tabled by Congress.

1780 年，第二个委员会——马萨诸塞州的詹姆斯·洛弗尔 (James Lovell)、弗吉尼亚州的约翰·莫林·斯科特 (John Morin Scott) 和威廉·丘吉尔·休斯顿 (William Churchill Houston)——制定了第二个设计，但也被国会提交了审议。

Like the first design, the second had elements that were later incorporated into the final seal, including the olive branch, the constellation of 13 stars, and the shield with red and white stripes on a blue field.

与第一个设计一样，第二个设计的元素后来也融入到了最终的印章中，包括橄榄枝、13 颗星以及蓝底红白条纹的盾牌。

A third committee was appointed in May of 1782.

1782 年 5 月任命了第三个委员会。

This committee's design employed the eagle for the first time, in the crest.

该委员会的设计首次在徽章中使用了鹰。

Early in 1782, Congress referred the three designs to Secretary of the Continental Congress Charles Thomson.

1782 年初，国会将这三种设计提交给大陆会议秘书查尔斯·汤姆森 (Charles Thomson)。

Thomson made a fourth design that was revised by William Barton, a Philadelphia student of heraldry.

汤姆森制作了第四种设计，并由费城纹章学学生威廉·巴顿修改。

Thomson submitted a written description of his final version to the Continental Congress that described the design and explained its symbolism.

汤姆森向大陆会议提交了他的最终版本的书面描述，描述了该设计并解释了其象征意义。

The Continental Congress approved this design on June 20, 1782.

1782 年 6 月 20 日大陆会议批准了这一设计。

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