Florida State Symbols: Florida State Seal, Florida Great Seal
Seals, such as those that appear on documents certified by the state of Florida, have a long history, including being mentioned in the Bible. Seals were used many centuries ago as most people, even of high rank and wealth, did not read or write. Acceptance of a document was signified by making an impression of one's coat of arms usually with an engraved signet ring. There existed a general reluctance to affix seals to documents unless absolute certainty of the contents could be confirmed. Eventually, this led to the idea that documents of the state should contain a seal that bore witness to their authenticity.
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Florida State Seal
Adopted on May 25, 1861 and Revised 1985.
In 1985, Secretary of State George Firestone presented the revised Great Seal of the State of Florida to the Governor and the Cabinet. The previous State Seal had several errors which were corrected in in the 1985 Seal. This revised Seal has a Seminole Indian woman rather than a Western Plains Indian, the steamboat is more accurate, and the cocoa palm has been changed to a sabal palm as the Legislature prescribed in 1970
The elements and basic design instructions for Florida's State Seal were established by the Legislature in 1868. Early that year, Florida's newly adopted State Constitution had directed that: "The Legislature shall, at the first session, adopt a seal for the state, and such seal shall be the size of an American silver dollar, but said seal shall not again be changed after its adoption by the Legislature."
So the Legislature, acting quickly upon the mandate, passed and sent to Governor Harrison Reed a Joint Resolution on August 6, 1868 specifying "That a Seal of the size of the American silver dollar, having in the center thereof a view of the sun's rays over a high land in the distance, a cocoa tree, a steamboat on water, and an Indian female scattering flowers in the foreground, encircled by the words, 'Great Seal of the State of Florida: In God We Trust', be and the same is hereby adopted as the Great Seal of the State of Florida." Some people also consider the "In God We Trust" phrase the State Motto, although there is no official designation of a State Motto in the Florida Statutes.
Florida's present Constitution, (Art. II, Sec. 4), continues to require the seal to be prescribed by law. In 1970, more than 100 years after the first specifications were drawn, the Florida Legislature made one change in the official description (CH. 15.03), changing "cocoa tree" in the former language to "Sabal palmetto palm." The sabal palmetto palm had been designated as State Tree in 1953.
Through the years, interpretations of the elements of the Great Seal have differed considerably. The steamboat, for instance, has been depicted in a variety of ways. The various images of the Indian female have drawn criticism from historians conscious of her clothing. The earliest official Great Seal pictured a mountainous background, something absent from the Florida terrain. Another effort showed a feather headdress on the Indian, a blunder insomuch as Indian males wore the headdresses.
Through it all, however, the elements in the Great Seal have remained consistent. Chapter 15.03 of the Florida Statutes in addition to specifying elements of the Great Seal, provides that the Department of State shall be the custodian of it, and that the Department of State alone has the authority to approve its use or display. A further provision prohibits any commercial use of the Great Seal.
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