As our great nation celebrates its independence, along with the fireworks, music and the Stars and Stripes, one of the best known symbols to be shown and celebrated is the bald eagle, our national bird. It appears on the seal of our president, on billions of dollar bills and on most official documents.
In our country’s history, the first use of the bald eagle was on the one-cent coin issued by the state of Massachusetts in 1776. Soon after that, it appeared on a number of the coins of the young republic, and it is still there.
The bald eagle is of particular importance because of all the breeds of eagle, it is the only one that is indigenous to the North America. In 1789, Congress voted it our symbol of the nation.
It is well known that not everyone among the founders agreed on the bald eagle be selected as our national symbol, most notably Benjamin Franklin. Others had advocated the bison or even the turkey. Franklin, our first postmaster general, wrote, “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird and withal a true, original native of America.”
But there is much to commend the eagle as a fine choice. The bald eagle is larger than many other birds and so it is not afraid of any predator. It is an extremely strong bird, and flies much higher than many others.
Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here.
There is a legend that during a battle in the Revolutionary War, fought early in the day, the musket shots awakened a nest of eagles who began a noisy reply and a quick flight around the area. The American rebels are said to have shouted, “They are shrieking for freedom.”
Like all eagles, the bald eagle is a predator, but itdoes not attack the young of other birds. Since 1940, all bald eagles are protected by law.
The eagle is steeped in religious tradition as well. In Christian art, the eagle often represents the resurrection of Christ because the sight of an eagle rising in flight is a powerful one. It is the artistic symbol of the Gospel of St. John, perhaps because that text is lofty in it theological perspective, and it is one of the four animal symbols seen by the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:10.
In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we read, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
A great many of the Native American religious traditions regard the bald eagle, along with the golden eagle, as sacred, because they are the messengers of the Great Spirit, the Creator.
Although the founding fathers of our nation were well versed in the NativeAmerican and the Judeo-Christian religious traditions, it is probable that they looked more in the direction of the Aquila, the eagle symbol of the ancient Roman Republic that was carried on the battle standards of the legions. The eagle was sacred to the god Jupiter, the highest and best god of the Roman peoples, and so they venerated the eagle as their symbolic mascot. The legionary eagle was made of silver, it was consecrated and sacred, and its loss in combat was considered devastating.
The eagle, of course, appears prominently in a number of ancient religions. It was sacred to the Greek god Zeus, to the Sumerians and to the Egyptians. However, for the Americans, the Roman symbol was of particular significance.
The Roman Republic was traditionally founded in 509 B.C., when the dominant leading men of Rome rose up in revolt against the last king, Tarquin the Proud. From that very early time, a strong anti-monarchist tone pervaded Roman education and culture, and generations of Roman boys and girls were taught that it was their great republic that kept them, unlike other lesser nations, free from the tyranny of kings.
In the War of Independence, the United States likewise broke the power of a monarchy and established a republic. The use of classical architecture, which was verypopular in the 18th century, also served to remind the new citizens of this Roman precedent.
The bald eagle remains the symbol of this noble republic. But it is no longer the only national animal. In 2006, President Barack Obama signed legislation declaring the bison to be the United States national mammal, although this does not displace the eagle by any means. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin can rest a little easier as a result.
