The Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts contains the coat of arms of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The coat of arms is encircled by the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

text "Sigillum Reipublicæ Massachusettensis" (literally, ''The Seal of the Republic of Massachusetts''). The Massachusetts Constitution designates the form of government a "commonwealth", for which Respublica is the correct Latin term. The Seal uses as its central element the Coat of Arms of Massachusetts. An official emblem of the State, the Coat of Arms was adopted by the Legislature in 1775, and then reaffirmed by Governor John Hancock and his Council on December 13, 1780. The present rendition of the seal was drawn by resident-artist

Edmund H. Garrett Edmund Henry Garrett (1853–1929) was an American illustrator, bookplate-maker, and author—as well as a highly respected painter—renowned for his illustrations of the legends of King Arthur. Biography Garrett was born in Albany, New York o ...

, and was adopted by the state in 1900. While the inscription around the seal is officially in Latin, a variant with "Commonwealth of Massachusetts" in English is also sometimes used.

History

The first seal of Massachusetts Bay Colony showed a nude American Indian with a bush covering his groin. Like the current seal, he held in his hand an arrow pointed down. A scroll came out over his mouth with the words "Come over and help us." This quotation is believed to originate from : "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a

man of Macedonia Acts 16 is the sixteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas and Timothy. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early ...

, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us." ( Authorized Version). This initial seal thus emphasized the missionary and commercial intentions of the original colonists. This seal was authorized as part of the charter granted by King Charles I in 1629; it was used until 1689. In June 1676, during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, the Bay Colony ordered an updated version of this seal stamped onto medallions which were issued to Indian Christians fighting on behalf of Boston. This seal removed the peaceful slogan of the original seal, replacing it with the message, “In the present Warr with the Heathen Natives of this Land / They giving us peace and mercy at their hands.” In 1689-1692, after the end of the war, the original slogan was temporarily revived. However, the gradual loss of the missionary message was part of a pattern throughout the British colonies at this time, as the experience of war dampened enthusiasm for conversion and integration. In 1775 a Revolutionary seal appeared, depicting a minuteman with a sword in his right hand and

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

in his left; following the Revolutionary War, the sword would later be incorporated into the crest of the traditional coat of arms. The Revolutionary seal would also mark the first time the Latin motto used by the state today appeared on a state seal, and meant that the colony no longer recognized the authority of the Royal Governor General

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the ...

. The source is attributed to the letter written by a father of an English soldier and politician

Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England ...

: "It is said that the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

brought their album unto you, desiring you to write something therein; and that you did ''scribere in albo'' these words: 'Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem'". (Translated, this means "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty.") The last words were then written in Sidney's "Book of Mottoes", particularly favored by some in the American colonies. Metrically, the motto is

dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter and the meter of epic) is a form of meter or rhythmic scheme frequently used in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The scheme of the hexameter is usually as follows (writing – for a long syllable, ...

. The next seal was adopted by the Provincial Congress on December 13, 1780. The shield depicts an "Indian" with bow and arrow; the arrow is pointed downward, signifying peace. A silver star with five points appears next to the figure's head, although this is represented as white on the flag. A blue ribbon (blue, signifying the Blue Hills of Quincy,

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

and

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

) surrounds the shield, bearing the state motto " Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem." This comes from the

Book of Mottoes A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arra ...

in the

Royal Danish Library The Royal Library ( da, Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries ...

in Copenhagen, Denmark; written about 1659 by

Algernon Sydney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England ...

, English soldier and politician. It was adopted in 1775 by the Provincial Congress and the literal translation is, "With a sword, she seeks quiet peace under liberty." Although the looser English translation more commonly used is, "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." Above the shield is the state military

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

: a bent arm holding a

broadsword The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. In mod ...

aloft. The sword has its blade up, to remind that it was through the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

that independence was won. The current form of the 1780 seal was adopted in 1890, replacing the Massachusetts Indian with a composite. The composite's head was taken from a Chippewa chief in Montana. A stained glass window at the top of the Grand Staircase at the

State House State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

shows all the seals used in Massachusetts, including the royal seals of the Governors during colonial days.

Controversy over Minuteman's sword and Native American imagery

A number of lawmakers and Massachusetts residents, including some Native Americans, have called for the imagery on the state seal to be changed. Specifically, advocates note that the seal depicts a colonist's broadsword directly above a depiction of a Native American's head, with some calling the depiction a "form of white supremacist imagery". American vexillologist Ted Kaye noted that the sword symbolizes liberty from the British and was "not meant to be oppressing the Indian," though "certainly that's how people perceive it." On January 11, 2021, Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill establishing a commission to change the state flag and seal. On May 17, 2022, the commission voted unanimously to recommend changing the state symbols.

Government Seals of Massachusetts

File:Seal of the Governor of Massachusetts.svg, Seal of the

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

File:Seal of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts.svg, Seal of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

File:Seal of the Senate of Massachusetts.svg, Seal of the Massachusetts Senate File:Seal of the Senate of Massachusetts (variant).svg, Alternative seal of the Massachusetts Senate File:Seal of the State Police of Massachusetts.svg, Seal of the Massachusetts State Police

Historical seals

File:Plymouth Colony seal.png, Seal of the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...

, (c. 1620–1629) File:Seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.svg, Seal of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

, (1629–1686, 1689-1691) File:Seal of the Dominion of New England.jpg, Seal of the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was an administrative union of English colonies covering New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies (except for Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvania). Its political structure represe ...

(1686–1689) File:Coat of arms of Great Britain (1714–1801).svg, Coat of Arms of Great Britain, as

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

(1691–1780) File:Massachusetts seal of 1775 Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem.png, Seal used by the

Massachusetts Provincial Congress The Massachusetts Provincial Congress (1774–1780) was a provisional government created in the Province of Massachusetts Bay early in the American Revolution. Based on the terms of the colonial charter, it exercised ''de facto'' control over the ...

(1775–1780) File:1820 MA seal byPenniman AAS b4f10.jpg, Seal example from 1820, prior to standardization (1780–1900)

References

External links

The History of the Arms and Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Arms of Massachusetts
American Heraldry Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Massachusetts

Symbols of Massachusetts