Alabama State Seal

Click on the seal for a larger image YEAR OF ADOPTION 1819/1939 ADOPTION The Alabama legislature and Governor Frank M. Dixon passed a law establishing the current seal of the State of Alabama in 1939, re-establishing it after 70 years during which a different seal had been used. DESIGN ELEMENTS AND SYMBOLISM A band with a double edge encircles a map centered on Alabama. Within the band, three stars appear on either side. The word "Alabama" appears in the top of the band, and the words "Great Seal" appear at the bottom. On the map of Alabama, the state’s major rivers appear with their names. The areas bordering Alabama are also labeled: Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. The emphasis on waterways is fitting for a state with seven important ports, all of them connected to rivers (Mobile, on the Gulf of Mexico, is at the mouth of the Mobile River). COLORS The original seal was a line drawing without colors. Today, color versions generally show Alabama in yellow. Mississippi and Florida generally appear in different red or rusty hues, the small piece of Tennessee and the patch of the Gulf of Mexico are different blues, and Georgia may be green or lighter blue. HISTORY In 1817, when William Wyatt Bibb was appointed governor of the new Alabama Territory, he realized he needed an official seal for his commissions and other state papers. With permission of President James Monroe and a law adopted by Congress, the territorial governor was authorized to select a design for a seal. Governor Bibb believed the best seal would be a map of the territory showing its rivers. It also showed the territories (now states) surrounding it. In 1819, when Alabama became a state, the territorial seal was designated by the first legislature as the state seal. The state seal remained unchanged for 50 years, until the Reconstruction period when a Republican-dominated legislature had a new seal made. This consisted of an eagle perched upon the shield of the United States seal. In the beak of the eagle was a banner reading "Here We Rest." Around the new emblem were the words "Alabama Great Seal." This seal was used for 71 years to authenticate official documents and letterhead. In 1939, a bill was introduced by the legislature to restore the original seal as the Great Seal of Alabama. Both the Senate and the House approved the bill unanimously. Governor Frank M. Dixon approved the new law, and the secretary of state had a new seal created.                                                                                                         -World Trade Press Source: Alabama Department of Archives and History