The American Bald Eagle and Benjamin Franklin
The bald eagle represents American independence, the might of a nation and the spirit of freedom. However, in the 1770's and 1780's, using the bald eagle as a symbol of greatness was under fire. One of the staunch leaders of those opposing the choice of the bald eagle was Benjamin Franklin. Of the bald eagle Franklin wrote, "I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country. It is a bird of bad moral character. It does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him. Besides he is a rank coward. The little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest America."
The turkey is the bird that Benjamin Franklin and his colleagues supported for the US emblem. "For a truth," wrote Franklin, "the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America; a bird of courage that would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on."
Despite Franklin's words, during the official heraldry of the United States in 1782, Congress approved the nations first Great Seal featuring not a turkey, but a proud bald eagle holding an olive branch with one talon and thirteen arrows, one for each of the original colonies, with the other. In 1787, the bald eagle was adopted officially as the national emblem and political symbol of what would become one of the greatest nations the world has ever known.
During the time that the emblem of the United States was being debated, the Revolutionary War was still raging. The majesty of the white head, the power of it stride and the ferocity of it talons made the bald eagle the clear choice as a symbol representing the fierce warrior. Also in its favor, the bald eagle is an exclusive resident of North America and is not a species shared with England. Therefore, the bald eagle is also a symbol of the independence and freedom from tyranny spoken of by the founding fathers of the United States.
Today, no one associates the bald eagle with cowardice, as did Benjamin Franklin. Time has proven that the bald eagle is both adaptive to its environment and tenacious in its quest for survival. Like America, the bald eagle is silent when a little kingbird makes a minor disturbance. Yet when necessary, the bald eagle is swift to ferociously defend its home territory. For the mighty eagles, defeat is not an option.
It's the spirit of freedom. It's the majesty of a nation. It's the symbol of a people. It's the American Bald Eagle.
