State Normal School - Crystal / Levana Yearbook (Athens, GA)

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C RY S, TCA L ef' QQ 'Ne defence that she was not unlike a child, who finds it hard to give up its love for its mother. Added to this, was the fact that Georgia was a favorite province with the mother country. However, her staunch citizens soon recognized and responded to their higher duty of protecting the rights of the new country of which they were a part, and entered with zeal the Revolution. Thus it came about that the Royal Seal was abolished and a new one adopted. The Revolutionary Seal of February 5, 1777, represented the new sovereignty of the state. On one side was a scroll inscribed with the words, The Constitu- tion of the State of Georgiaf, and with the motto, c'Pro Bono Publicof' or 'Tor the good of the peoplefl On the other side was an elegant house and other build- ings, fields of corn, and a meadow covered with sheep and cattle, through the meadow ran a river with a ship under full sail in view. The motto was, uDeus nobis haec otia fecit, or God has made this prosperity for usf, The Revolutionary Seal survived the period of the birth of a new nation. In 1798 the legislature proposed a new seal which was adopted in 1799. This Great Seal of 1799 was made of silver and was two and one-fourth inches in diameter. Bales of cotton and hogs-heads of tobacco, being received on board a ship bearing the flag of the United States, were emblematic of the exports of the state, a short distance away was a boat laden to represent her internal traffic. Further back a man ploughed a field, and flocks of sheep grazed near by. The motto was, 4'Agri- culture and Commerce, 1799. The other side, which is more commonly known, contained three pillars upholding an arch engraved with the word '6Constitutionf7 On Aa wreath about the pillars were engraved the words, 'cWisdom, alusticef and uModeration.'7 The suggested symbolism is that the three departments of govern- ment, legislative, executive, and judicial, which support the Constitution, are in turn upheld by the cardinal virtues: wisdom, justice, and moderation. On the right of the last pillar was a man standing with drawn sword, to guarantee aid from the military department in defence of the Constitution. Around the margin was engraved, State of Georgia, 1799.8 The Seal of 1799 was used for sixty-two consecutive years. Then came the Civil War with the need of a new State Seal. The legislature of 1861 appointed a commission 'gto prepare a new Great Seal for the State of Georgia and to make all necessary preparations and arrangements to bring the same as agreed on by the said commission, into usef' There are no records of the actions of this committee, but, according to impressions of the seal which was designed, found in the office of the Secretary of State, it differed only slightly from the Seal of 1799. Three changes were made: first, amid the brilliant rays of a rising sun, placed under the arch 'of the Constitution to symbolize the birth of a new independence, was placed the date 18615 second, the man with the drawn sword was removed, third, instead of 1799, the date 1776 was used to represent the birth of our first independence. Strangely, though the struggle between the States was over in 1865, the legislature of 1865-66 passed an act, which reads as follows, uThat the seal prepared by the committee under the act assented to on the fourteenth day of December, 1861, be, and the same is hereby adopted as the seal of the office of Secretary of State. Henry R. Goetchius, in an article written for the Georgia Historical Quarterly, says 'CSO far as I have been able to ascertain, this is the only act concerning the great seal of the state passed since the war. Neither the acts of the legislatures since that time nor the journals of the constitutional con- ventions of 1865, 1866, or 1867 says one single word about the re-adoption of

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CRYSTAL Ji M N rf- Ge dw ' 3, , J E . If Ji X or to V- X A 4' R. Q M , wlwqfgr ', '- x .a f w XX V I' sr. I799 Tibe Great Seals of Qeorgia MARY HARRIS N 1732, agtract of land, including the .territory now known as the State 'J of Georgia, was granted by the English Crown to twenty-one trustees. , lf The condition of the grant was .that the land was to be settled by worthy but unfortunate debtors, incarcerated in English prisons. In 'ff' July of that year, the corporators convened for formal acceptance of the charter, and for the perfection of an organization under its provisions. A seal, called the Colonial Seal, was adopted. One of itsr faces, which was for the authentication of legislative acts, deeds, and commissions, contained the device which follows:-Two human figures leaned upon urns from which iiowed streams, representing the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, which formed the northeastern and southwestern boundaries of the State, in the hands of the figures were spades, suggesting agriculture as the settlers' chief employment. Above, and in the center, was seated the genius of the colony, wearing a liberty cap on her head. In her left hand she held a cornucopia, and in her right, a spear. Behind, upon a gentle eminence stood a tree, and above was engraved this legend: uColonia Georgia Augeat,'7 the translation of which is, 4'lVlay the Georgia Colony Hourishf' On the other face, which was to be aliixedl to grants, orders, and certificates, were silk- worms in the various stages of their labor. The motto, Non sibi sed allis,'7 or NNot for ourselves but for othersf' was appropriate not only to the trustees but to the silkworms, which were expected to furnish a livelihood for the colonists. For twenty-one years, Georgia thrived under the direction of her trustees. On the twenty-third of June, 1752, these noble men held their last meeting, and surrendered the control of the colony to the king. The colony having now be- come a royal province, a new seal was ordered to be made in 1754-. This Provincial Seal was the largest and most beautiful of the Georgian Seals. It was made of silver, and was four and one-half inches in diameter. On one side was a figure, representing the genius of the province making an offering of a skein of silk to the king. The motto was, I-linc laudem sperate, Coloniif' or MI-lence hope for praise, O Colonistsf' No doubt this was intended to encourage development of the silk industry. Around the circumference of the same side was engraved, '4Sigillum Provinciae nostrae Georgiae in America, meaning The Seal of our Province of Georgia in America? On the obverse side were his Majestyis arms, crown, garter, supporters, and motto. The inscription, uGeorgius II, Dei Gratia Magnae Britanniae. Franciae et Hiberniae Rex, Fidei Defensor, Brunsvici et Lune- burgi Dux, Sacri Romani Imperii Archi-Thesaurarius et Elector,'5 means, 'CGeorge ll, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Duke of Brunswick and Luneburg, High-Treasurer and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. After a short span of years, during which most of the American colonies were under provincial rule, the development of affairs caused the people of Georgia with those of the other colonies to revolt against English oppression. It has been hinted at times that Georgia was unwilling to take up arms, but let us say in her

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CRYSTAL sn QQ 'Ne the old seal of 1799, and yet all the codes since 1866 describe as the great seal of the State the old seal of 1799, which was used up to 1361. It would appear that, with the downfall of the Confederacy, the seal of 1799 was re-adopted with- out enactment. It is certain at all events that the present seal is the old seal of 1799 and that it has been used ever since 1872.7 He further adds that although the Confederate Seal was in 1866 adopted for use in the office of the Secretary of State, and is still in use in that office, it is not the great seal of the State which is used for authentication of legislative acts, deeds, and commissions. In 1914, it was necessary to recast the seal, because the old one was well-worn through long service. At this time the original date, 1799, was permanently changed to 1776. There was an interesting incident in connection with the great seal at the time of Sherman's invasion of Georgia. Colonel Barnett, Secretary of State, conscious of his responsibility for the seal, determined to save it at all hazards. Because he wished someone else to know its hiding place, he carried it home to the patriotic Mrs. Barnett, who, placing it in a tin box, buried it under her house. Upon his early arrival at Milledgeville, at that time capital of the State, Sherman' had Colonel Barnett arrested, and commanded him to give up the seal. Stoutly refus- ing, Colonel Barnett was put into prison. Because of his brave spirit and daunt- less bearing, he was never forced to devulge his secret. Later, when the reins of government were again in the hands of Georgians, the great seal was restored .to the people, as Governor Jenkins said, unever desecrated by the grasp of a military usurperis hand? The story of the great seals of Georgia is not complete without some statement of the development of the people whose ideals these seals represent. Each seal marks a distinct period of the natural progress of a sturdy race, implanted in a new world full of possibilities. This development falls under three heads: material, mental, and moral. ' Material progress is shown from the beginning. After the discovery by the colonists that the silk industry was not so profitable as it had seemed it would be, agriculture rapidly came into the foreground. The necessity for markets for the material produced brought about trade and commerce with foreign countries. Finally an idea which has not even yet attained its highest development came into play: that of manufacturing the raw material with which Georgia so abounds, into Hnished products. In this way was abolished the old system of selling material, later to be bought again in finished form at a much higher rate, and was inaugurated a tremendous manufacturing industry. On an early seal were placed buildings to represent homes, schools, and churches. Here, we may say, Georgia formally began the training of her sons for citizenship. From this first ideal in education has come her state system of schools, inclusive of common and high schools, and the University with its branches of agricultural, technological, and normal and industrial schools. Although the war of 1861 greatly hindered her progress in education, Georgia has done much for both of her races since that time, and it is to be hoped that she will make much effort along that line in the future. Finally, that philanthropic sympathy which gave Georgia her being has con- tinued in spirit throughout the years, and is expressed in the deeds of her children. The fervent wish of her every true citizen is that she may grow in wisdom, justice, and moderation, and that her sons may always be able to say with pride, 4'This is my own, my native land. -MARY HARRIS, '22,