1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: a show that proves there's more than one way to 4 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: make history. I'm Gabe Blusier, and in this episode we're 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: talking about how the bald eagle became a symbol of 6 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: the United States and why one founding father would have 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: much preferred the turkey. The day was January four. In 8 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed his disapproval 9 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: of the eagle as America symbol. The final design for 10 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: the Great Seal of the United States had been decided 11 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: a year and a half earlier. It featured the American 12 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: bald eagle front and center, effectively making the bird, as 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: Franklin put it, the representative of our country. Within a year, 14 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: patriotic clubs and community groups nationwide had begun adopting the 15 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: eagle for their own seals and symbols. The bird's newfound 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: pride of place annoyed Benjamin Franklin, who had floated several 17 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: other options for a national symbol to no avail. But 18 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: rather than venting his frustrations in public, Franklin put them 19 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: in a letter to his daughter Lucky her The Eagles 20 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: Rise to Prominence began on July fourth, seventeen seventy six, 21 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: the day the US declared its independence from Great Britain. 22 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: That afternoon, the Continental Congress appointed a three person committee 23 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: to come up with a symbol for the new nation. 24 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: The members assigned to the job where John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, 25 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: and Benjamin Franklin. Each of the men submitted their own 26 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: proposal for the seal, but their designs were just scenes 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: lifted directly from Greek mythology and the Christian Bible. Adams, 28 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: for instance, suggested a painting of young Hercules at a 29 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: cross road, grappling with the show voice between vice and virtue. Meanwhile, 30 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: Jefferson drew his inspiration from the Bible and submitted an 31 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: image of Moses and the Israelites being guided through the 32 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: wilderness by a cloud and a pillar of fire. Franklin 33 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: followed suit by suggesting a different scene from the Book 34 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: of Exodus. As he wrote in his proposal, the seal 35 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,519 Speaker 1: would show quote Moses standing on the shore and extending 36 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: his hand over the sea, thereby causing the same sea 37 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: to overwhelm Pharaoh, who was sitting in an open chariot. 38 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: A crown on his head and a sword in his hand. 39 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,519 Speaker 1: Those designs may have appealed to the well read or 40 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: to the religious, but they would have made for a 41 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: pretty cluttered seal, and quite a violent one in the 42 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: case of Franklin's. It's no surprise then, that the committee failed. 43 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: All the proposals were rejected, and Congress decided to table 44 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: the seal for the time being. Four years later, a 45 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: second Seal committee was formed, but none of its designs 46 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: were approved either, nor were the ones submitted during a 47 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: third committee in seventy two. The committee approach clearly wasn't working, 48 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: so Congress decided to pass the task to a single person. 49 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: It's secretary, Charles Thompson. He incorporated elements from all three 50 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: committees into his design and submitted the proposal late that year. 51 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: His written description, which did not include a drawing, referred 52 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: to the seal's focal point as quote an American eagle 53 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: on the wing and rising proper. Congress immediately accepted the design, 54 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: and soon the Great Seal became a popular symbol of 55 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: the country, as did the bald eagle itself. Benjamin Franklin 56 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: had not been asked back for the second or Third 57 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: Seal Committee, and he offered no public commentary on the 58 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: finalized design of America's emblem. But a year and a 59 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: half after the seal's adoption, he penned a letter to 60 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: his daughter Sarah Brock, in which he gave his full opinion. 61 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: He broached the subject while remarking on a newly issued 62 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: metal from the Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternity for 63 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: veterans of the Continental Army. US representatives were on their 64 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: way to France to bestow the medals on those who 65 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: had aided in the American Revolution. The medal depicted, what else, 66 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,799 Speaker 1: a bald eagle, but as Franklin noted, some people thought 67 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 1: the engraving looked more like a turkey. Using the comparison 68 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,919 Speaker 1: as a jumping off point, Franklin launched into a scathing 69 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: critique of the eagle, both as a symbol and as 70 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: a bird in general. For my own part, he wrote, 71 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as 72 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: the representative of our country. He is a bird of 73 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: bad moral character. He does not get his living. Honestly, 74 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: you may have seen him perched on some dead tree 75 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: near the river, where too lazy to fish for himself. 76 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: He watches the labor of the fishing hawk, And when 77 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: that diligent bird has at length taken a fish and 78 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: is bearing it to his nest for the support of 79 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him 80 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: and takes it from him. With all this injustice, he 81 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: is never in good case. But like those among men 82 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,839 Speaker 1: who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor 83 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: and often very lousy. Besides, he is a rank coward. 84 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: The little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him 85 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: boldly and drives him out of the district. Franklin would 86 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: have preferred a national symbol that wasn't a bird. In fact, 87 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: he had once suggested a rattlesnake in addition to the 88 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 1: scene from Exodus. But if it had to be a bird, 89 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: he actually thought the turkey was a species more deserving 90 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: of the honor. He continued his letter, saying, quote, I 91 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: am not displeased that the figure on the metal looks 92 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: more like a turkey, for in truth, the turkey is, 93 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: in comparison, a much more respectable bird, as well as 94 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: a true original native of America. Eagles have been found 95 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: in all countries, but the turkey was peculiar to ours, 96 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: the first of the species seen in Europe, being brought 97 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: to France by the Jesuits from Canada and served up 98 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: at the wedding table of Charles the ninth. He is, besides, 99 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: though a little vain and silly, tis true, but not 100 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: the worst emblem. For that a bird of courage, and 101 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards, 102 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red 103 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,919 Speaker 1: coat on. Franklin's comments are often used to support the 104 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: idea that he wanted the national bird to be the turkey, 105 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: but before we jump to conclusions, there's some important context 106 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: to consider. For starters, Franklin had ample opportunity to put 107 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: forward the turkey as a national symbol, but he never did. Additionally, 108 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: Franklin's detailed takedown of the eagle and his flowery praise 109 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: of the turkey seem a little over the top. It 110 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,679 Speaker 1: begs the question of just how serious Franklin was about 111 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: his argument, especially since he was addressed the comments to 112 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: his own daughter rather than to state officials or even 113 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: to the press, and speaking of that letter. According to 114 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: the National Archives, Franklin never actually sent it to his daughter, 115 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: and he may not have ever intended to. Instead, some 116 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: historians suggest he wrote it as a satire of the 117 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: Society of Cincinnati. The organization was a hereditary order only 118 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 1: allowing male descendants of Revolutionary War officers and their French 119 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: allies to join. Apparently Franklin wasn't a fan of that 120 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: exclusionary practice and decided to write a mock private letter 121 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: poking fun at the organization. It's theorized he intended to 122 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: publish the letter as a supposedly private piece of correspondence 123 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: that accidentally went public, but he ultimately decided against it, 124 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: likely because ridiculing of patriotic group could have damaged his reputation. 125 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: So where does that leave us? Was Franklin being serious 126 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: in his letter or not? I think the truth is 127 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: somewhere in the middle. His earlier proposal of the Rattlesnake 128 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: included a thoughtful account of the animal's character traits, noting 129 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: that the snake quote never begins an attack, nor, once 130 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: engaged ever surrenders. Franklin seems to have applied that same 131 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: thoughtful consideration to both the Eagle and the Turkey, and 132 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: while he may have presented his findings for comedic effect, 133 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: he likely still considered them accurate in the end. I 134 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: think Franklin truly believed that turkey had more merits as 135 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: a national symbol than the bald eagle, but he didn't 136 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: want either bird to actually be that symbol. Still, it 137 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,839 Speaker 1: is interesting to think how different the United States might 138 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,840 Speaker 1: have been if it had embraced the turkey instead of 139 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: a bird of prey as its symbol. It may not 140 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: have made the nation any gentler or more self sufficient, 141 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: but it would have made the T shirts you find 142 00:08:53,040 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: at gas stations a whole lot funnier. I'm gay bluesier, 143 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 144 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you enjoyed today's episode, 145 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 146 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,559 Speaker 1: D I HC Show. You can also drop us a 147 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,680 Speaker 1: line any time by writing to this Day at I 148 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 149 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 150 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.