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National symbols of the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

National symbols of the United States are the symbols used to represent the United States of America.

List of symbols

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Symbol Name File References
Flag Flag of the United States [1]
Seal Great Seal of the United States (obverse)
(reverse)
[2]
National motto
"In God We Trust"

E pluribus unum

[3] [4]
National anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" "The Star-Spangled Banner" [5]
National march "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" [6]
Oath of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance [7]
National mammal American bison [8][9][10]
National bird Bald eagle [11][12]
National flower Rose [13]
National tree Oak tree (Quercus) [14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 4 U.S.C. § 1 ("The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be fifty stars, white in a blue field."); § 2 ("On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission.").
  2. ^ 4 U.S.C. § 41 ("The seal heretofore used by the United States in Congress assembled is declared to be the seal of the United States.").
  3. ^ 36 U.S.C. § 302 ("'In God we trust' is the national motto.").
  4. ^ Frank S. Ravitch, Boris I. Bittker & Scott C. Idleman, Religion and the State in American Law (Cambridge University Press, 2015), p. 136 ("The nation's first unofficial motto was 'E pluribus unum' ('Out of many, one'), which was proposed in 1776, adopted in 1782, and to this day is part of the Great Seal of the United States. E plurbius unum first appeared in coinage in 1795 and in 1873 was required on all U.S. coinage...").
  5. ^ 36 U.S.C. § 301(a) ("The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.").
  6. ^ 36 U.S.C. § 304 ("The composition by John Philip Sousa entitled 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is the national march.").
  7. ^ 4 U.S.C. § 4 (“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”).
  8. ^ National Bison Legacy Act, Pub. L. 114-152, 130 Stat. 373 (approved May 9, 2016), § 3(a) ("The mammal commonly known as the 'North American bison' is adopted as the national mammal of the United States.")
  9. ^ "15 Facts About Our National Mammal: The American Bison". United States Department of the Interior. May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Harris, Gardiner (May 9, 2016). "Obama Signs Law Making Bison the First National Mammal". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  11. ^ A modified version of Charles Thomson's proposal for the Great Seal of the United States on June 20, 1782, with a bald eagle in the center, was adopted by the Continental Congress on June 20, 1782. Bruce E. Beans, Eagle's Plume: The Struggle to Preserve the Life and Haunts of America's Bald Eagle (University of Nebraska Press 1997), p. 59.
  12. ^ On December 16, 2024, Congress passed S.4610 amending 36 U.S.C. § 306 ("The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is the national bird."). Previously the bald eagle had never been officially recognized as the national bird.
  13. ^ 36 U.S.C. § 303 ("The flower commonly known as the rose is the national floral emblem.").
  14. ^ 36 U.S.C. § 305 ("The tree genus Quercus, commonly known as the oak tree, is the national tree.").
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