What Are American Symbols? | Symbols of American Culture – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

Video Transcript

The Importance of Symbols

Symbols are important to humans. They represent ideas greater than themselves and are things that people of similar beliefs can congregate around. You can’t hold the idea of America up in the air and wave it around, but you can do that with a flag. Humans also like representing one thing with another thing. The whole idea that storytelling can be used as a way to make a point or give life lessons is an act of symbolism. And humans love stories, because they can explain things in much more engaging and connecting ways. They can teach and inspire at the same time. And symbols that represent the United States of America are almost certainly inspiring.

But what is a symbol? Put simply, a symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something different. Most often it’s a material object that represents an abstract concept. A tall ship might represent freedom, or a candle flame might represent the light of God. Symbols can have important cultural, historical, or religious meaning. In this lesson, we’re going to go through some of the most important symbols that represent the United States.

Flags, Seals, Mottos, & Anthems

The United States has a lot of symbols, and chief among these are its flags, seals, mottos, and anthems.

The American flag in particular is loaded with symbolism. The flag was important because the United States was formed in rebellion against the rule of Great Britain. It has therefore come to represent freedom from tyranny. The flag, symbolically known as the Stars & Stripes, contains a star for each U.S. state (still 50 as of 2020), and a bar for each of the 13 original colonies.

The national anthem of the United States, ”The Star-Spangled Banner,” is full of emotive language referencing the American Revolution and even speaks directly of the flag: ”O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” The two are intimately connected.

The U.S. also has two mottos. The official motto reads, ”In God we trust” in reference to similar words found in the final verse of the national anthem. This was adopted in 1956 to replace the previous, unofficial motto, E pluribus unum, which is Latin for, ”One from many.” This previous motto is still included on the seal of the United States.

The Great Seal of the United States is a seal stamp that is used by the federal government to authenticate certain documents. It’s found on U.S. passports, flags, and military insignia. The front side of the seal contains an eagle, supporting a shield with a flag-like design. The eagle holds arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other. This is said to symbolize that the U.S. prefers peace but is ready for war. There are 13 olives, 13 arrows, and 13 stars to represent the original 13 states. The seal also has a reverse side containing a pyramid topped by an eye. This eye is called the Eye of Providence and is usually considered to represent the eye of God. Both sides of the seal are found in American currency.

Monuments, Buildings, & Objects

The U.S. also has many important monuments, buildings, and objects. The White House in Washington D.C., is the home of the president and is therefore one of the biggest symbols of America, well known across the world.

The Statue of Liberty in New York welcomes immigrants to the United States, symbolizing the fact that the United States was formed as a country of immigrants.

The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia (originally called the State House Bell or Province Bell) symbolizes freedom because it was the bell that began atop the Pennsylvania State House, which is more well known as Independence Hall, the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed. During the first public reading of the documents, it was likely that the bell was rung because it was used to announce many important events.

Animals

Last of all, there are several animals that have come to symbolize America. The most famous of these is the bald eagle. The bald eagle is a large bird of prey found near rivers and large lakes in the United States. The bald eagle was put on the seal of the U.S. in 1782 by the Continental Congress. The bald eagle was chosen because the founders of the United States liked to compare the U.S. to the Roman Republic, which used golden eagles to represent itself.

The turkey is also a popular bird, which has connections to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. People like to say that Benjamin Franklin thought the wild turkey should be chosen as the official bird of the United States. However, there is no evidence for this. He did, however, dislike the bald eagle, describing it as a dishonest and cowardly bird.

Lesson Summary

All right, let’s take a moment to review what we’ve learned. A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something different. Most often it’s a material object that represents an abstract concept. The United States has many symbols, more than most countries. Symbols are important to humans in general because they represent ideas greater than the object itself. Symbols can be used to bring people together around a common cause, to teach, and to inspire.

Symbols of the United States include the American flag, the national anthem, the official and unofficial mottos (”In God we trust,” and ”One from many”), the Great Seal of the United States (which is a seal stamp that is used by the federal government to authenticate certain documents), the White House, the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the bald eagle.