The Arizona state seal has undergone many changes since its creation in 1863, with the only consistent element being the state motto “Ditat Deus.” The original seal, designed by Richard McCormick, was criticized for its resemblance to a baking soda label. The current seal, adopted in 1911, features a miner, a mountain range, a reservoir and dam, and irrigated fields of cotton and citrus, all encased within a shield and banner with the state motto.
In its more than 140-year history, the Arizona state seal has undergone many changes. The central symbol of the seal remains a miner with his tools, but over the years the figure of him has been presented in a variety of poses and backgrounds, some unintentionally amusing. The only consistent representation, though misspelled in one version, is the state motto of Arizona. He proclaims “Ditat Deus,” a Latin phrase meaning “God enriches.”
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln passed a bill creating a temporary government for the newly established Arizona Territory. Richard McCormick, formerly a journalist and entrepreneur, was appointed Territorial Secretary by Lincoln. Congress had not included authorization for a territorial seal in its bill, so McCormick designed one, knowing that territorial documents would have to be authenticated in some way.
McCormick’s seal artwork has been characterized by some as sparse and even comical. It featured a miner standing calmly in front of a wheelbarrow, against which were leaned a pickaxe and short-handled spade. Behind the miner rose the outlines of two bare mountains, and below him was the state motto. Even after McCormick replaced the wheelbarrow and small spade with a long-handled shovel and placed the tops on the mountains, Arizonans noticed the seal’s uncanny resemblance to the label of a popular brand of baking soda. . The nickname “The Baking Soda Seal” stuck with the coat of arms until it was replaced in 1879, 15 years after a new seal had already been authorized.
Between the time of the seal replacement in 1879 and Arizona’s adoption of a state seal of Arizona as a new state, it underwent many variations and missteps. Cattle added to the territorial seal became a single cow. The wildlife and clouds that appeared on the seal later diminished or disappeared. A cactus had its shadow on the wrong side of the sun.
Arizona became a state in 1912. The design of the Arizona state seal, adopted in 1911, was the subject of great debate among members of a special committee of the state’s 1910 Constitutional Convention. One improvement struck during the seal discussions was the selection of an 1880 photograph of a real Bisbee Arizona Prospector named George Warren as a model for the seal miner. Another was the addition of other major state enterprises to the seal.
A mountain range with the sun rising behind its peaks forms the backdrop for the 1911 Arizona state seal. A reservoir and dam are located on the right side of the mountains, symbolizing the exploitation of its powerful natural resources by of Arizona. Below these, near cattle grazing, are irrigated fields of cotton and citrus, representing Arizona’s rich agricultural heritage. A miner stands in the foreground at a quartz mill, his shovel nearby. The symbols are encased within a shield beneath a banner inscribed with the ever-present promise of the state motto, “God enriches.”
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
