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The South Carolina state seal was authorized in 1776 after a Revolutionary War victory. It features two ovals joined by palm branches, with a palmetto tree, spears, and shields representing independence and solidarity, and the goddess of hope representing the state’s future.
The history of the South Carolina state seal is tied to a historic battle in the Revolutionary War. The North Carolina Provincial Congress established an independent government on March 26, 1776. On April 2, 1776, the general assembly authorized the new state president, John Rutledge, to affix the Great Seal of the State of South Carolina. Less than three months later, on June 28, 1776, South Carolina patriots delivered the British Army the first major loss of the war, driving its naval fleet back to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina. it seemed emblematic of the new state’s resolve and optimism, and these characteristics are symbolically displayed in the state seal.
The South Carolina state seal consists of two side-by-side ovals within a circle. Each oval is joined to the other by palm branches. Fort Moultrie was built of palmetto logs, and the state tree of South Carolina is the palmetto. The left oval is the symbol of victory at Fort Moultrie, while the right one symbolizes the state’s hope for its future.
Within the left oval of the South Carolina state seal, the state name is inscribed at the top of a thin flag area surrounding the oval. “Animis Opibusque Parati,” a Latin phrase meaning “prepared in mind and resources,” appears at the bottom of the banner. In the center of the oval is a large palm tree. Tied to the tree trunk are 12 spears, one for each of the new states. The banner binding the spears to the palmetto shows the solidarity of the states in the struggle for independence, asking in Latin “Quis Separabit?” or “Who will part?”
At the foot of the palmetto lies a fallen oak, a symbol of defeated British forces. Under the oak there is a legend in Latin which means “To have fallen is better settled”. Two shields hang under the branches of the tree and are inscribed with the dates of the Declaration of Independence and North Carolina’s adoption of its first constitution.
Spes, the goddess of hope in Roman mythology, is depicted in the right oval. Hers Stands on a beach strewn with discarded swords, her name appears below her. In front of her palm, she holds a laurel branch as the sun begins to rise. Above her, in the banner that surrounds the oval is the Latin inscription “Dum Spiro Spero”, which means “While I breathe, I hope”. An important symbol in the South Carolina state seal, Spes represents hope for peace and continued freedom.
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