Seal of North Carolina
The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina was first authorized by the North Carolina Constitution of 1776, created in its first form in 1778, and largely took on its modern form in 1835. According to a state law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in the 1971 ad modified in 1983:
The date of May 20, 1775, refers to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, allegedly the first declaration of independence adopted during the American Revolution.
The motto "Esse quam videri" means "To Be Rather Than To Seem." The "pole with a cap" is a liberty pole.History
In 1971, the seal was officially standardized after the state's chief deputy attorney general discovered that there was more than one version in use. In 1983, state senator Julian R. Allsbrook proposed a revision to the seal to add to the seal the date April 12, 1776, the date of the Halifax Resolves; this revision was approved by the state legislature. These two dates are also on the flag of North Carolina.
