United States Symbols

The Great Seal of the United States has a Bald Eagle with a red, white and blue shield on its body. There is a circle with 13 stars representing the 13 original colonies or states. The eagle holds a ribbon with our nation’s motto in its beak and an olive branch and arrows, symbols of peace and war, in his claws.

Artists used the U.S. Flag, the United States Shield, the Bald Eagle and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to represent the United States on the inside and outside of the Nebraska State Capitol.

Mosaicist Hildreth Meiere created mosaic panels in the Capitol to show activities of citizenship. To be good citizens we obey the laws, we vote, we serve as elected leaders, and we go into the military to protect our country.

The Bald Eagle in the Vestibule dome artwork, above, is one of the animals of Nebraska created by mocaicist Hildtreth Meiere.

Sculptor Lee Lawrie used symbols in United States Seal and moved them around to make a relief sculpture on the outside of the Capitol showing Nebraska is one of the 50 United States.

The national motto – E PLURIBUS UNUM – – Out of Many One – means all the people in all 50 states act together to make the United States of America.

The eagle and shield appear in the ceiling of Nebraska’s Unicameral Legislative Chamber to show Nebraska became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase.

On the outside of the Capitol, sculptor Lee Lawrie carved a relief sculpture to symbolize Nebraska becoming a state.

In the picture Nebraska is a pioneer woman standing beside a soldier who will help the farmers behind her build our state. Nebraska hands a star to the United States, a woman sitting on an eagle throne holding the United States Flag with the Capitol in Washington, D.C behind her.

Inside the Great Hall of the Nebraska State Capitol, artist Hildreth Meiere’s ceiling mosaics show different ways Nebraskans put citizenship into action. We vote, we serve as elected leaders in the Executive and Legislative branches of Government, and we go into the military to protect our country.

In this picture, the farmer is turning from his plow toward the United States flag and the soldier in brown showing it is a patriotic action to serve in the military when called upon by our country.

An important action of citizenship is voting in elections. This picture shows three people voting by putting paper ballots into a special box so the vote is private. When voting is over, officials gather the boxes and count the votes to see who will take office and represent citizens in their government.

The three people in this picture represent the first people to come to Nebraska, a Native American, an African American and a European American. Above the entrance on the government building behind them is a balanced scale. This means government is open equally to everyone and should treat all people equally or the same. Nebraska’s State Motto is “Equality Before the Law”.

Citizens take patriotic action by running for elected office.

A judge in a black robe holds a book of laws for the person who got the most votes in the election to promise they will do their best to make rules for all people. There are two flags behind the United States Shield, one blue to represent Nebraska and a red, white and blue flag to represent the United States of America because we can serve in local and national government.

In the ceiling of a room in the Capitol is a picture of a figure running from the Nebraska Capitol to the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C. Nebraska sends locally elected leaders to Washington, D.C. to share our ideas and needs with other state’s elected leaders. Buildings can be symbols and show how we participate in Nebraska and United States government.