The Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin is a seal used by the secretary of state to authenticate all of the governor’s official acts, except laws. It consists of the state coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

, with the words "Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin" above it and 13 stars, representing the original states, below it.

• Top:
  • Forward, the state motto
  • A badger
    Badger
    Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
    
    , the state animal
• Center, the state shield:
  • Top left: A plow, representing agriculture
  • Top right: A pick and shovel, representing mining
  • Bottom left: An arm and hammer, representing manufacturing
  • Bottom right: An anchor, representing navigation
  • Center: The U.S. coat of arms, including the motto E Pluribus Unum
  • The shield is supported by a sailor
    Sailor
    A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
    
     and a yeoman
    Yeoman
    Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
    
     (usually considered a miner), representing labor on water and land
• Bottom:
  • A cornucopia
    Cornucopia
    The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
    
    , representing prosperity and abundance
  • 13 lead
    Lead
    Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
    
     ingot
    Ingot
    An ingot is a material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods.-Uses:...
    
    s, representing mineral wealth and the 13 original United States

The state seal emphasizes mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

 and shipping

Shipping

Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...

. At the time of Wisconsin's founding in 1848 the mining of lead and iron was a major industry that ended by the early 20th century because the metals had been depleted. The state was also a particularly important navigational link from the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

 to the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 via Wisconsin rivers. This was gradually phased out with the advent of railways in the mid- to late-19th century.

The Secretary of State

Secretary of State (U.S. state government)

Secretary of State is an official in the state governments of 47 of the 50 states of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, this official is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth...

 is the keeper of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

's great seal. The seal is displayed in all courtroom

Courtroom

A courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court.The schedule of official court proceedings is called a docket; the term is also synonymous with a court's caseload as a whole.-Courtroom design:-United States:...

s in the state, often alongside the county seal.

See also

• State of Wisconsin
  • Symbols of the State of Wisconsin

• • • Flag of Wisconsin
      Flag of Wisconsin
      The flag of the state of Wisconsin is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms. Originally designed in 1863 when regiments from Wisconsin wanted a flag for battlefield use, it wasn't until 1913 that state statutes specified the design of the state flag....
      
      

External links

• Wisconsin State Symbols