Happy 4th of July. With the country awash in patriotic flags, lady liberty and various ornaments to celebrate the birth of the United States of America, I am reminded of how the Bald Eagle became our nation's symbol.
Our founding fathers favored the Bald Eagle (above) for its strength, fierce demeanor and freedom of nature, in spite of Benjamin Franklin’s objection. Franklin’s choice was the Wild Turkey (below) as he felt that our new nation needed a symbol that was capable of chasing the British away from any farm field and not one that was intimidated by smaller birds.In 1782 a congressional vote chose the Bald Eagle as National Bird of the United States of America, by one vote! As we know, the runner-up got relegated to the dinner table at Thanksgiving.
all photos © adrian binns
2 comments: