Seal of The President of The United States - Misconception

Misconception

Many people erroneously believe that the seal is changed during times of war, so that the eagle faces the arrows in its left talon. This belief may have arisen because major changes to the seal have coincidentally been made before or after wars – specifically, the 1945 change in the seal, and also the 1916 change in the flag (though not the seal) from the right-facing Great Seal to the left-facing presidential seal.

This misconception could also have arisen from a comment made by Winston Churchill, who (regarding Truman's redesign of the seal) joked: "Mr. President, with the greatest respect, I would prefer the American eagle's neck to be on a swivel so that it could face the olive branches or the arrows, as the occasion might demand".

Also furthering this misconception was an episode of The West Wing entitled "What Kind of Day Has It Been?", aired in 2000. Character Admiral Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, observed that the presidential seal in the center of the Oval Office carpet contained a shield bearing a bald eagle clutching the olive branch in its right talons and arrows in its left. The eagle's head was turned toward the olive branch. Fitzwallace mentioned that in times of war, the Seal is replaced with one in which the eagle's head is turned toward the arrows. This is inaccurate.

The Dan Brown novel Deception Point further perpetuates this misconception with a passage that implies the presidential seal embroidered on the carpet in the White House Oval Office is changed by White House workers. The novel states that one carpet is stored in the basement of the White House, and the workers simply swap the carpets overnight when no one notices.