[Alberta's Child]

LOL. I got confused because I've got an image in my mind of what might be a different U.S. emblem. Is there an emblem of a U.S. cabinet-level department that has a similar eagle, but holding a long olive branch that extends from one claw to the other and curls up on either side of the eagle?

Maybe I'm just going nuts -- I must be thinking of a Dutch emblem with a dove holding marijuana leaves.

[jae471]

I did a search. Between about 1914 and 1946, the Presidental Seal had the eagle facing the arrows, but the Great Seal had the eagle facing the olive branch. In 1946, the Presidential Seal underwent a redesign by a Truman Exec. Order, which, among other things, made the Presidential Seal's eagle head consistent with the Great Seal, i.e. always facing the olive branch.

The timings of the changes (start of WWI and end of WWII) are merely coincidental.