File:Delaware state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg scheduled for POTD

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Hello! This is to let editors know that the featured picture File:Delaware state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg, which is used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for December 7, 2020. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2020-12-07. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 13:27, 22 November 2020 (UTC)Reply

 

This historical depiction of the coat of arms of Delaware was illustrated by American engraver Henry Mitchell in State Arms of the Union, published in 1876 by Louis Prang. A Mid-Atlantic state, Delaware ratified the Constitution of the United States on December 7, 1787, becoming the first state to do so. The shield depicts a wheat sheaf, a corn cob and an ox, representing the importance of agriculture to the state's economy, with the blue horizontal stripe referring to the Delaware River. The ship in the crest is a symbol of the state's extensive coastal commerce, while the shield's supporters are a farmer with a hoe (again representing the central role of farming to the state) and a militiaman (recognizing the crucial role of the citizen-soldier to the maintenance of American liberties). The motto, Liberty and independence, was provided by the Society of the Cincinnati.

Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Andrew Shiva