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Template:POTD/2020-12-07

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Coat of arms of Delaware
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