Biden’s signature officially designates the bald eagle as America’s national bird

The bald eagle has officially been declared the national bird of the United States through a bill signed by President Joe Biden. Despite being at the center of the Great Seal of the United States, the bald eagle was never formally recognized as the country’s official bird. Founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were unable to come to an agreement on a national seal design, but in 1782, Charles Thomson submitted a version featuring a bald eagle, which was approved. Preston Cook, a Minnesota resident with a lifelong obsession with the bald eagle, wrote a draft bill and sent it to lawmakers, leading to the inclusion of the bald eagle as the national bird in the U.S. Code. Sen. Amy Klobuchar led the bipartisan effort to pass the bill unanimously in the Senate, followed by no opposition in the House. Cook expressed that this correction in history was necessary to make things right and align with the symbolism of the bald eagle in American culture. The bald eagle’s designation as the national bird comes almost 250 years after the founding of the United States.

Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com