United States heraldry

Heraldry in the United States of America was first established by European settlers who brought with them the heraldic customs of their respective countries of origin. As the use of coats of arms may be seen as a custom of royalty and nobility, it has been debated whether the use of arms is reconcilable with American republican traditions. However, George Washington had said that "heraldry is not incompatible with the purest ideals of republicanism". Several of the "founding fathers" also employed personal arms and a great number of Americans continue to do so.

Most states do not employ coats of arms, but have chosen to use seals as their official emblems, but the United States has a coat of arms. The U.S. Constitution prohibits federal and state governments from conferring titles of nobility (see Title of Nobility Clause) and there are few noble coats of arms in the country. However private persons, including several past presidents, employ coats of arms either granted to them, or which they inherited. Since there is no official regulation on arms, except for the official seals, badges, insignia, decorations and medals of the country and the states, many private individuals have assumed arms, in addition to those who inherited them, or had them granted by or registered in another country. There is one anomalous exception to this lack of regulation: the coat of arms of the Swiss Confederation is specifically protected from unauthorized use within the U.S., under penalty of a fine and/or imprisonment for up to six months.

Heraldic and other military symbols have been used by the military forces as well as other organizational elements of the government since the beginning of the Revolution. However, until 1919, there was no coordinated, overall military symbolism program. In that year, within the War Department General Staff, an office was delegated the responsibility for the coordination and approval of coats of arms and insignia of certain Army organizations. In 1924, formal staff responsibility for specific military designs was delegated to The Quartermaster General. As the needs for symbolism by the military services and the national government expanded, the scope of the services furnished by The Quartermaster General’s Office evolved into a sizable heraldic program. The acceleration of activities brought about by World War II, the expansion of the Army, and subsequent increase of interest in symbolism, contributed to the growth of the program. In 1949, the Munitions Board, acting for the Army, Navy and Air Force, directed the Army to provide heraldic services to all military departments. The program was expanded further as a result of the enactment of Public Law 85-263, approved September 1957, 71 Stat. 589, which delineates the authority of the Secretary of the Army to furnish heraldic services to the military departments and other branches of the federal government.

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