Eagle facts

History

At one of the first battles of the Revolution, early in the morning, the noise of the battle awoke the eagles. The eagles flew from their nests and circling and crying out over the heads of the men that were fighting. "They are shrieking for Freedom," said the patriots. 1

The bald eagle is a symbol of freedom. In 1782 it was chosen as the American National Bird. Also in 1782 the eagle became the central figure in the official national seal. The designer originally drew in the golden eagle, but since the golden eagle lives in both Europe and America the American bald eagle was used instead. The Great Seal shows a wide-spread eagle, faced front, having on his breast a shield with thirteen perpendicular red and white stripes, surmounted by a blue field with the same number of stars.
The bald eagle is the emblem of twelve states and is the symbol of many companies and organizations across the country. On the backs of our gold coins, the silver dollar, the half dollar and the quarter, we see an eagle with it's wings spread out.
Not all people wanted the bald eagle to be chosen as the national bird. Some felt it was a bad choice. Benjamin Franklin wrote:

I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him... Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest...of America.... For a truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America...
a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on. 2

If the turkey had been chosen as the national bird do you think that we would be eating turkey for Thanksgiving? What do you think? Click here to vote.
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1, 2. www.baldeagleinfo.com/eagle/eagle9.hmtl