American Eagle as a Phoenix
Of course debunking is a always done when secrets start coming out
The eagle was not first a phoenix. Both an eagle and a phoenix appear together in the design suggested by the third Great Seal committee. And the phoenix was an appropriate, positive symbol "emblematical of the expiring Liberty of Britain, revived by her Descendants, in America."
The bird that Ben Franklin wanted for the American symbol was the Wild Turkey! Wild Turkey makes a great whiskey, now.
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