[citation needed] The design of the seal was explained in a 1822 newspaper article five days after a law creating the seal was passed:[1] "The arms of the state of Missouri and of the United States, yet separated by a pale, denote the connection existing between the two governments, and show that, although connected by a compact, yet we are independent as to internal concerns; the words surrounding the shield denote the necessity of the Union.

The great grizzly bear being almost peculiar to the Missouri River and its tributaries, and remarkable for its prodigious size, strength, and courage, is borne as the principal charge on our shield.

The star ascending from a cloud to join the constellation shows Missouri surmounting her difficulties and taking her rank among the other states of the Union.

A scroll carries the state motto, Salus populi suprema lex esto, a Latin phrase meaning "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law."

Salus populi suprema lex esto (Latin "Let the good of the people be the supreme law" or "The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law") is found in Cicero's De Legibus (book III, part III, sub.

The Journals of the First Session of the General Assembly show that the members of the House and Senate failed repeatedly in their effort to secure a suitable design for a 'Seal of State.

'[3] "When the Second Session convened November 6, 1821, Governor McNair, in reading his message to the General Assembly, said: 'Considerable inconvenience daily arises from want of a `Seal of State' and I deem it proper to remind you of the necessity of supplying the deficiency at the present session.'

She suggests that Burckhartt wrote the description of the seal and that Wells drafted or drawn the initial design.

Only late 20th century and later state seal renderings, in color, show grizzly bears.