Lowe, who, with every other gentleman of refinement, cannot but regret the bad taste that conceived and adopted the conglomerate devices of our present 'Great Seal'.

Concerned about portraying members of the Iowa National Guard in a poor light, in 2010 Rep. Ray Zirkelbach, a state legislator, recommended changing the text "the citizen soldier, with a plow in his rear" to "the citizen soldier, standing in front of a plow” because "in his rear" is considered a malapropism.

"The Seal of Iowa contains the following simple device: An Eagle In the attitude of flight grasping in its dexter talon a Bow and holding in its beak an arrow.

According to the originator of the seal, territorial secretary William B. Conway, "It is regarded as perfectly expressive of a distinct idea, intimately associated with the history of the delightful country which we have the happiness to inhabit...

The slightest examination of the seal will disclose to the Honorable Council the eagle, the proud and appropriate emblem of our national power, bearing in its beak an Indian arrow, and clutching in its talons an unstrung bow; and while the idea thus delicately evolved is so well calculated to make the eye glisten with patriotic pride, and cause the heart to beat high with the pulsations of conscious superiority, it nevertheless presents a touching appeal to our manly sensibilities.