Collection Items
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ArticleJoseph Brant Joseph Thayendaneken, The Mohawk Chief. Artist unknown. Mixed method, in The London Magazine, July 1776. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-45500. [Thayendanegea] (1742-1807) Mohawk Indian Thayendanegea, also known as Joseph Brant, was sent to a charity school at an early age. Chosen to serve as an interpreter to Native Americans for a British missionary, he was soon recommended to the... -
ArticleJoseph Reed J. Reed (1741-1785). Benoit Louis Prevost (1735-1804). Engraving, 1781. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-45178. (1741-1785) In their desperation to prevent an alliance between France and America, British commissioners began to send letters to individual American statesmen, offering pardons and honors to those who helped bring the rebelling colonies home to their mother country. One recipient of such a letter,... -
ArticleRelations with Native Americans [Detail] A Sachem of the Abenakee Nation, Rescuing an English Officer from the Indians [Detail]. Artist unknown. Woodcut, in Boston Almanack, 1768. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-45552. Before permanently settling the western territories, the United States had to consider the presence of Native Americans already living on these lands. Great Britain may have agreed to give the United States... -
ArticleCharles Pinckney Charles Pinckney (1757-1824). Artist unknown. Engraving, undated. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-6088. (1757-1824) A native of South Carolina, Charles Pinckney fought in the Revolutionary War, and was captured while defending Charleston. Handsome, vain, and ambitious, Pinckney lied about his age to fellow delegates at the Constitutional Convention; anxious to be the youngest delegate, the thirty-year-old Pinckney said that he... -
ArticleGeneral Charles Lee Major Gnl. Charles Lee (1731-1782). B. Rashbrooke (dates unknown) delin, Alexander Hay Ritchie (1822-1895) sculp. Mixed method, undated. (1731-1782) The eccentric General Charles Lee was known for his slovenly appearance, and coarse language, and was rarely seen without his dogs. -
ArticleRufus King Rufus King (1755-1827). Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827). Oil on canvas, c. 1818. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-6061. (1755-1827) During the Revolutionary War, Rufus King divided his time between studying and fighting; by war's end, he had served as a soldier in Rhode Island, and established a law practice in Massachusetts. -
ArticleEdmund Randolph Edmund Randolph (1753-1813). John Angel James Wilcox (b. 1835). Engraving, undated. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-40627. (1753-1813) Edmund Randolph's family was prominent in Virginia for generations; young Edmund was introduced to many of the most influential men of his time at the family dinner table. -
ArticleEsek Hopkins Commodore Hopkins, Commander in Chief of the American Fleet, (1718-1802). C. Corbutt (dates unknown). Mezzotint, 1776. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-19219. (1718-1802) Esek Hopkins grew up on a farm in Rhode Island, but soon became a sailor like his brothers before him. Energetic, outspoken, and aggressive, Hopkins was a successful sea captain, whose travels took him around the world. -
ArticleJames Monroe James Monroe (1758 - 1831). Artist unknown. Engraving, 1857. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ61-186. (1758 - 1831) James Monroe was a somewhat ordinary man in an age of giants; yet, he had a gift for cultivating the friendship of the influential and gifted. Becoming friendly with Virginia's Governor Thomas Jefferson at an early age, Monroe studied law under the... -
ArticleArthur St. Clair Major General Arthur St. Clair (1736-1818). Edward Wellmore (fl. 1834-1867). Engraving, undated. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-16736. (1736-1818) Born in Scotland, Arthur St. Clair unsuccessfully studied anatomy before deciding to enlist in the British army. During the Revolutionary War, St. Clair fought for the Americans, but failed so miserably in defending Fort Ticonderoga that Congress recalled him from service... -
ArticleCharles Thomson Charles Thompson Esqr. Secretary to Congress. Pierre Eugène du Simitiére (1736-1784). Engraving, in Portraits of the Generals, Ministers, Magistrates, Members of Congress & others, 1783. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-44786. (1729-1824) Charles Thomson, Philadelphia merchant and politician, was active in colonial resistance against Britain for decades. Although Pennsylvania conservatives kept him from being elected a delegate to the Continental... -
ArticleGeneral George Washington General Washington (1732-1799). Painted by John Trumbull (1756-1843). Engraved by Valentine Green (1739-1813). Mezzotint, 1781. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-45197. (1732-1799) During his lifetime, George Washington was admired, respected, and praised to a degree unmatched by any other figure in American history. With America's victory in the Revolutionary War, many gave General George Washington most of the credit for... -
ArticleGouverneur Morris Governeer Morris Esqr. (1752-1816) R. Wilkinson (dates unknown). Mixed method, in Portraits of the Generals, 1783. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-45482. (1752-1816) Well-educated Gouverneur Morris came from a family with firm British loyalties; his mother was overjoyed when British troops captured New York, and his half-brother was a major general in the British army. -
ArticleJames Wilson James Wilson (1742-1798). Max Rosenthal (1833-1918). Engraving, 1890. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-6065. (1742-1798) Scottish-born James Wilson was renowned for his legal and political knowledge. When he served as a delegate in the Constitutional Convention, a fellow delegate characterized him by saying: "Government seems to have been his peculiar study, all the political institutions of the world he knows... -
ArticleMajor John André The Unfortunate Death of Major André. William Hamilton (1751-1801) delin, John Goldar (1729-1795) sculp. Mixed method, 1783. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-52. British Major John André was one of the most famous prisoners of the Revolutionary War. A favorite of British General Sir Henry Clinton, the handsome young major was also popular with Philadelphia "high society;" intelligent and witty,... -
ArticleMary Katherine Goddard Drawn by William Strickland (1788-1854). Engraved by Hugh Anderson (fl. 1811-1853). Engraving, in The Cyclopedia, Abraham Rees, 1813. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-50454. (1736-1816) When Mary Katherine Goddard began managing her brother William's new Baltimore newspaper, the Maryland Journal, in February 1774, she already had a decade of experience in the printing trade. Although William Goddard's name was associated... -
ArticleWilliam Blount William Blount (1749-1800). Artist unknown. Engraving, undated. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-6096A. (1749-1800) North Carolinian William Blount fought in the Revolutionary War, and remained in public service for the rest of his career. A delegate in both the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, he was described by a fellow delegate as "no speaker, nor does he possess any... -
ArticleHenry Knox Henry Knox (1750 - 1806). Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828). Oil on canvas, c. 1805. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-D416-511. (1750-1806) Robust Henry Knox had a lifelong interest in the military. Born in Boston, Knox enlisted in a local military company at the age of eighteen; eventually promoted to major general in the Continental Army, he took part in most of... -
ArticleJames Madison James Madison (1751-1836). Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827). Bust Portrait Miniature, 1783. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-4097. (1751-1836) Born into a respectable family of Virginia planters, Madison demonstrated intellectual gifts at an early age. He attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) for three years, continuing his studies even after he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in... -
ArticleJohn Dunlap Constitution of the United States. In The Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, September 19, 1787. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-58266. (1747-1812) A native of Ireland, Dunlap arrived in Philadelphia in 1757, apprenticed to his uncle to learn the printing trade. In 1768 Dunlap acquired his uncle's shop, and in 1771 he began publishing a weekly newspaper, The Pennsylvania Packet,... -
ArticleNew York City Federal Hall, The Seat of Congress. Amos Doolittle (1754-1832). Engraving, 1790. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-333. The New Capital City The location of America's new capital city sparked heated debates. As Congressman John Francis Mercer of Maryland remarked, Congress was "always more anxious about where we shall sit, than what we shall do." The capital would be the most... -
ArticleRichard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794). Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827). Oil on canvas, c. 1784. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-92331. (1732-1794) Virginian Richard Henry Lee was a born aristocrat. An active participant in many key events in the Revolutionary War, Lee protested the Stamp Act in Virginia (1765), sat on the committee that named George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army... -
ArticleThe Board of Treasury Arthur Lee (1740-1792). Henry Bryan Hall (1808-1884). Engraving, 1869. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-2741. During the Revolutionary War, America's finances were administered by the joint efforts of a Board of Treasury and a congressional Committee of Finance. In 1781, striving for efficiency, the Continental Congress appointed a single officer - - the Superintendent of Finance -- to replace the... -
ArticleBenjamin Franklin D. Benjamin Franklin. Johann Elias Haid (d. 1809). Mezzotint, 1780. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-45185. (1706-1790) Benjamin Franklin gave over sixty years of his life to public service, but he never turned his back on his trade -- printing. Apprenticed to a Boston printer at the age of twelve, his talent and ambition drove him to Philadelphia after five... -
ArticleThomas Jefferson [Detail] Signing of the Declaration of Independence. John Trumbull (1756-1843). Oil on canvas, c. 1819. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-19296. (1743-1826) Virginian Thomas Jefferson was one of the youngest members of the Continental Congress, but upon his arrival in 1775 he already had a reputation as a fine writer.