1.
Colonial history of the United States
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The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European settlements from the start of colonization until their incorporation into the United States. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain, small early attempts often disappeared, such as the English Lost Colony of Roanoke. Everywhere, the rate was very high among the first arrivals. Nevertheless, successful colonies were established several decades. European settlers came from a variety of social and religious groups, few aristocrats settled permanently, but a number of adventurers, soldiers, farmers, and tradesmen arrived. They built colonies with distinctive social, religious, political, non-British colonies were taken over and most of the inhabitants were assimilated, unlike in Nova Scotia, where the British expelled the French Acadian inhabitants. There were no civil wars among the 13 colonies. The colonies developed legalized systems of slavery, based largely in the Atlantic slave trade from Africa or by way of the Caribbean, Wars were recurrent between the French and the British—the French and Indian Wars especially—and involved French support for Native American attacks on the British frontiers. By 1760, France was defeated and the British seized its colonies, on the eastern seaboard of what became the United States, the four distinct British regions were, New England, the Middle Colonies, the Chesapeake Bay Colonies, and the Lower South. Some historians add a fifth region of the Frontier which was never separately organized, see timeline of Colonial America for list of historical events. Colonizers came from European kingdoms that had highly developed military, naval, governmental and these efforts were managed respectively by the Casa de Contratación and the Casa da Índia. England, France, and the Netherlands had also started colonies in both the West Indies and North America and they had the ability to build ocean-worthy ships but did not have as strong a history of colonization in foreign lands as did Portugal and Spain. However, English entrepreneurs gave their colonies a foundation of merchant-based investment that seemed to need much less government support, initially, matters concerning the colonies were dealt with primarily by the Privy Council and its committees. The Commission of Trade was set up in 1625 as the first special body convened to advise on colonial questions, mercantilism was the basic policy imposed by Britain on its colonies from the 1660s. The goal of mercantilism was to run trade surpluses, so that gold, the government took its share through duties and taxes, with the remainder going to merchants in Britain. The government spent much of its revenue on a superb Royal Navy which protected the British colonies, thus, the British Navy captured New Amsterdam in 1664. The colonies were captive markets for British industry, and the goal was to enrich the mother country, the prospect of religious persecution by authorities of the crown and the Church of England prompted a significant number of colonization efforts. People fleeing persecution by King Charles I were responsible for settling most of New England, anonymous Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to map the future eastern seaboard of the U. S. from New York to Florida, as documented in the Cantino planisphere of 1502
2.
Engraving
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Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it. Wood engraving is a form of printing and is not covered in this article. Engraving was an important method of producing images on paper in artistic printmaking, in mapmaking. Other terms often used for printed engravings are copper engraving, copper-plate engraving or line engraving, hand engraving is a term sometimes used for engraving objects other than printing plates, to inscribe or decorate jewellery, firearms, trophies, knives and other fine metal goods. Traditional engravings in printmaking are also engraved, using just the same techniques to make the lines in the plate. Each graver is different and has its own use, engravers use a hardened steel tool called a burin, or graver, to cut the design into the surface, most traditionally a copper plate. Modern professional engravers can engrave with a resolution of up to 40 lines per mm in high grade work creating game scenes, dies used in mass production of molded parts are sometimes hand engraved to add special touches or certain information such as part numbers. In addition to engraving, there are engraving machines that require less human finesse and are not directly controlled by hand. They are usually used for lettering, using a pantographic system, there are versions for the insides of rings and also the outsides of larger pieces. Such machines are used for inscriptions on rings, lockets. Gravers come in a variety of shapes and sizes that yield different line types, the burin produces a unique and recognizable quality of line that is characterized by its steady, deliberate appearance and clean edges. The angle tint tool has a curved tip that is commonly used in printmaking. Florentine liners are flat-bottomed tools with multiple lines incised into them, ring gravers are made with particular shapes that are used by jewelry engravers in order to cut inscriptions inside rings. Flat gravers are used for work on letters, as well as wriggle cuts on most musical instrument engraving work, remove background. Knife gravers are for line engraving and very deep cuts, round gravers, and flat gravers with a radius, are commonly used on silver to create bright cuts, as well as other hard-to-cut metals such as nickel and steel. Square or V-point gravers are typically square or elongated diamond-shaped and used for cutting straight lines, V-point can be anywhere from 60 to 130 degrees, depending on purpose and effect. These gravers have very small cutting points, other tools such as mezzotint rockers, roulets and burnishers are used for texturing effects. Burnishing tools can also be used for stone setting techniques
3.
Wood engraving
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Wood engraving is a printmaking and letterpress printing technique, in which an artist works an image or matrix of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively low pressure. By contrast, ordinary engraving, like etching, uses a metal plate for the matrix, and is printed by the method, where the ink fills the valleys. As a result, wood engravings deteriorate less quickly than copper-plate engravings, Thomas Bewick developed the wood engraving technique at the end of the 18th century. His work differed from earlier woodcuts in two key ways, first, rather than using woodcarving tools such as knives, Bewick used an engravers burin. With this, he could create thin delicate lines, often creating large areas in the composition. Second, wood engraving traditionally uses the woods end grain—while the older technique used the side grain. The resulting increased hardness and durability facilitated more detailed images, wood-engraved blocks could be used on conventional printing presses, which were going through rapid mechanical improvements during the first quarter of the 19th century. The blocks were made the same height as, and composited alongside, the combination of this new wood engraving method and mechanized printing drove a rapid expansion of illustrations in the 19th century. Further, advances in stereotype let wood-engravings be reproduced onto metal, by the mid-19th century, many wood engravings rivaled copperplate engravings. In 15th and 16th-century Europe, woodcuts were a technique in printmaking and printing. They were still made for printing press work such as newspapers or almanacs. The beginnings of modern wood engraving techniques developed at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, Bewick generally engraved harder woods, such as boxwood, rather than the woods used in woodcuts, and he engraved the ends of blocks instead of the side. Finding a woodcutting knife not suitable for working against the grain in harder woods, Bewick used a burin, from the beginning of the nineteenth century Bewicks techniques gradually came into wider use, especially in Britain and the United States. Alexander Anderson introduced the technique to the United States, Bewicks work impressed him, so he reverse engineered and imitated Bewicks technique—using metal until he learned that Bewick used wood. This was, in ways a unnatural application, since engravers had to cut away almost all the surface of the block to produce the printable lines of the artists drawing. Nonetheless, it became the most common use of wood engraving, in the United States, wood-engraved publications also began to take hold, such as Harpers Weekly. A single design was divided into a grid, and each worked on a square
4.
Steel engraving
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Steel engraving is a technique for printing illustrations based on steel instead of copper. It has been used in artistic printmaking, although it was much used for reproductions in the 19th century. Steel engraving was introduced in 1792 by Jacob Perkins, an American inventor, for banknote printing, the new technique only partially replaced the other commercial techniques of that time such as woodcut, wood engraving, copper engraving and later lithography. All the illustrations in the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1911 are steel engravings, Engraving is done with a burin, which is a small bar of hardened steel with a sharp point. It is pushed along the plate to produce thin furrowed lines and this is followed by the use of a scraper to remove any burs, since they would be an impediment during the subsequent inking process. Steel plates are very hard for this technique, which is used on softer copper plates. So steel engraving also used etching, where acid creates the lines in the plates in the pattern made by removing a thin coating of acid-resistant ground by tools. Roulettes of different types were used together with the burin and needle to create densely packed marks which appear as tonal to the eye, true burin engraving was generally used to finish the etched image. First a broad, general outline is made on the plate before starting the detailed image, Engraving will produce a printed reverse or mirror image of the image on the plate. Steel plates can be hardened to ensure that they can print thousands of times with little wear. From about 1860 the steel-facing of copper plates became widely used and it can be very difficult to distinguish between engravings on steel and steel-faced copper, other than by date. The most reliable way of distinguishing between unfaced copper engraving and steel or steel-faced engraving is the lightness and delicacy of the lines in the latter. Until around 1820 copper plates were the medium used for engraving. Copper, being a metal, was easy to carve or engrave. Engravers then reworked a worn plate by retracing the previous engraving to sharpen the image again, another advantage to using copper is that it is a soft metal and can be corrected or updated with a reasonable amount of effort. For this reason, copper plates were the medium of printing for mapmakers. During the 1820s steel began to copper as the preferred medium of commercial publishers for illustration. Steel engraving produced plates with shaper, harder, more distinct lines, also, the harder steel plates produced much longer wearing dies that could strike thousands of copies before they would need any repair or refurbishing engraving
5.
Paul Revere
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Paul Revere was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, and a Patriot in the American Revolution. He is best known for alerting the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem, Paul Reveres Ride. Revere was a prosperous and prominent Boston silversmith, who helped organize an intelligence, finally in 1800 he became the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels. Revere was born in the North End of Boston on December 21,1734, according to the Old Style calendar then in use, or January 1,1735, in the modern calendar. His father, a French Huguenot born Apollos Rivoire, came to Boston at the age of 13 and was apprenticed to the silversmith John Coney. By the time he married Deborah Hitchborn, a member of a long-standing Boston family that owned a shipping wharf, in 1729. Their son, Paul Revere, was the third of 12 children, Revere grew up in the environment of the extended Hitchborn family, and never learned his fathers native language. At 13 he left school and became an apprentice to his father, the silversmith trade afforded him connections with a cross-section of Boston society, which would serve him well when he became active in the American Revolution. As for religion, although his father attended Puritan services, Revere was drawn to the Church of England, Revere eventually began attending the services of the political and provocative Jonathan Mayhew at the West Church. His father did not approve, and as a result father, Revere relented and returned to his fathers church, although he did become friends with Mayhew, and returned to the West Church in the late 1760s. Reveres father died in 1754, when Paul was legally too young to officially be the master of the silver shop. In February 1756, during the French and Indian War, he enlisted in the provincial army, possibly he made this decision because of the weak economy, since army service promised consistent pay. He did not stay long in the army, but returned to Boston, on August 4,1757, he married Sarah Orne, their first child was born eight months later. He and Sarah had eight children, but two died young, and only one, Mary, survived her father, business was so poor that an attempt was made to attach his property in late 1765. To help make ends meet he took up dentistry, a skill set he was taught by a practicing surgeon who lodged at a friends house. One client was Doctor Joseph Warren, a physician and political opposition leader with whom Revere formed a close friendship. Revere and Warren, in addition to having common political views, were both active in the same local Masonic lodges. Although Revere was not one of the Loyal Nine—organizers of the earliest protests against the Stamp Act—he was well connected with its members, Revere did not participate in some of the more raucous protests, such as the attack on the home of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson
6.
Province of Massachusetts Bay
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The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in British North America and, from 1776, one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7,1691, by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The charter took effect on May 14,1692, and included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, the Province of Maine, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The modern Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the successor, Maine has been a separate U. S. state since 1820. The name Massachusetts comes from the Massachusett, an Algonquian tribe, the name has been translated as at the great hill, at the place of large hills, or at the range of hills, with reference to the Blue Hills, and in particular, Great Blue Hill. Colonial settlement of the shores of Massachusetts Bay began in 1620 with the founding of the Plymouth Colony, over the next ten years there was a major migration of Puritans to the area, leading to the founding of a number of new colonies in New England. By the 1680s the number of colonies had stabilized at five, in addition to Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay was the most populous and economically significant, housing a sizable merchant fleet. The colonies at times struggled against the Indian population, which had suffered a decline in population prior to the arrival of the first permanent settlers. In the 1630s the Pequot tribe was destroyed, and King Philips War in the 1670s resulted in the expulsion, pacification. The latter war was costly to the colonists of New England. Massachusetts and Plymouth were both somewhat politically independent from England in their days, but this situation changed after the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660. Charles sought closer oversight of the colonies, and to introduce and enforce economic control over their activities, the Navigation Acts passed in the 1660s were widely disliked in Massachusetts, where merchants often found themselves trapped and at odds with the rules. These issues and others led to the revocation of the first Massachusetts Charter in 1684, when James was deposed in the 1688 Glorious Revolution, Massachusetts political leaders conspired against Andros, arresting him and other English authorities in April 1689. This led to the collapse of the Dominion, as the other colonies then quickly reasserted their old forms of government, the Plymouth colony had never had a royal charter, so its governance had always been on a somewhat precarious footing. Massachusetts, however, was placed into constitutional anarchy by the uprising, provincial agents traveled to London where Increase Mather, representing the old colony leaders, petitioned new rulers William and Mary to restore the old colonial charter. When King William learned that this result in a return to the predominantly entrenched religious rule. Instead, the Lords of Trade decided to solve two problems at once by combining the two colonies, accordingly, on October 7,1691, they issued a charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and appointed Sir William Phips its governor. Although the effect of change has been subject to debate among historians
7.
John Coney (silversmith)
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John Coney was an early American silversmith and goldsmith from Boston, Massachusetts. From the 1690s on, Coney was considered the most important Bostonian silversmith of his day, in 1702, he engraved the paper money for Massachusetts. Coney also designed a version of the seal of Harvard College, John Coney was the apprentice of and later brother-in-law to Jeremiah Dummer, the first American-born silversmith. He married Mary Atwater, sister of Dummers wife, in 1694 and they were widower and widow, Coney was married twice before. He had twelve children in total, but only five daughters survived beyond infancy and his last apprentice, from 1716 until the time of Coneys death, was Apollos Rivoire, father of Paul Revere, and his indirect influence on Revere was considerable. Other apprentices included the brothers Samuel and John Gray, early silversmiths from Connecticut, many examples of his work, including two sugar boxes and two chocolate pots, are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Other sites containing Coneys work include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Birmingham Museum of Art, a silver plate by Coney was sold for $324,750 at Sothebys in New York in 2002
8.
Pound sterling
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It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
9.
Benjamin Franklin
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Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a polymath and a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman. As a scientist, he was a figure in the American Enlightenment. As an inventor, he is known for the rod, bifocals. He facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphias fire department and the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin earned the title of The First American for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation, in the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat. To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin the most accomplished American of his age, Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richards Almanack, which he authored under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, after 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the British policies. He pioneered and was first president of The Academy and College of Philadelphia which opened in 1751 and he organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected president in 1769. Franklin became a hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing shipments of crucial munitions from France, during the Revolution, he became the first US Postmaster General. He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, from 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. He initially owned and dealt in slaves but, by the 1750s, he argued against slavery from an economic perspective, Franklins father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler, a soap-maker and a candle-maker. Josiah was born at Ecton, Northamptonshire, England on December 23,1657, the son of Thomas Franklin, a blacksmith-farmer, and Jane White. His mother, Abiah Folger, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on August 15,1667, to Peter Folger, a miller and schoolteacher, and his wife, Mary Morrill, Josiah Franklin had seventeen children with his two wives. He married his first wife, Anne Child, in about 1677 in Ecton and emigrated with her to Boston in 1683, after her death, Josiah was married to Abiah Folger on July 9,1689 in the Old South Meeting House by Samuel Willard. Benjamin, their child, was Josiah Franklins fifteenth child and tenth
10.
Province of Pennsylvania
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The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in English North America by William Penn on March 4,1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II. The name Pennsylvania, which translates roughly as Penns Woods, was created by combining the Penn surname with the Latin word sylvania, the Province of Pennsylvania was one of the two major Restoration colonies, the other being the Province of Carolina. The colonial government, established in 1683 by Penns Frame of Government, consisted of an appointed Governor, the proprietor, a 72-member Provincial Council, and a larger General Assembly. The General Assembly, also known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, was the largest and most representative branch of government, succeeding Frames of Government, also known as the Charter of Privileges, were produced in 1683,1696 and 1701. The fourth Frame remained in effect until the American Revolution and he was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Indians. Under his direction, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed, the province was divided first into 5 counties, plus the three lower counties on Delaware Bay. Philadelphia County is present-day Philadelphia City, montgomery County was west of Bucks and northwest of Philadelphia, and extended along the Schuylkill River to the area presently known as Minersville, in Schuylkill County. Chester County extended along the border of Pennsylvania from Marcus Hook to the western border of the province. The remainder of the province, which is now North Central and their borders remain unchanged to this day. William Penn and his fellow Quakers heavily imprinted their religious values on the early Pennsylvanian government, the Charter of Privileges extended religious freedom to everyone monotheists and government was initially open to all Christians. Until the French and Indian War Pennsylvania had no military, few taxes, among the first groups were the Mennonites, who founded Germantown in 1683, and the Amish, who established the Northkill Amish Settlement in 1740. 1751 was an year for the colony. Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the British American colonies, and The Academy and College of Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin founded both of these institutions along with Philadelphias Union Fire Company fifteen years earlier in 1736. Likewise in 1751, the Pennsylvania State House ordered a new bell which would become known as the Liberty Bell for the new tower being built in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. William Penn had mandated fair dealings with Native Americans and this led to significantly better relations with the local Native tribes than most other colonies had. The Quakers had previously treated Indians with respect, bought land from them voluntarily, according to Voltaire, the Shackamaxon Treaty was the only treaty between Indians and Christians that was never sworn to and that was never broken. The Quakers also refused to provide any assistance to New Englands Indian wars, in 1737, the Colony exchanged a great deal of its political goodwill with the native Lenape for more land. This purchase has become known as the Walking Purchase, although the document was most likely a forgery, the Lenape did not realize that
11.
Massachusetts
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It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named for the Massachusett tribe, which inhabited the area. The capital of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England is Boston, over 80% of Massachusetts population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution, during the 20th century, Massachusetts economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance. Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, in 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of Americas most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, in 1786, Shays Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic World, in the late 18th century, Boston became known as the Cradle of Liberty for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution. The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a commercial and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, in the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams, both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Massachusetts public school students place among the top nations in the world in academic performance, the official name of the state is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While this designation is part of the official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has the position and powers within the United States as other states. Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses, and tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. Between 1617 and 1619, smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans, the first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, arrived via the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag people. This was the second successful permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, the event known as the First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World which lasted for three days
12.
Province of New Hampshire
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The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later of Great Britain. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America and it was formally organized as an English royal colony on October 7,1691, during the period of English colonization. The charter was enacted May 14,1692, by William and Mary, the territory is now the U. S. state of New Hampshire, and was named after the county of Hampshire in southern England by Captain John Mason, its first named proprietor. First settled in the 1620s, the province consisted for many years of a number of communities along the seacoast. In 1641 the communities came under the government of the neighboring Massachusetts Bay Colony, after a brief period as a separate province, the territory was absorbed into the Dominion of New England in 1686. The Dominion collapsed in 1689, and the New Hampshire communities again came under Massachusetts rule until a charter was issued in 1691 by William. Between 1699 and 1741 the provinces governors were also commissioned as governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1741, Benning Wentworth was appointed governor solely of New Hampshire. These disputes resulted in the formation of the state of Vermont. The provinces economy was dominated by timber and fishing, the timber trade, although lucrative, was a subject of conflict with the crown, which sought to reserve the best trees for use as ship masts. The province was at first not strongly in favor of independence, after Governor John Wentworth fled the province in August 1775, the inhabitants adopted a constitution in early 1776. Independence as part of the United States was confirmed with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, prior to English colonization, the area that is now northeastern New England was populated by bands of the Abenaki, who lived in sometimes-large villages of longhouses. The seacoast was explored in the years of the 17th century by English and French explorers, including Samuel de Champlain. These settlers were mostly intending to profit from the local fisheries, Mason and Gorges, neither of whom ever came to New England, divided their claims along the Piscataqua River in 1629. Mason took the territory between the Piscataqua and Merrimack, and called it New Hampshire, after the English county of Hampshire, conflicts between holders of grants issued by Mason and Gorges concerning their boundaries eventually led to a need for more active management. After Mason died in 1635, the colonists and employees of Mason appropriated many of his holdings to themselves, exeter was founded in 1638 by John Wheelwright, after he had been banished from the neighboring Massachusetts Bay Colony for defending the teachings of Anne Hutchinson, his sister-in-law. In the absence of granting authority from anyone associated with the Masons and his party included William Wentworth, whose descendants came to play a major role in colonial history. Around the same time, others unhappy with the strict Puritan rule in Massachusetts settled in Dover, because of a general lack of government, the New Hampshire settlements sought the protection of their larger neighbor to the south, the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1641, they agreed to be governed from Massachusetts, provided the towns retained self-rule
13.
David Rittenhouse
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David Rittenhouse was a renowned American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society and the first director of the United States Mint, Rittenhouse was born in a small village within Philadelphia called Rittenhousetown. This village is located near Germantown, along the stream Paper Mill Run, when his uncle William Rittenhouse died, Rittenhouse inherited his uncles set of carpentry tools and instructional books. Using his uncles tools, he began a career as an inventor, also at a young age, Rittenhouse showed a high level of intelligence by creating a working scale model of his great-grandfather William Rittenhouses paper mill. He built other scale models in his youth, like a working waterwheel and he was self-taught from his familys books, never attended elementary school, and showed great ability in science and mathematics. When Rittenhouse was 13 years of age, he had mastered Isaac Newtons laws of motion, when he was 19, he started a scientific instrument shop at his fathers farm in what is now Valley Forge Medical Center & Hospital, located in East Norriton Township, Pennsylvania. His skill with instruments, particularly clocks, led him to construct two orreries, the first for The College of New Jersey, the second for the College of Philadelphia. Both of these still exist, with each being held by their original recipients, one in the library of the University of Pennsylvania. Astronomers who had been studying the planet Venus chose Rittenhouse to study the path of Venus in 1769. Rittenhouse was the person to study the mysterious planet, as he had a personal observatory on his family farm. His telescope, which he himself, utilized grating intervals. His telescope is similar to some modern-day telescopes. Rittenhouse served on the American Astronomical Society, and this was another factor in being chosen to study Venus, throughout his life he had the honour to serve in many different clubs and committees. In 1768 he was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society and he served as librarian, secretary, and after Benjamin Franklins death in 1790, he became Vice president then served as president of the society until 1796. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts, another one of his interests was the Royal Society of London of which he was a member. It was very rare for an American to be a member of this exclusive British society, in 1786 Rittenhouse built a new Georgian-style house on the corner of 4th and Arch streets in Philadelphia, next to an octagonal observatory he had already built. At this house, he maintained a Wednesday evening salon meeting with Benjamin Franklin, Francis Hopkinson, Pierre Eugene du Simitiere, Thomas Jefferson wrote that he would rather attend one of these meetings than spend a whole week in Paris. He married Eleanor Coulston February 20,1766, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Ester, Eleanor died February 23,1771, at age 35 from complications during the birth of their third baby, who died at birth
14.
Early American currency
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Early American currency went through several stages of development in colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. Because few coins were minted in the thirteen colonies became the United States in 1776. Colonial governments sometimes issued paper money to facilitate economic activity, the British Parliament passed Currency Acts in 1751,1764, and 1773 that regulated colonial paper money. During the American Revolution, the colonies became independent states, freed from British monetary regulations, the Continental Congress also issued paper money during the Revolution, known as Continental currency, to fund the war effort. Both state and Continental currency depreciated rapidly, becoming practically worthless by the end of the war and this depreciation was caused by the government having to over-print in order to meet the demands of war. There were three types of money in the colonies of British America, specie, paper money. Commodity money was used when cash was scarce, commodities such as tobacco, beaver skins, and wampum served as money at various times and places. Cash in the colonies was denominated in pounds, shillings, the value varied from colony to colony, a Massachusetts pound, for example, was not equivalent to a Pennsylvania pound. All colonial pounds were of value than the British pound sterling. The coins in circulation in the colonies were most often of Spanish, the prevalence of the Spanish dollar in the colonies led to the money of the United States being denominated in dollars rather than pounds. One by one, colonies began to issue their own money to serve as a convenient medium of exchange. In 1690, the Province of Massachusetts Bay created the first authorized paper money issued by any government in the Western World and this paper money was issued to pay for a military expedition during King Williams War. Other colonies followed the example of Massachusetts Bay by issuing their own currency in subsequent military conflicts. The paper bills issued by the colonies were known as bills of credit, bills of credit were usually fiat money, they could not be exchanged for a fixed amount of gold or silver coins upon demand. Bills of credit were usually issued by governments to pay debts. The governments would then retire the currency by accepting the bills for payment of taxes, when colonial governments issued too many bills of credit or failed to tax them out of circulation, inflation resulted. This happened especially in New England and the colonies, which. Pennsylvania, however, was responsible in not issuing too much currency, pennsylvanias paper currency, secured by land, was said to have generally maintained its value against gold from 1723 until the Revolution broke out in 1775
15.
Province of New Jersey
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The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U. S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland. The English then renamed the province after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel, the Dutch Republic reasserted control for a brief period in 1673–1674. After that it consisted of two divisions, East Jersey and West Jersey, until they were united as a royal colony in 1702. The original boundaries of the province were slightly larger than the current state, extending into a part of the present state of New York, the Province of New Jersey was originally settled in the 1610s as part of the colony of New Netherland. The surrender of Fort Amsterdam in September 1664 gave control over the entire Mid-Atlantic region to the English as part the Second Anglo-Dutch War and this charter also included parts of present-day Massachusetts, which conflicted with that colonys charter. The charter allowed James traditional propriety rights and imposed few restrictions upon his powers, the Duke of York never visited his colony and exercised little direct control of it. He elected to administer his government through governors, councils, no provision was made for an elected assembly. Later in 1664, the Duke of York gave the part of his new possessions between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to Sir George Carteret in exchange for settlement of a debt, the territory was named after the Island of Jersey, Carterets ancestral home. The other section of New Jersey was sold to Lord Berkeley of Stratton, as a result, Carteret and Berkeley became the two English Lords Proprietors of New Jersey. In return for the land, the settlers were supposed to pay annual fees known as quit-rents, in 1665, Philip Carteret became the first Governor of New Jersey, appointed by the two proprietors. He selected Elizabeth as the capital of New Jersey, immediately, Carteret issued several additional grants of land to landowners. Towns were started and charters granted to Bergen Woodbridge, Piscataway, Shrewsbury, Middletown, the idea of quitrents became increasingly difficult because many of the settlers refused to pay them. Most of them claimed that they owed nothing to the proprietors because they received land from Richard Nicolls and this forced Berkeley to sell West Jersey to John Fenwick and Edward Byllynge, two English Quakers. Many more Quakers made their homes in New Jersey, seeking freedom from English rule. Meanwhile, conflicts began rising in New Jersey, edmund Andros, governor of New York, attempted to gain authority over East Jersey after the death of Proprietor George Carteret in 1680. However, he was unable to remove the position of governorship from Governor Phillip Carteret and subsequently moved to attack him, in addition, quarrels occurred in between Eastern and Western New Jerseyans, between Native Americans and New Jerseyans and between different religious groups. In the largest of these squabbles, the New York-New Jersey Line War some 210,000 acres of land were at stake between New York and New Jersey, the conflict was eventually settled by a royal commission in 1769
16.
Francis Hopkinson
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Francis Hopkinson designed the first official American flag. He was an author, a composer, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey and he served in various roles in the early United States government including as a member of the Continental Congress and chair of the Navy Board. He also served as a judge in Pennsylvania. Francis Hopkinson was born at Philadelphia in 1737, the son of Thomas Hopkinson and he became a member of the first class at the College of Philadelphia in 1751 and graduated in 1757, receiving his masters degree in 1760, and a doctor in law in 1790. He was secretary to a Provincial Council of Pennsylvania Indian commission in 1761 that made a treaty with the Delaware, in 1763, he was appointed customs collector for Salem, New Jersey. Hopkinson spent from May 1766 to August 1767 in England in hopes of becoming commissioner of customs for North America, although unsuccessful, he spent time with the future Prime Minister Lord North, Hopkinsons cousin James Johnson, and the painter Benjamin West. After his return, Hopkinson operated a dry goods business in Philadelphia, Hopkinson obtained a public appointment as a customs collector for New Castle, Delaware on May 1,1772. He moved to Bordentown, New Jersey in 1774, became a member of the New Jersey Provincial Council and he resigned his crown-appointed positions in 1776 and, on June 22, went on to represent New Jersey in the Second Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was appointed to Congress’ Marine Committee in that year and he departed the Congress on November 30,1776 to serve on the Navy Board at Philadelphia. The Board reported to the Marine Committee, Hopkinson later became the Navy Board’s chairman. On September 24,1789, President George Washington nominated Hopkinson to the newly created position of judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and he was confirmed by the United States Senate, and received his commission, on September 26,1789. Only a few years into his service as a federal judge and he was buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. He was the father of Joseph Hopkinson, who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, Hopkinson was the designer of the American flag. He did not get his due in life, at one point, he asked for a quarter cask of wine for his efforts, which he never received. Hopkinson wrote popular airs and political satires in the form of poems, some were widely circulated, and powerfully assisted in arousing and fostering the spirit of political independence that issued in the American Revolution. His principal writings are A Pretty Story, a satire about King George, The Prophecy, and The Political Catechism. Other notable essays are Typographical Method of conducting a Quarrel, Essay on White Washing, many of his writings can be found in Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings, published at Philadelphia in three volumes in 1792. Hopkinson began to play the harpsichord at age seventeen and, during the 1750s, hand-copied arias, songs and he is credited as being the first American born composer to commit a composition to paper with his 1759 composition My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free
17.
United States Statutes at Large
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Each act and resolution of Congress is called a slip law, which is classified as either public law or private law, and designated and numbered accordingly. At the end of a Congress session, slip laws are compiled into Statutes at Large and they are part of a three-part model for publication of federal statutes consisting of slip laws, session laws, and codification. Today, large portions of slip laws denominated as public laws are now drafted as amendments to the United States Code. Once enacted into law, an Act will be published in the Statutes at Large and will add to, modify, provisions of a public law that contains only enacting clauses, effective dates, and similar matters are not generally codified. Private laws also are not generally codified, some portions of the United States Code have been enacted as positive law and other portions have not been so enacted. Publication of the United States Statutes at Large began in 1845 by the firm of Little, Brown. During Little, Brown and Companys time as publisher, Richard Peters, George Minot, in 1874, Congress transferred the authority to publish the Statutes at Large to the Government Printing Office under the direction of the Secretary of State. 633, was enacted July 30,1947 and directed the Secretary of State to compile, edit, index,980, was enacted September 23,1950 and directed the Administrator of General Services to compile, edit, index, and publish the Statutes at Large. Since 1985 the Statutes at Large have been prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register of the National Archives, sometimes very large or long Acts of Congress are published as their own volume of the Statutes at Large. For example, the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was published as volume 68A of the Statutes at Large. Volumes 1 to 18 of the Statutes at Large made available by the Library of Congress Volumes 1 to 64 of the Statutes at Large made available by the Congressional Data Coalition via LEGISWORKS
18.
Demand Note
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A Demand Note is a type of United States paper money that was issued between August 1861 and April 1862 during the American Civil War in denominations of 5,10, and 20 US$. The U. S. government placed the Demand Notes into circulation by using them to pay expenses incurred during the Civil War including the salaries of its workers and military personnel. S. currency today. As a result, most Demand Notes were redeemed, though the few remaining Demand Notes are the oldest valid currency in the United States today, the Demand Notes were a transitional issue connecting these Treasury Notes to modern paper money. The Continental Congress had issued Continental dollars between 1775 and 1779 to help finance the American Revolution, while the constitution did not explicitly grant the power to issue paper currency, it did grant the power to borrow money. Treasury Notes, as a form of debt, were an innovation to help bridge federal financing gaps when the government encountered difficulty selling a sufficient amount of long term bonds, Treasury Notes were first employed during the War of 1812 and were issued irregularly up through the civil war. Characteristically the issues were not extensive and the fiction was always maintained that Treasury Notes did not serve as money when, in fact. These notes usually bore interest, their value varied with market conditions, however, only $3,392,994 were issued, and these were rapidly exchanged for bonds. In witness to the limited circulation achieved by these notes, only two issued uncancelled examples of the Small Treasury Notes are known today vs. almost 1000 examples of the Demand Notes. One response from Congress was the Act of July 17,1861, of this sum, up to $50,000,000 was authorized as non-interest bearing Treasury Notes, payable upon demand, in denominations less than fifty dollars and not less than ten dollars. These were called Demand Notes to distinguish them from the interest-bearing Treasury Notes in existence at the time, the notes were to be redeemable through the assistant treasurers offices at Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. These signature provisions would later be altered several times and this act also stipulated that prior to December 31,1862, an individual Demand Note could be re-issued into circulation after it was presented for redemption. Just before they were to be released, the Act of August 5,1861 and it allowed for Demand Notes to be issued in denominations of not less than $5 and be redeemable through the assistant treasurers office at St. Louis or the bullion depository in Cincinnati. This act also stated that the Treasurer of the United States, under this act, Demand Notes did not need to carry the seal of the U. S. Treasury. Because the Bureau of Engraving and Printing did not exist at the time, both companies were prominent printers of banknotes for private and state-chartered banks throughout the country. Most likely, the American Bank Note Company engraved the plates for $5. All of the Demand Notes were printed by the American Bank Note Company, as designed, they were of the same size, and in appearance closely resembled banknotes. Secretary of the Treasury Chase began distributing the notes to meet Union obligations in August 1861, initially, various merchants, banks and especially the railroad industry accepted the notes at a discounted rate or did not accept them at all. Louis, and at the Depository of Cincinnati and they must be always equivalent to gold, and often and for many purposes more convenient and valuable
19.
National Bank Act
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The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 were two United States federal banking acts that established a system of national banks for banks, and created the United States National Banking System. They encouraged development of a currency backed by bank holdings of U. S. The Act shaped todays national banking system and its support of a uniform U. S. banking policy, after the expiration of the Second Bank of the United States in 1836, the control of banking regimes devolved mostly to the states. Different states adopted policies including a ban on banking, a single state-chartered bank, limited chartering of banks. While the relative success of New Yorks free banking laws led a number of states to adopt a free-entry banking regime. Though all banknotes were denominated in dollars, notes would often circulate at a steep discount in states beyond their issue. In addition, there were well-publicized frauds arising in states like Michigan, the perception of dangerous wildcat banking, along with the poor integration of the U. S. banking system, led to increasing public support for a uniform national banking regime. The United States Government, on the hand, still had limited taxation capabilities. In 1846, the Polk Administration created a United States Treasury system that moved public funds from banks to Treasury branches in order to fund the Mexican–American War. However, without a currency, the revenue generated this way was limited. Many thought this promise backing the bills was about as good as the green ink printed on one side, hence the name greenbacks. The Second Legal Tender Act, enacted July 11,1862, a Joint Resolution of Congress, the largest amount of greenbacks outstanding at any one time was calculated as $447,300,203.10. The National Banking Act, originally known as the National Currency Act, was passed in the Senate by a 23–21 vote, the main goal of this act was to create a single national currency and to eradicate the problem of notes from multiple banks circulating simultaneously. The Act established national banks that could issue notes which were backed by the United States Treasury, the quantity of notes that a bank was allowed to issue was proportional to the banks level of capital deposited with the Comptroller of the Currency at the Treasury. To further control the currency, the Act taxed notes issued by state and local banks, the National Banking Act of 1863 was superseded by the National Banking Act of 1864 just one year later. The new act also established federally-issued bank charters, which took banking out of the hands of state governments, before the act, charters were granted by state legislatures. They were under pressure and could be influenced by bribes. The first bank to receive a charter was the First National Bank of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
20.
United States Capitol rotunda
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The United States Capitol rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C. Located below the Capitol dome, it is the tallest part of the Capitol and has described as its symbolic. The rotunda is surrounded by corridors connecting the House of Representatives, to the south of the rotunda is the semi-circular National Statuary Hall, which until 1857 was the House of Representatives chamber. To the northeast of the rotunda is the Old Senate Chamber, used by the Senate until 1859 and by the Supreme Court of the United States until 1935. The rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and rises 48 feet to the top of its walls and 180 feet 3 inches to the canopy of the dome, the dome is surmounted by the American Statue of Freedom. It is also used for ceremonial events authorized by concurrent resolution, the doctor and architect William Thornton was the winner of the contest to design the Capitol in 1793. Thornton had first conceived the idea of a central rotunda, however, due to lack of funds or resources, oft-interrupted construction, and the British attack on Washington during the War of 1812, work on the rotunda did not begin until 1818. The rotunda was designed in the style and was intended to evoke the design of the Pantheon. The sandstone rotunda walls rise 48 feet above the floor, everything above this—the Capitol dome–was designed in 1854 by Thomas U, Walter, the fourth Architect of the Capitol. Walter had also designed the Capitols north and south extensions, in 1862, Walter asked painter Constantino Brumidi to design a picture 65 feet in diameter, painted in fresco, on the concave canopy over the eye of the New Dome of the U. S. Capitol. At this time, Brumidi may have added a watercolor canopy design over Walters tentative 1859 sketch, the dome was being finished in the middle of the American Civil War and was constructed from fireproof cast iron. During the Civil War, the rotunda was used as a hospital for Union soldiers. The dome was completed in 1866. Originally the crypt had an open ceiling into the rotunda, visitors can still see the holes in the stone circle that marked the rim of the open space in the rotunda floor. In January 2013, the Architect of the Capitol announced a four-year, $10 million project to repair and conserve the Capitol Domes exterior, the dome and rotunda, which were last conserved in 1960, are showing significant signs of rust and disrepair. There is a danger that decorative ironwork could fall from the rotunda to the space below, without immediate repair, safety netting will be installed. Eight niches in the rotunda hold large, framed historical paintings, all are oil-on-canvas and measure 12 by 18 feet. Four of these are scenes from the American Revolution, painted by John Trumbull and these are Declaration of Independence, Surrender of General Burgoyne, Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, and General George Washington Resigning his Commission
21.
ABCorp (American Banknote Corporation)
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The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates and it is based in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Founded in 1795 as Murray, Draper, Fairman & Company, following the Panic of 1857, seven of the nation’s most prominent security printers merged to form the American Bank Note Company on April 29,1858. The new company made New York City its headquarters, less than two years later, a handful of the remaining independent bank note printers merged to form the National Bank Note Company. The company moved its office and plant to 142 Broadway in 1867, to new facility at 78–86 Trinity Place in 1882. The first paper currency was circulated by the US Treasury Department following the outbreak of the Civil War, Congress passed authorizing legislation for $60 million worth of these “Demand Notes” on July 17 and August 5,1861. Under contract with the government, the paper money, called “greenbacks” by the public, was produced by the American Bank Note Co. A total of 7.25 million notes were produced in denominations of $5, $10, in an interesting historical sidelight, American and National were also producing paper money for the Confederacy at the same time. Following the initial production of U. S. currency by the government’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1862 and they found it in foreign lands. The company would go on to supply security paper and bank notes to 115 foreign countries. In 1877, pursuant to a law enacted by Congress, the U. S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing became the producer of all United States currency. At the time of the merger, Continental held the contract to produce U. S. Postage stamps, in 1887, ABNCo won the second four-year contract to engrave and print Postal notes for the U. S. post office. American assigned Thomas F. Morris, its Chief Designer, the task of re-designing this early money order, the paper for this contract was produced by Crane and Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. In 1891 the American Bank Note Company began producing a new form of money for a longtime customer, in its first year, American Express sold $9,120 worth of its new invention. During 2000, sales of American Express Travelers Cheques totaled $24.6 billion, in 1894, ABNCo completed the final contract for the private printing of American stamps. Perhaps their most popular stamps were the one cent to $5 issues commemorating the 1892–93 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. On July 1,1894 American delivered its entire stamp-producing operation to the U. S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, in 1943–44 American Bank Note Company was contracted by the United States governments Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce the Overrun Countries series stamps. American Bank Note Company is a subsidiary of American Banknote Corporation, today, following a variety of financial transformations, the American Banknote Corporation produces a wide variety of secure and official documents
22.
John Vanderlyn
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John Vanderlyn was an American neoclassicist painter. Vanderlyn was born at Kingston, New York, and was the grandson of portrait painter Pieter Vanderlyn. He was employed by a print-seller in New York, and was first instructed in art by Archibald Robinson, a Scotsman who was afterwards one of the directors of the American Academy of the Fine Arts. He went to Philadelphia, where he spent time in the studio of Gilbert Stuart and copied some of Stuarts portraits, including one of Aaron Burr and he was a protégé of Aaron Burr who in 1796 sent Vanderlyn to Paris, where he studied for five years. He returned to the United States in 1801 and lived in the home of Burr, then the Vice President, in 1802 he painted two views of Niagara Falls, which were engraved and published in London in 1804. He returned to Paris in 1803, also visiting England in 1805, Vanderlyn then went to Rome, where he painted his picture of Marius amid the Ruins of Carthage, which was shown in Paris, and obtained the Napoleon gold medal there. This success caused him to remain in Paris for seven years, in 1812 he showed a nude Ariadne, which increased his fame. When Aaron Burr fled to Paris, Vanderlyn was for a time his only support, Vanderlyn returned to the United States in 1815, and painted portraits of various eminent men, including James Monroe, John C. Yates, Governor George Clinton, James Madison, Robert R Livingston, Andrew Jackson, in 1834, he completed a posthumous full-length portrait of George Washington for the U. S. House of Representatives, based on Gilbert Stuarts 1796 Lansdowne portrait. In 1825 Vanderlyn was one of the founders of the National Academy of Design, in 1842, through friendly influences, he was commissioned by Congress to paint The Landing of Columbus for the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. Going to Paris, he hired a French artist, who and it was engraved for the United States five-dollar banknotes. This painting was reproduced in an engraving used on the Columbian 2c Postage Issue of 1893. Vanderlyn was the first American to study in France instead of in England and he was more academic than his fellows, but, though faithfully and capably executed, his work was rather devoid of charm, according to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. His Landing of Columbus has been called more than respectable. He died in poverty at Kingston, New York, on 23 September 1852 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Vanderlyn, John. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Gilman. Thurston, H. T. Colby, F. M. eds. article name needed, avery, Kevin J. & Fodera, Peter L. John Vanderlyns panoramic view of the palace and gardens of Versailles. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list City of Kingston, New York, Web pages on John Vanderlyn
23.
John Trumbull
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John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings. His Declaration of Independence was used on the reverse of the two-dollar bill, Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1756, to Jonathan Trumbull and his wife Faith Trumbull. His father served as Governor of Connecticut from 1769 to 1784, both sides of his family were descended from early Puritan settlers in the state. The young Trumbull entered the 1771 junior class at Harvard College at age fifteen, due to a childhood accident, Trumbull lost use of one eye, which may have influenced his detailed painting style. As a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, Trumbull rendered a service at Boston by sketching plans of the British works. He witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill and he was appointed second personal aide to General George Washington, and in June 1776, deputy adjutant-general to General Horatio Gates. He resigned from the army in 1777 after a dispute over the dating of his officer commission, in 1780 he traveled to London, where he studied under Benjamin West. At Wests suggestion, Trumbull painted small pictures of the War of Independence and he painted about 250 in his lifetime. On September 23,1780, British agent Major John André was captured by Continental troops in North America, after news reached Great Britain, outrage flared and Trumbull was arrested, as having been an officer in the Continental Army of similar rank to André. He was imprisoned for seven months in Londons Tothill Fields Bridewell, after being released, Trumbull returned to the United States. In 1784, following the British recognition of the United States independence, while working in his studio, Trumbull painted Battle of Bunker Hill and Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec. Both works are now in the Yale University Art Gallery, in 1785 Trumbull went to Paris, where he made portrait sketches of French officers for the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. With the assistance of Thomas Jefferson, serving there as the US minister, while in Paris, Trumbull is credited with having introduced Jefferson to the Italian painter Maria Cosway, they became lifelong intimate friends. Trumbulls painting became widely known due to an engraving of it by Asher Brown Durand. All now hang in rotunda of the United States Capitol, congress reportedly authorized only funds sufficient to purchase these four paintings. Trumbulls The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar,1789, in 1831 Trumbull sold a series of 28 paintings and 60 miniature portraits to Yale University for an annuity of $1,000. This is by far the largest single collection of his works, the collection was originally housed in a neoclassical art gallery designed by Trumbull on Yales Old Campus, along with portraits by other artists. His portraits include full lengths of General Washington and George Clinton, New York also bought his full-length paintings of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay
24.
F. O. C. Darley
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Felix Octavius Carr F. O. C. Darley was born on June 23,1822, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and he was a self-taught and prolific artist who started out as a staff artist for a Philadelphia publishing company where he was given a wide variety of assignments. After he moved to New York, his work began to appear in such as Harpers Weekly. Darley made 500 drawings for Lossings History of the United States, among his lithographic illustrations are those for Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and some scenes in Indian life. The swing and vigor of his style, his facility, and versatility, Darley signed a contract with Edgar Allan Poe on January 31,1843, to create original illustrations for his upcoming literary journal The Stylus. The contract, which was through July 1,1844, requested at least three illustrations per month, on wood or paper as required, but no more than five, for $7 per illustration. The Stylus was never produced but Darley provided illustrations for the final installments of the first serial publication of Poes award-winning tale The Gold-Bug later that year. In 1848, Darley provided the drawings for the first fully illustrated edition of Irvings Rip Van Winkle and that same year, Darley also illustrated an edition of Irvings The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. and then his Wolferts Roost in 1855. Over his career, he produced nearly 350 drawings for James Fenimore Cooper, later collected in an edition of Coopers novels printed from 1859 to 1861. In 1868 he published, after a visit to Europe, Sketches Abroad with Pen and his water color paintings of incidents in American history are full of spirit and his bank-note vignettes are also worthy of mention. In 1851, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary member, john Neal Hoover has written a scholarly article on Darley with a section on further reading. Darley died in 1888 at his home in Claymont, Delaware and his Victorian mansion, located in Claymont, is now known as the Darley House and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Notes Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Gilman. Thurston, H. T. Colby, F. M. eds, Works by Felix Octavius Carr Darley at Project Gutenberg Works by or about F. O. C. Darley at Internet Archive Illustrations by FOC Darley, American Illustrator 1821-1888 Inventing the American Past, Darley A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore, in an 1862 edition illustrated by F. O. C. Darley, from Project Gutenberg The Winterthur Library Overview of a collection on F. O. C. Society of Illustrators Felix Octavius Carr Darley F. O. C, Darley at Find a Grave A Visit from Saint Nicholas From the Collections at the Library of Congress
25.
John Gadsby Chapman
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John Gadsby Chapman was an American artist famous for Baptism of Pocahontas, which was commissioned by the United States Congress and hangs in the United States Capitol rotunda. John Chapman was born in 1808 in Alexandria, Virginia, Chapman began his study of art in Philadelphia for two years, then departed for Europe where he eventually spent time in Italy. In 1831, Chapman returned to his hometown of Alexandria, and exhibited his artwork in the nearest metropolitan areas, such as Washington and he specialized in landscapes and portraits. By 1834, Chapman had moved to New York City and become a member of the National Academy of Design, in New York, Chapman embarked on a series of historical paintings, such as Landing at Jamestown and the Crowning of Powhatan. The success of these paintings helped Chapman land a commission from the United States Congress in February 1837 to paint a scene for the rotunda of the Capitol building. For this work, Chapman received a payment of $10,000. On November 30,1840, Baptism of Pocahontas was formally unveiled in the Capitol rotunda, besides historical paintings and portraits, Chapman also produced wood engravings and etchings, and frequently contributed illustrations to Harper Brothers publications. Chapmans American Drawing Book, published in 1847, became a text for art students. On the swell of these successes, Chapman moved his family to Rome, however, at the onset of the American Civil War, the tourist industry dried up, affecting Chapmans fortunes greatly. In addition, Chapmans own son, Conrad Wise Chapman, returned to America to fight on the side of the Confederate States of America, the economic deprivation inflicted on Chapman during the 1860s became insurmountable. It was there, in 1889, that he died a pauper, Chapman Family Correspondence and Other Documents MSS48. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library, Library of Virginia biography of John G. Chapman and his son, Conrad Chapman. New York Times obituary of John Gadsby Chapman, Chapman Family Association John F. McGuigan Jr. and Mary K. McGuigan, John Gadsby Chapman, America’s First Artist-Etcher. With a Catalogue of His Italian Etchings, the McGuigan Collection of John Gadsby Chapman Etchings at the New-York Historical Society
26.
Robert Walter Weir
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Robert Walter Weir was an American artist and educator. He is considered a painter of the Hudson River School, Weir was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1829, and an instructor at the United States Military Academy. His best-known works are Embarkation of the Pilgrims and Landing of Hendrik Hudson, Robert Weir was born to Robert and Mary Katherine Weir on June 18,1803 in New York City, New York. Weir never graduated college, and in 1821, at the age of 18. He studied art in New York City from 1822 to 1824, teaching drawing and painting. He remained in Florence from 1824 to 1825, and in Rome from 1825 to 1827, during which time he studied the works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Weir returned to New York in 1827 to care for a sick friend. He remained in New York until 1834 and became a part of its artistic community. He was then appointed as Teacher of Drawing, later Professor of Drawing, at the United States Military Academy at West Point, replacing the late Thomas Grimbrede, Weir was the fifth artist to hold the position of art instructor at the academy. During his forty-two years in this post, he instructed many of the commanders of the American Civil War. Among his notable students at West Point were James Abbott McNeill Whistler and he also developed a special relationship with Ulysses S. Grant. He died in New York City on May 1,1889, Weir and his two wives had 16 children. One son, John Ferguson Weir was a painter and sculptor who became a Member of the National Academy of Design in 1866, another son, Julian Alden Weir, studied under his father, as well as under J. -L. Gérôme, and became a portrait, figure, and landscape painter. He was one of the founders of the Society of American Artists in 1877, Weir was considered part of the Hudson River school of American art. One of his best known paintings is the The Embarkation of the Pilgrims and he was commissioned by the United States Congress in 1837 and the painting was placed in the rotunda in December 1843. His canvases deal principally with historical subjects and he also painted a watercolor entitled Last Communion of Henry Clay, as well as several portraits. Landing of Hendrik Hudson A Compositor Setting Type Portrait of Robert E. Lee, one of only two portraits of Lee painted before the Civil War. Evening of the Crucifixion Virgil and Dante crossing the Styx Seascape with Lighthouse,1869, prepared for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Provo, UT
27.
United States Note
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A United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, is a type of paper money that was issued from 1862 to 1971 in the U. S. Having been current for more than 100 years, they were issued for longer than any form of U. S. paper money. They were known popularly as greenbacks, a name inherited from the earlier greenbacks, the Demand Notes, often termed Legal Tender Notes, they were named United States Notes by the First Legal Tender Act, which authorized them as a form of fiat currency. They were originally issued directly into circulation by the U. S. Treasury to pay expenses incurred by the Union during the American Civil War, during the next century, the legislation governing these notes was modified many times and numerous versions were issued by the Treasury. S. Treasury Seals and serial numbers in place of green ones, existing United States Notes remain valid currency in the United States, however, as no United States Notes have been issued since January 1971, they are increasingly rare in circulation. The Act of July 17,1861 authorized United States Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase to raise money via the issuance of $50,000,000 in Treasury Notes payable on demand. These Demand Notes were paid to creditors directly and used to meet the payroll of soldiers in the field. While issued within the framework of Treasury Note Debt, the Demand Notes were intended to circulate as currency and were of the same size as banknotes. During December 1861, economic conditions deteriorated and a suspension of specie payment caused the government to cease redeeming the Demand Notes as coins, the beginning of 1862 found the Unions expenses increasing, and the government was having trouble funding the escalating war. Demand Notes—which were used, among other things, to pay Union soldiers—were unredeemable, congressman and Buffalo banker Elbridge G. Spaulding prepared a bill, based on the Free Banking Law of New York, that eventually became the National Banking Act of 1863. This caused tremendous controversy in Congress, as hitherto the Constitution had been interpreted as not granting the government the power to issue a paper currency. Spaulding justified the action as a means of carrying into execution the powers granted in the Constitution to raise and support armies. Initially, the emission was limited to $150,000,000 total face value between the new Legal Tender Notes and the existing Demand Notes, the Act also intended for the new notes to be used to replace the Demand Notes as soon as practical. The Demand Notes had been issued in denominations of $5, $10, and $20, in addition, notes of entirely new design were introduced in denominations of $50, $100, $500 and $1000. The Demand Notes printed promise of payment On Demand was removed, Legal tender status guaranteed that creditors would have to accept the notes despite the fact that they were not backed by gold, bank deposits, or government reserves, and had no interest. The Act did provide that the notes be receivable by the government for short term deposits at 5% interest, the rationale for these terms was that the Union government would preserve its credit-worthiness by supporting the value of its bonds by paying their interest in gold. Lastly, by making the bonds available for purchase at par in United States Notes, the limitations of the legal tender status were quite controversial. This controversy would continue until the removal of the exceptions during 1933, the largest amount of greenbacks outstanding at any one time was calculated as $447,300,203.10
28.
Gold certificate
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A gold certificate in general is a certificate of ownership that gold owners hold instead of storing the actual gold. It has both a historic meaning as a U. S. paper currency and a current meaning as a way to invest in gold, Banks may issue gold certificates for gold that is allocated or unallocated. Unallocated gold certificates are a form of banking and do not guarantee an equal exchange for metal in the event of a run on the issuing banks gold on deposit. Allocated gold certificates should be correlated with specific numbered bars, although it is difficult to determine whether a bank is improperly allocating a single bar to more than one party, the gold certificate was used from 1863 to 1933 in the United States as a form of paper currency. Each certificate gave its title to a corresponding amount of gold coin at the statutory rate of $20.67 per troy ounce established by the Coinage Act of 1834. Therefore, this type of currency was intended to represent actual gold coinage. In 1933 the practice of redeeming these notes for coins was ended by the U. S. government. After the gold recall in 1933, gold certificates were withdrawn from circulation, as noted above, it was illegal to own them. That fact, and public fear that the notes would be devalued and made obsolete, in general, the notes are scarce and valuable, especially examples in new condition. The early history of United States gold certificates is somewhat hazy and they were authorized under the Act of 3 March 1863, but unlike the United States Notes also authorized, they apparently were not printed until 1865. They did not have a date, and were hand-dated upon issue. The first issue featured a vignette of an eagle uniformly across all denominations, several later issues featured various portraits of historical figures. The reverse sides were either blank or featured abstract designs, the only exception was the $20 of 1865, which had a picture of a $20 gold coin. From 1862 to 1879, United States Notes were legal tender, however some transactions, such as customs duties and interest on the federal debt, were required to be made in gold. Thus the early gold certificates were acceptable in some transactions where United States Notes were not, the Series of 1882 was the first series that was payable to the bearer, it was transferable and anyone could redeem it for the equivalent in gold. This was the case with all gold certificate series from that point on, with the exception of 1888,1900, the series of 1888 and 1900 were issued to specific depositors, as before. The series of 1882 had the portraits as the series of 1875. Gold certificates, along all other U. S. currency, were made in two sizes—a larger size from 1865 to 1928, and a smaller size from 1928 to 1934
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