Inside the Capitol: John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence| BRIdge from the Past

0:00 Hey everybody. Welcome to another episode of Bridge from the Past. I’m your host, Mary, and this series is all about using primary source images as a starting point to think about important questions in American history and civics. This fall, we’ve been thinking about the relationship between law and liberty. And once again, we are going inside the US.

0:21 Capitol in Washington, DC. We’re going to be looking at just John Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What does this painting tell us about the founding moment and its connection to law and liberty? Let’s jump in and see.

0:42 Here is our image again. This is John Trumbull, an American Artist’s painting of the Declaration of Independence. It was hung in the US. Capitol rotunda in 1826. And the Capitol Rotunda is the central hall to the center of the capital. Once you’re inside, if you are looking at a primary source image, it’s important to just make some observations.

1:04 If you’re using the handout, go ahead and pause here and make some observations of your own. Some things that strike me right away are that there are a lot of people in this painting, and they’re very orderly. They’re kind of sitting in neat rows. I love that this guy has a hat on. I’m curious about him because no one else is wearing a hat.

1:24 And I noticed some flags, and it looks like a drum on the wall. But in the foreground of the painting, I have a group of men around a bunch of papers, and it looks like this guy right here is pointing to this paper. So one of my immediate questions is, who are all these people?

1:45 Is this right here? Is this the Declaration of Independence? That’s the title of the painting. So that’s a big clue, but I’m not entirely sure. And where are they? When is this exactly? So I have some initial questions, and as always, it’s helpful to have a little bit of context before you can really jump in. So here’s a little bit more detail about this painting.

2:07 So, first of all, this painting was commissioned by Congress in 1817 for the artist John Trumbull to make four paintings of the Revolutionary era to hang inside the Capitol Rotunda. So the Rotunda, again, is that central hall in the US. Capital. It’s a symbol of law. It’s where our laws are made.

2:28 The first branch of our government, the Congress, sits there. So the location is hugely important, right? Location location location. It’s meant to be. It’s modeled after the Pantheon, which is a temple in ancient Rome. So it’s very important. It’s supposed to be a sacred, special place. And you have these four scenes of the Revolutionary era.

2:50 And this one is actually depicting June 28, when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented to the Continental Congress. So all of these men in the picture, these are all delegates from the Continental Congress. And this scene right here is,

3:11 in fact the actual Declaration and the person presenting it is Thomas Jefferson, who was the main author of the document, but he actually wrote on a committee of five men and you have these five men around him. So Jefferson being one of the five, it’s John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin.

3:34 And John Adams and Ben Franklin are kind of recognizable. These other two are not as well known, but they were part of the committee as well and they are presenting it to John Hancock, this man right here who is the president of the Continental Congress. So on July 4, the Declaration is officially adopted by the Congress and it’s signed on August 2.

3:57 But this is actually June 28, so it’s kind of tricky. If you think of the Declaration of Independence, you often think of July 4, but that’s not what he had in mind here. Trumbull’s goal with creating this painting was to preserve the likeness of the people who were in the room. So, as I said, it’s very orderly.

4:19 There are 47 individuals depicted in the painting. And if you can go to a special link that we’ll put up there where you can see who is who and it turns out my guy right here in the hat is from Rhode Island and I’m definitely going to learn more about him because I love that he’s wearing a hat. But the goal here was not to create reality per se. So the decorations of the room this is now Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

4:43 And the British flags on the wall you can see you can kind of make out the Union Jack and the drums as if they were captured from the British because the Continental Army would be at war during this time. George Washington is actually leading the Continental Army’s defense of New York City while the scene while the Declaration of Independence is being presented and being adopted

5:05 by the Congress, but this may not actually have been there. It’s just sort of added as sort of creative license. But what Trumbull really wanted to do was to recreate the likeness of the men who were there. So they are either painted from life or painted from a likeness thereof. And if he didn’t know what they looked like, he left them out of the painting.

5:27 So I would imagine if the colonies are at war and there’s an actual siege of New York City going on, that there’s a lot of running around and confusion, and these men are signing a document that is going to break up with the British Empire, their lives and their sacred honor on the line.

5:47 So it’s a very tense moment. It’s very dramatic. I’m sure there was a lot of coming and going. I doubt it was disorderly. But again, that wasn’t Trumbull’s immediate goal. When he created the painting. He really wanted to capture the people who were there. I want to go back to location for just a second. So once again, we are in the rotunda of the capital.

6:09 So we’re right smack in the middle of the Capitol Building where our laws are made, and this moment of presenting the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress is on display. So I think the location of this painting, the size of this painting, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but it’s 12 by 18ft. So it’s a huge painting in the middle

6:32 of the Congress in the Capitol Building in Washington DC. It says a lot about what the country values and what we’re based on our founding moment and our founding principles. If the government isn’t respecting the natural rights of the people, which is what the Declaration of Independence is all about, then it is our obligation to throw it off and create something new.

6:55 We started by asking what John Trumbull’s painting, the Declaration of Independence could tell us about the founding moment and its connection to law and liberty. And we learned about the artist’s goals in creating the painting and the ways in which he took some creative license and about the importance of the location of this painting inside the Capitol Rotunda. But as always, there’s so much more to the story.

7:18 So now I’m going to turn it over to you. What’s the next question in our conversation? What do you want to know more about? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you’re using your organizer, be sure to write down some things that you learned and some questions that you still had so you have the point of departure to learn more. I’ll be back soon with another video to help us think about important topics in American history and civics.

7:41 Always by looking at images. Until then, everybody take care. And if you see a primary source question, keep asking questions. Well, I’m done studying that video filled in all the blanks for me. Well, just in case you need more help, the Bill of Rights Institute’s YouTube channel has tons of videos on American

8:01 history, government and civics. From primary source, document breakdowns to historical image analysis. Whether you’re studying for a test or just interested in more, they’ve got something for you. And they put out more videos all the time. Really? Well in that case, there’s no harm in brushing up on a few more topics. Check out another video here and be sure

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