Description

During the American Revolution, Americans were not only fighting for independence. They were also trying to imagine what their new nation would look like. Revolutionary leaders such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington helped promote powerful visual symbols—from flags and seals to allegorical figures like Liberty—that expressed the ideals of the emerging United States and helped unite a diverse population around a shared identity. At the same time, writers such as the enslaved poet Phillis Wheatley and radical voices like Abigail Adams used words and imagery to challenge Americans to think about who should be included in this new nation. This talk explores how a wide range of Americans helped create the symbols and ideas that allowed people to imagine—and ultimately bring into being—the United States.