Trumbull's Declaration of Independence
Encyclopedia
John Trumbull's
Declaration of Independence is a 12-by-18-foot oil-on-canvas
painting in the United States
Capitol
Rotunda
that depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence
to Congress
. It was based on a much smaller version of the same scene, presently held by the Yale University Art Gallery
.
Trumbull painted many of the figures in the picture from life and visited Independence Hall as well to depict the chamber where the Second Continental Congress
met. The oil-on-canvas work was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the rotunda in 1826.
The painting is often described as the "Signing of the Declaration of Independence", but this is an error. The painting actually shows the five-man drafting committee
presenting their draft, an event that took place on June 28, 1776, and not the signing of the document, which took place later.
The painting shows 42 of the 56 signers of the Declaration; Trumbull originally intended to include all 56 signers, but was unable to obtain likenesses for all of them. He also decided to depict several participants in the debate who did not sign the document, including John Dickinson
, who declined to sign. Because the Declaration was debated and signed over a period of time when membership in Congress changed, the men in the painting had never all been in the same room at the same time.
Thomas Jefferson
seems to be stepping on the foot of John Adams
in the painting, which many think is supposed to symbolize their relationship as political enemies. However, upon closer examination of the painting, it can be seen that their feet are merely close together. This part of the image was correctly depicted on the two-dollar bill
version.
Trumbull's painting is the source of the picture on the reverse of the two-dollar bill
, which cuts out the farthest four figures on the left (George Wythe
, William Whipple
, Josiah Bartlett
and Thomas Lynch, Jr.
); the farthest two figures on the right (Thomas McKean
and Philip Livingston
); and seated in the left rear, George Walton
. The bill features 40 of the 47 figures from Trumbull's painting. Two other unknown figures are superimposed in the engraving in between Samuel Chase
and Lewis Morris
and between James Wilson
and Francis Hopkinson
, bringing the total number of figures on the reverse of the two-dollar bill
to 42.
File:Declaration independence.jpg|thumb|right|600px|Trumbull's Declaration of Independence
desc bottom-right
rect 4 1044 38 1130 George Wythe
rect 38 1026 86 1119 William Whipple
rect 93 1046 139 1133 Josiah Bartlett
rect 147 1055 197 1133 Thomas Lynch, Jr.
rect 215 1037 293 1138 Benjamin Harrison
rect 424 1049 491 1140 Richard Henry Lee
rect 492 1051 533 1139 Samuel Adams
rect 537 1055 582 1140 George Clinton
rect 287 856 356 940 William Paca
rect 366 855 417 948 Samuel Chase
rect 456 886 503 960 Lewis Morris
rect 506 913 549 987 William Floyd
rect 575 958 619 1015 Arthur Middleton
rect 601 1053 638 1108 Thomas Heyward, Jr.
rect 640 1069 689 1125 Charles Carroll
rect 700 1076 734 1126 George Walton
rect 741 1086 787 1144 Robert Morris
rect 794 1071 824 1125 Thomas Willing
rect 838 1086 881 1147 Benjamin Rush
rect 902 1092 942 1153 Elbridge Gerry
rect 946 1087 981 1149 Robert Treat Paine
rect 987 1095 1019 1151 Abraham Clark
rect 816 962 850 1010 Stephen Hopkins
rect 855 966 889 1019 William Ellery
rect 894 965 928 1015 George Clymer
rect 1064 1099 1106 1155 William Hooper
rect 1114 1098 1153 1150 Joseph Hewes
rect 1203 1093 1247 1148 James Wilson
rect 1256 1104 1293 1153 Francis Hopkinson
rect 1427 858 1510 955 John Adams
rect 1519 806 1590 911 Roger Sherman
rect 1592 833 1652 928 Robert Livingston
rect 1719 784 1803 886 Thomas Jefferson
rect 1883 850 1956 945 Benjamin Franklin
rect 2095 1059 2138 1116 Richard Stockton
rect 2150 1067 2187 1121 Francis Lewis
rect 2192 1059 2232 1114 John Witherspoon
rect 2252 1060 2292 1114 Samuel Huntington
rect 2267 953 2308 1007 William Williams
rect 2312 944 2355 999 Oliver Wolcott
rect 2408 773 2484 875 Charles Thomson
rect 2444 950 2532 1065 John Hancock
rect 2659 848 2717 938 George Read
rect 2719 843 2759 925 John Dickinson
rect 2759 852 2814 945 Edward Rutledge
rect 2914 1021 2963 1094 Thomas McKean
rect 2964 1016 3644 1696 Philip Livingston
rect 1 1 3000 1970
The following key to the figures in the painting follows the numbering used by the U.S. government
publication "Art of the Capitol" (in the illustration of the key shown in this section) but provides a different (hopefully clearer) description of which figure is where in the painting, so numbers are not entirely in order.
Key to figures (in each group, listed from left to right):
Four men seated on the far left:
Seated at the table on the left:
Seated together to the right of Harrison and in front of the standing figures:
Five figures standing together on the left:
Three seated figures in the back between the two sets of standing figures:
Set of three figures standing together in the back:
Ten figures seated:
Five figures standing in front:
Four background figures seated together near the right corner of the room:
Two figures standing in the right corner of the room:
Two foreground figures at the central table:
Three figures standing at right:
Two figures seated at far right:
Howard Chandler Christy
's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States
is a similar painting depicting members of the Constitutional Convention
. Painted in 1940
, the work is also located in the U.S. Capitol.
Other
John Trumbull
John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...
Declaration of Independence is a 12-by-18-foot oil-on-canvas
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
painting in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
Rotunda
United States Capitol Rotunda
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 been described as its "symbolic and physical heart."...
that depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
to Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
. It was based on a much smaller version of the same scene, presently held by the Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
.
Trumbull painted many of the figures in the picture from life and visited Independence Hall as well to depict the chamber where the Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
met. The oil-on-canvas work was commissioned in 1817, purchased in 1819, and placed in the rotunda in 1826.
The painting is often described as the "Signing of the Declaration of Independence", but this is an error. The painting actually shows the five-man drafting committee
Committee of Five
The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress drafted and presented to the Congress what became known as America's Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776...
presenting their draft, an event that took place on June 28, 1776, and not the signing of the document, which took place later.
The painting shows 42 of the 56 signers of the Declaration; Trumbull originally intended to include all 56 signers, but was unable to obtain likenesses for all of them. He also decided to depict several participants in the debate who did not sign the document, including John Dickinson
John Dickinson (delegate)
John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...
, who declined to sign. Because the Declaration was debated and signed over a period of time when membership in Congress changed, the men in the painting had never all been in the same room at the same time.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
seems to be stepping on the foot of John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
in the painting, which many think is supposed to symbolize their relationship as political enemies. However, upon closer examination of the painting, it can be seen that their feet are merely close together. This part of the image was correctly depicted on the two-dollar bill
United States two-dollar bill
The United States two-dollar bill is a current denomination of US currency. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note...
version.
Unpictured signers
There were 14 signers of the Declaration who did not appear in the painting:- Matthew ThorntonMatthew ThorntonMatthew Thornton , was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire.- Background and Early Life :He was born in Ireland, the son of James Thornton and Elizabeth Malone...
(New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
) - John Hart (VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) - John MortonJohn Morton (politician)John Morton was a farmer, surveyor, and jurist from the Province of Pennsylvania. As a delegate to the Continental Congress during the American Revolution, he provided the swing vote that allowed Pennsylvania to vote in favor of the United States Declaration of Independence...
(PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) - James Smith (PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) - George TaylorGeorge Taylor (delegate)George Taylor was a Colonial ironmaster and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania...
(PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) - George RossGeorge Ross (delegate)George Ross was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Pennsylvania.He was born in New Castle, Delaware, and educated at home. He studied law at his brother John's law office, the common practice in those days, and was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia...
(PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) - Caesar RodneyCaesar RodneyCaesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...
(DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
) - Thomas StoneThomas StoneThomas Stone was an American planter who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a delegate for Maryland. He later worked on the committee that formed the Articles of Confederation in 1777...
(MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
) - Thomas Nelson, Jr.Thomas Nelson, Jr.Thomas Nelson, Jr. was an American planter, soldier, and statesman from Yorktown, Virginia. He represented Virginia in the Continental Congress and was its Governor in 1781. He is regarded as one of the U.S. Founding Fathers since he signed the Declaration of Independence as a member of the...
(VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) - Francis Lightfoot LeeFrancis Lightfoot LeeFrancis Lightfoot Lee was a member of the House of Burgesses in the Colony of Virginia. As an active protester of issues such as the Stamp Act, Lee helped move the colony in the direction of independence from Britain. Lee was a delegate to the Virginia Conventions and the Continental Congress...
(VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) - Carter BraxtonCarter BraxtonCarter Braxton was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, a planter, and a representative of Virginia....
(VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) - John PennJohn Penn (delegate)John Penn was a signer of both the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of North Carolina. Penn was distantly related to William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania....
(North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
) - Button GwinnettButton GwinnettButton Gwinnett was an English-born American political leader who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was the second of the signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
(GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
) - Lyman HallLyman HallLyman Hall , physician, clergyman, and statesman, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him.-Early life and family:...
(GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
)
On the two-dollar bill
United States two-dollar bill
The United States two-dollar bill is a current denomination of US currency. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note...
, which cuts out the farthest four figures on the left (George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
, William Whipple
William Whipple
William Whipple, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire....
, Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett was an American physician and statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire and signatory of the Declaration of Independence...
and Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina; his father was unable to sign the Declaration of Independence because of illness.-Biography:...
); the farthest two figures on the right (Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of...
and Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, and signed the Declaration of Independence.-Family history:...
); and seated in the left rear, George Walton
George Walton
George Walton signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia and also served as the second Chief Executive of that state.-Life and work:...
. The bill features 40 of the 47 figures from Trumbull's painting. Two other unknown figures are superimposed in the engraving in between Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and earlier was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. Early in life, Chase was a "firebrand" states-righter and revolutionary...
and Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
and between James Wilson
James Wilson
James Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
and Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson , an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania...
, bringing the total number of figures on the reverse of the two-dollar bill
United States two-dollar bill
The United States two-dollar bill is a current denomination of US currency. President Thomas Jefferson is featured on the obverse of the note...
to 42.
Key to historical figures depicted in the painting
desc bottom-right
rect 4 1044 38 1130 George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
rect 38 1026 86 1119 William Whipple
William Whipple
William Whipple, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire....
rect 93 1046 139 1133 Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett
Josiah Bartlett was an American physician and statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire and signatory of the Declaration of Independence...
rect 147 1055 197 1133 Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina; his father was unable to sign the Declaration of Independence because of illness.-Biography:...
rect 215 1037 293 1138 Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V was an American planter and revolutionary leader from Charles City County, Virginia. He earned his higher education at the College of William and Mary, and he was perhaps the first figure in the Harrison family to gain national attention...
rect 424 1049 491 1140 Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee
Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and his famous resolution of June 1776 led to the United States...
rect 492 1051 533 1139 Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
rect 537 1055 582 1140 George Clinton
George Clinton (vice president)
George Clinton was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the fourth Vice President of the United States , serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He and John C...
rect 287 856 356 940 William Paca
William Paca
William Paca was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and later Governor of Maryland and a United States federal judge.-Early life:...
rect 366 855 417 948 Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and earlier was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. Early in life, Chase was a "firebrand" states-righter and revolutionary...
rect 456 886 503 960 Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
rect 506 913 549 987 William Floyd
William Floyd
William Floyd was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a U.S. Representative from New York.-Biography:...
rect 575 958 619 1015 Arthur Middleton
Arthur Middleton
Arthur Middleton , of Charleston, South Carolina, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence....
rect 601 1053 638 1108 Thomas Heyward, Jr.
rect 640 1069 689 1125 Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
rect 700 1076 734 1126 George Walton
George Walton
George Walton signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia and also served as the second Chief Executive of that state.-Life and work:...
rect 741 1086 787 1144 Robert Morris
rect 794 1071 824 1125 Thomas Willing
Thomas Willing
Thomas Willing was an American merchant and financier and a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania....
rect 838 1086 881 1147 Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
rect 902 1092 942 1153 Elbridge Gerry
Elbridge Gerry
Elbridge Thomas Gerry was an American statesman and diplomat. As a Democratic-Republican he was selected as the fifth Vice President of the United States , serving under James Madison, until his death a year and a half into his term...
rect 946 1087 981 1149 Robert Treat Paine
Robert Treat Paine
Robert Treat Paine was a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a representative of Massachusetts.-Early life and ancestors:...
rect 987 1095 1019 1151 Abraham Clark
Abraham Clark
Abraham Clark was an American politician and Revolutionary War figure. He was delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence and later served in the United States House of Representatives in both the Second and Third United States Congress, from...
rect 816 962 850 1010 Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (politician)
Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
rect 855 966 889 1019 William Ellery
rect 894 965 928 1015 George Clymer
George Clymer
George Clymer was an American politician and founding father. He was one of the first Patriots to advocate complete independence from Britain. As a Pennsylvania representative, Clymer was, along with five others, a signatory of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution...
rect 1064 1099 1106 1155 William Hooper
William Hooper
William Hooper was an American lawyer, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777...
rect 1114 1098 1153 1150 Joseph Hewes
Joseph Hewes
Joseph Hewes was a native of Princeton, New Jersey, where he was born in 1730. Hewes’s parents were part of the Quaker Society of Friends. Immediately after their marriage they moved to New Jersey, which became Joseph Hewes’s home state. Hewes was formally educated at Princeton and after...
rect 1203 1093 1247 1148 James Wilson
James Wilson
James Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
rect 1256 1104 1293 1153 Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson
Francis Hopkinson , an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania...
rect 1427 858 1510 955 John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
rect 1519 806 1590 911 Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman was an early American lawyer and politician, as well as a founding father. He served as the first mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and served on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and was also a representative and senator in the new republic...
rect 1592 833 1652 928 Robert Livingston
rect 1719 784 1803 886 Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
rect 1883 850 1956 945 Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
rect 2095 1059 2138 1116 Richard Stockton
rect 2150 1067 2187 1121 Francis Lewis
Francis Lewis
Francis Lewis was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New York....
rect 2192 1059 2232 1114 John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
rect 2252 1060 2292 1114 Samuel Huntington
Samuel Huntington (statesman)
Samuel Huntington was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation...
rect 2267 953 2308 1007 William Williams
William Williams (signer)
William Williams was a merchant, and a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress in 1776, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Williams was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of a minister, Tim Solomon Williams, and Mary Porter. He studied theology and graduated from...
rect 2312 944 2355 999 Oliver Wolcott
rect 2408 773 2484 875 Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
rect 2444 950 2532 1065 John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
rect 2659 848 2717 938 George Read
George Read (signer)
George Read was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of Delaware, and a member of the...
rect 2719 843 2759 925 John Dickinson
John Dickinson (delegate)
John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...
rect 2759 852 2814 945 Edward Rutledge
Edward Rutledge
Edward Rutledge was an American politician and youngest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th Governor of South Carolina.-Early years and career:...
rect 2914 1021 2963 1094 Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of...
rect 2964 1016 3644 1696 Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston
Philip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, and signed the Declaration of Independence.-Family history:...
rect 1 1 3000 1970
The following key to the figures in the painting follows the numbering used by the U.S. government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
publication "Art of the Capitol" (in the illustration of the key shown in this section) but provides a different (hopefully clearer) description of which figure is where in the painting, so numbers are not entirely in order.
Key to figures (in each group, listed from left to right):
Four men seated on the far left:
- 1. George WytheGeorge WytheGeorge Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
- 2. William WhippleWilliam WhippleWilliam Whipple, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire....
- 3. Josiah BartlettJosiah BartlettJosiah Bartlett was an American physician and statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire and signatory of the Declaration of Independence...
- 5. Thomas Lynch, Jr.Thomas Lynch, Jr.Thomas Lynch, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina; his father was unable to sign the Declaration of Independence because of illness.-Biography:...
Seated at the table on the left:
- 4. Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison VBenjamin Harrison V was an American planter and revolutionary leader from Charles City County, Virginia. He earned his higher education at the College of William and Mary, and he was perhaps the first figure in the Harrison family to gain national attention...
Seated together to the right of Harrison and in front of the standing figures:
- 6. Richard Henry LeeRichard Henry LeeRichard Henry Lee was an American statesman from Virginia best known for the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and his famous resolution of June 1776 led to the United States...
- 7. Samuel AdamsSamuel AdamsSamuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
- 8. George ClintonGeorge Clinton (vice president)George Clinton was an American soldier and politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was the first Governor of New York, and then the fourth Vice President of the United States , serving under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He and John C...
Five figures standing together on the left:
- 9. William PacaWilliam PacaWilliam Paca was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and later Governor of Maryland and a United States federal judge.-Early life:...
- 10. Samuel ChaseSamuel ChaseSamuel Chase was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and earlier was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. Early in life, Chase was a "firebrand" states-righter and revolutionary...
- 11. Lewis MorrisLewis MorrisLewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
- 12. William FloydWilliam FloydWilliam Floyd was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a U.S. Representative from New York.-Biography:...
- 13. Arthur MiddletonArthur MiddletonArthur Middleton , of Charleston, South Carolina, was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence....
Three seated figures in the back between the two sets of standing figures:
- 14. Thomas Heyward, Jr.
- 15. Charles CarrollCharles Carroll of CarrolltonCharles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
- 16. George WaltonGeorge WaltonGeorge Walton signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia and also served as the second Chief Executive of that state.-Life and work:...
Set of three figures standing together in the back:
- 23. Stephen HopkinsStephen Hopkins (politician)Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
(wearing a hat) - 24. William Ellery
- 25. George ClymerGeorge ClymerGeorge Clymer was an American politician and founding father. He was one of the first Patriots to advocate complete independence from Britain. As a Pennsylvania representative, Clymer was, along with five others, a signatory of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution...
Ten figures seated:
- 17. Robert Morris (first on the left at the table)
- 18. Thomas WillingThomas WillingThomas Willing was an American merchant and financier and a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania....
- 19. Benjamin RushBenjamin RushBenjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
- 20. Elbridge GerryElbridge GerryElbridge Thomas Gerry was an American statesman and diplomat. As a Democratic-Republican he was selected as the fifth Vice President of the United States , serving under James Madison, until his death a year and a half into his term...
- 21. Robert Treat PaineRobert Treat PaineRobert Treat Paine was a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a representative of Massachusetts.-Early life and ancestors:...
- 22. Abraham ClarkAbraham ClarkAbraham Clark was an American politician and Revolutionary War figure. He was delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence and later served in the United States House of Representatives in both the Second and Third United States Congress, from...
- 26. William HooperWilliam HooperWilliam Hooper was an American lawyer, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777...
- 27. Joseph HewesJoseph HewesJoseph Hewes was a native of Princeton, New Jersey, where he was born in 1730. Hewes’s parents were part of the Quaker Society of Friends. Immediately after their marriage they moved to New Jersey, which became Joseph Hewes’s home state. Hewes was formally educated at Princeton and after...
- 28. James WilsonJames WilsonJames Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
- 29. Francis HopkinsonFrancis HopkinsonFrancis Hopkinson , an American author, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania...
Five figures standing in front:
- 30. John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
- 31. Roger ShermanRoger ShermanRoger Sherman was an early American lawyer and politician, as well as a founding father. He served as the first mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and served on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and was also a representative and senator in the new republic...
- 32. Robert R. Livingston
- 33. Thomas JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
- 34. Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
Four background figures seated together near the right corner of the room:
- 35. Richard Stockton
- 36. Francis LewisFrancis LewisFrancis Lewis was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New York....
- 37. John WitherspoonJohn WitherspoonJohn Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
- 38. Samuel HuntingtonSamuel Huntington (statesman)Samuel Huntington was a jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation...
Two figures standing in the right corner of the room:
- 39. William WilliamsWilliam Williams (signer)William Williams was a merchant, and a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress in 1776, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Williams was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of a minister, Tim Solomon Williams, and Mary Porter. He studied theology and graduated from...
- 40. Oliver Wolcott
Two foreground figures at the central table:
- 42. Charles ThomsonCharles ThomsonCharles Thomson was a Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress throughout its existence.-Biography:...
(standing) - 41. John HancockJohn HancockJohn Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
(seated)
Three figures standing at right:
- 43. George ReadGeorge Read (signer)George Read was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of Delaware, and a member of the...
- 44. John DickinsonJohn Dickinson (delegate)John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...
- 45. Edward RutledgeEdward RutledgeEdward Rutledge was an American politician and youngest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th Governor of South Carolina.-Early years and career:...
Two figures seated at far right:
- 46. Thomas McKeanThomas McKeanThomas McKean was an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolution he was a delegate to the Continental Congress where he signed the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of...
- 47. Philip LivingstonPhilip LivingstonPhilip Livingston was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1775 to 1778, and signed the Declaration of Independence.-Family history:...
Similar paintings
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's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States is a famous oil-on-canvas painting by Howard Chandler Christy, depicting the Constitutional Convention signing the U.S. Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787...
is a similar painting depicting members of the Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia Convention
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. Painted in 1940
1940 in art
-Events:*Xawery Dunikowski is deported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz, where he survives until 1945.*October - Grandma Moses' first solo exhibition, "What a Farm Wife Painted", opens at Otto Kallir's Galerie Saint-Etienne in New York City.-Paintings:...
, the work is also located in the U.S. Capitol.
External links
Keys to the figuresOther
- A web page with some information on the painting
- Architect of the Capitol Web page on the painting