Washington Crossing the
Delaware, c. 1851
Thomas Paine
Common Sense
Common Sense Chapter 3

Thoughts on the present State of
American Affairs.

Paine examines the hostilities between
England and the American colonies and
argues that best course of action is
independence.


Paine proposes a Continental Charter (or
Charter of the United Colonies) that would be
an American Magna Carta.
Paine writes that a Continental Charter
"should come from some intermediate body
between the Congress and the people" and
outlines a Continental Conference that could
draft a Continental Charter.

Each colony would hold elections for five
representatives; these five would be accompanied
by two members of the colonies assembly, for a total
of seven representatives from each colony in the
Continental Conference.

The Continental Conference would then meet and
draft a Continental Charter that would secure
“freedom and property to all men, and… the free
exercise of religion.”

The Continental Charter would also outline a new
national government, which Paine thought would
take the form of a Congress.

Paine suggested that a Congress may be
created in the following way:

Each colony should be divided in districts;

Each district would "send a proper number of
delegates to Congress"
Paine thought --
That each state should send at least 30
delegates to Congress,

And that the total number of delegates in
Congress should be at least 390.

The Congress would meet annually, and elect
a President.
Paine Thoughts on electing a President

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Each colony would be put into a lottery;
the President would be elected, by the whole
Congress, from the delegation of the colony
that was selected in the lottery.
After a colony was selected it would be
removed from subsequent lotteries until all of
the colonies had been selected, at which
point the lottery would start anew.
Electing a President or passing a law would
require 3/5 of the Congress.
Common Sense Chapter 4

Of the present Ability of America, with
some miscellaneous Reflections.

Paine was optimistic of America's military
potential at the time of the Revolution.
For example, he spends pages describing
how colonial shipyards, by using the large
amounts of lumber available in the
country, could quickly create a navy that
could rival the Royal Navy.

Paine's arguments against British rule

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It was absurd for an island to rule a continent.
America was not a "British nation"; it was
composed of influences and peoples from all
of Europe.
Even if Britain were the "mother country" of
America, that made her actions all the more
horrendous, for no mother would harm her
children so brutally.
More ----
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Being a part of Britain would drag America into
unnecessary European wars, and keep it from the
international commerce at which America excelled.
The distance between the two nations made
governing the colonies from England unwieldy.
If some wrong were to be petitioned to Parliament,
it would take a year before the colonies received a
response.
Remember when the shot was fired on Lexington,
the King George did not hear about it until for about
a year.
More ---
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
The New World was discovered shortly
before the Reformation.
The Puritans believed that God wanted to
give them a safe haven from the persecution
of British rule.
Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit,
and did not consider the best interests of the
colonists in governing them.

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
Paine has been described as a professional
radical and a revolutionary propagandist
without peer.
Born in England, he was dismissed as an
excise officer (Tax collector) while lobbying
for higher wages.
Impressed by Paine, Benjamin Franklin
sponsored Paine's emigration to America in
1774.

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In Philadelphia Paine became a journalist
and essayist, contributing articles on all
subjects to The Pennsylvania Magazine.
After the publication of Common Sense,
Paine continued to inspire and encourage the
patriots during the Revolutionary War with a
series of pamphlets entitled, “The American
Crisis.”
Eventually, Paine went on to write, “The
Rights of Man and The Age of Reason.”
Observations and Comments

What do you think of Thomas Paine ?

His writings , his timing, his influence ?

Could his work/writings be timely for today?
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (LOIT suh) was
born in Germany. When his father became
ill Emanuel spent many hours sitting by
his beside sketching.

After his father's death he decided he
would continue with art.

He studied in Philadelphia, and in 1859 he
moved to New York .
Emanuel Leutze:
1816 - 1868
Emanuel Leutze by
Thomas Worthington Whittredge
c. 1856

A publisher saw some of his work and
hired him to paint portraits of some of the
leaders of the country, but he couldn't get
them to sit for him.

He left dejected and spent some time in
seclusion.

Compare his personality to Gilbert Stuart.
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His first successful showing was a
painting called Indian Contemplating the
Setting Sun.

He traveled to Europe and in Dusseldorf,
Germany became the pupil of Lessing, a
fine painter there.

Also successful was his painting of Columbus
Before the Council of Salamanca . It was so well
received it was purchased by the Art Union of
Dusseldorf.

He went to Munich and painted another great
scene about the explorer, Columbus Before the
Queen. We see him before Queen Isabella and
King Ferdinand trying to get funding for his
anticipated voyage.

Queen Isabella rejected Columbus’ plan several
times over a period of about two years, but
finally agreed to help him.
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Leutze painted two versions of Westward the
Course of Empire Takes Its Way. The 1861
version which we see here is in the Smithsonian
Art Museum
The 1862 version is in the United States Capitol.
It is a 20x30 foot mural which took him two years
to paint. He received $20,000 for it.

With the money he moved his family back to
America and settled in Washington D.C.

How do the pictures differ and how are they
alike?

He traveled around Europe but returned to
Dusseldorf, married and remained there
fourteen years.

When he returned to the United States he
opened a studio in New York. He had been
away for eighteen years.
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Leutze became famous for his paintings
of American historical scenes.
The featured painting Washington
Crossing the Delaware is the one for
which he is remembered.
The painting itself is quite large, 12 feet
high and 21 feet long.
George Washington
Columbus
Grant at the Capture of Mexico City
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Battle of Monmouth, NJ.
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As you recall Paul Revere and others made
their midnight ride on April 19, 1775 to warn
Boston area that the British were coming by
sea.
Thomas Paine published Common Sense in
January 1776.
The Declaration of Independence was signed
July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, PA.
The Battle of Trenton, New Jersey December,
1776
Emanuel Leutze’s painting of
Washington Crossing the Delaware

The commander of the Continental Army
against Great Britain stands boldly near the
prow of a crowded boat and navigates the
treacherous Delaware River on Christmas
night, 1776.
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Through the sobering months General
Washington led an army of dwindling
numbers, with defeats mounting and morale
sinking.
Soundly beaten in New York, Washington
was pursued through New Jersey into
Pennsylvania by British General William
Howe who fully expected to take
Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental
Congress.
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However, in his retreat across the Delaware
River, Washington shrewdly seized all the
available boats to ferry his men from New
Jersey banks to the Pennsylvania side.
A confident General Howe, certain the war
was all but won, had already returned to New
York in mid-December, leaving his British and
Hessian mercenary troops in the Trenton, NJ
area.

The commanders left in charge plotted a river
crossing as soon as the Delaware iced over.

Washington acted immediately when his
spies uncovered the plan.

With the same boats used to flee the British,
he and his men recrossed the river at
Trenton, found the enemy, killed several
officers, and captured more than 900
prisoners.

The surprise attack not only checked the
British advance but helped restore morale to
the rebels.

The victory confirmed Washington’s
leadership and the brilliance of his military
strategy, both vital to reinvigorating the
American cause.
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After this scene, Washington marched his
men quickly to Trenton to attack the surprised
Hessian army.
They captured 900 Hessians and ferried
them back across the treacherous river to
Pennsylvania.
Although no Americans were killed in the
battle, two froze to death on the march to
battle. This victory greatly boosted the
Continental army’s morale.
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The painting is a record of a notably historical
event which took place on Christmas Day 1776.
The powerful picture features a calm,
determined George Washington who commands
the troops.
They landed on the New Jersey shore at 4 A.M.
on December 26th and then marched nine miles
to Trenton.
The British troops were taken by surprise and
the Americans won a decisive battle.
The Hessians lost 80 men and 900 were
captured.
The Americans lost four men, two in the fighting
and two men froze during the crossing. The
battle at Princeton, also followed the landing.
Emanuel Leutze [1816-1868]


Leutze grew up sharing the democratic ideals
of the American Revolution and frequently
represented them in his historical and literary
paintings.
The December battle at Trenton, a turning
point in the war, appealed to the Germanborn painter, who had immigrated to the
United States as a child decades after the
Revolution.

His works are combinations of carefully
researched information presented in a
meticulously rendered dramatic style.

Leutze’s theatrical interpretations of historical
events brought him private and governmental
commissions.

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Leutze grew up in Philadelphia and likely
visited the place where the crossing took
place.
He made the painting in Dusseldorf,
Germany. It took him two years to paint it.
At one point there was a fire that partially
destroyed the first canvas he started.
He used the Rhine River as his model for
the Delaware River.
He had visited America many times and
had studied paintings of Washington and
had looked at his uniform in the museum.
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The sheer size of Leutze’s canvas, twelve by
twenty-one feet, pulls anyone standing before
it into the scene.
The viewer is nearly the same size as the
painted figures and the action seems only a
few feet away.
Washington stands fast in the lead boat as
his men struggle to maneuver the craft
through the choppy, ice-filled waters.
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Other boats follow, crowded with soldiers and
jittery horses.
We can feel Washington’s resolve and
courage in facing the battle ahead as he
leans forward into the blustering wind.
As his men strain to pull the oars through the
water, one deflects the ice while another at
the back of the boat uses a paddle like a
rudder to steer the course.

Dawn glimmers below the troubled sky, and
the American flag, blown and knotted by the
winds, rises to a peak behind the General.
Composition

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Leutze arranged the figures in a triangular
composition. The main triangle extends from
the top of the flag to the boat’s bow and back
to its stern.
Other triangles are in the figure groupings.
One extends from Washington’s head to the
bow and back to the extended arms of the
red shirted figure.
Composition
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The figures look to the left of the painting
showing the progressive movement towards
their objective.
The figures are clad in dull muted colors
except for the accents of bright red.
Leutze unifies the composition by overlapping
figures and repeating various shades of blue
through out the painting.
Light and shadows show the depth and form
of the figures.
Composition
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The painting is notable for its artistic
composition.
General Washington is emphasized by an
unnaturally bright sky, while his face catches
the upcoming sun.
The colors consist of mostly dark tones, as is
to be expected at dawn, but there are red
highlights repeated throughout the painting.
Composition


Foreshortening, perspective and the distant
boats all lend depth to the painting and
emphasize the boat carrying Washington.
Foreshortening refers to the visual effect or
optical illusion that an object or distance
appears shorter than it actually is because it
is angled toward the viewer.
Symbolism
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Twelve diverse, determined soldiers, including
Washington, crowd the main boat. They wear
clothing distinctive to their region.
In addition to Washington, another Virginian and
future president, who may represent Lieutenant
James Monroe holds the flag.
Western frontiersmen guide the boat, a man wearing
a Scotch hat rows. Is he a recent immigrant?
An African American man rows on the far side. He
could represent one of the Massachusetts seamen
who played an important role in ferrying the army
back and forth across the river. Leutze was an
ardent abolitionist.
Symbolism in Painting
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The people in the boat represent a cross-section
of the American colonies.
A man in a Scottish bonnet
A man of African descent facing backward
Next to each other in the front, western riflemen at
the bow and stern
Two farmers in broad-brimmed hats near the
back (one with bandaged head)
An androgynous rower in a red shirt, possibly
meant to be a woman in man's clothing
There is also a man at the back of the boat that
looks to be Native American.
Symbolism
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A hatless figure in a man’s red shirt is rowing.
There were women on Washington’s ration
list and some historians guess that this figure
could be a woman.
Farmers huddle in blankets and broadbrimmed hats. One holds a double-barreled
rifle. By this time in the war, many of
Washington’s army no longer had shoes and
wrapped their bleeding, freezing feet in rags.
Leutze dressed models in colonial clothing to
pose for his painting.
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The man standing next to Washington and
holding the flag is Lieutenant James Monroe,
future President of the United States.
Also, General Edward Hand (commanding
general at siege of Yorktown) is shown
seated and holding his hat within the vessel.

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Leutze, a passionate abolitionist,
included an African American as the
third boatman from the front whose
name was Prince Whipple.
Although Whipple has been identified
by some as the African American figure
in the familiar painting of Washington
crossing the Delaware River, it is
doubtful he was present on Christmas
Eve, 1776.

Fully one-third of Patriot soldiers at the Battle
of Bunker Hill were African Americans.
Census data also reveal that there were
slaves and free Blacks living in the North in
1790 and after.

What do we know about African-American
communities in the North in the years after
the American Revolution?
Prince Whipple
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Prince Whipple fought at the battles of Saratoga
and in Delaware during the War for
Independence. He was also one of twenty
enslaved men who petitioned the New
Hampshire legislature for freedom in 1779.
His owner, General William Whipple, was a
signer of the Declaration of Independence and
an aide to General George Washington.
Prince Whipple was brought from the coast of
Africa to the colonial trading center of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1760 when he
was ten.
He grew into manhood enslaved, a body
servant to one of the colony’s most influential
leaders. Because of his expertise and
refinement, Whipple also served as major-domo
at the most elegant social events in the city.
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In 1779, Prince Whipple was one of 20 petitioners
who identified themselves as African men who were
taken from their native lands “while but children and
incapable of self-defense” now making a plea to the
New Hampshire legislature for manumission and for
the abolition of slavery in the state.
The petition was tabled without legislative action.
While the author of the document is unknown,
Whipple was literate, as were most of the other
petitioners. Literacy was not unusual for New
Hampshire slaves who had grown up within
households of educated owners.
For instance, Whipple’s wife, Dinah, who later ran a
school for African children, had been raised in the
household of a prominent local minister.
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Prince married Dinah on her 21st birthday,
which also was the date of her manumission,
February 22, 1781.
Whipple, was not freed until 1784.
When William Whipple died the following
year, his widow honored the General’s
promise to provide a lifetime home for his
servants. She allowed Prince Whipple to
move a house onto her property where he
and Dinah raised their seven children.
They shared this house with another former
Whipple slave and his family.

Prince Whipple died on November 21, 1796
at the age of 46 and is buried with his wife
and at least one daughter and a
granddaughter near the tomb of his former
owner at North Cemetery in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.

Hoping for a government commission, Leutze
put the painting on pubic exhibit in New York
in 1851.

Within four months, fifty thousand people had
paid to see it.

Not long after, a private collector bought the
work for ten thousand dollars, a
stupendous sum at the time.
Engraved reproductions, popular in
nineteenth-century American homes,
expanded the fame of the work even
further.
 The attention and high praise Leutze
received helped the artist obtain the
commission for his mural Westward
The Course of Empire Takes Its Way,
which now occupies a stairway in the
US Capitol.

Originally, Leutze’s painting of
Washington Crossing the Delaware
was held in a carved and gilded
wooden frame.
 Along the top of the work’s original
frame was a twelve-foot carved eagle
holding a banner with the famous
words eulogizing George
Washington: “First in war, first in
peace, and first in the hearts of his
countrymen.”

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Other artists who have painted the
crossing are Thomas Sully and George
Caleb Bingham.

They each show Washington on
horseback.

The black man, Prince Whipple, appears
in both the Leutze and Sully rendition.

Leutze's painting is the most dramatic of
all the works done of the event.
Thomas Sully
George Caleb Bingham
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Each painting of the crossing contains
inconsistencies.
The flag shown is not accurate.
The Continental Congress did not
officially adopt the flag shown in the
painting until June 14, 1777.
According to tradition, that particular
design, the Betsy Ross flag with 13 stars
and 13 stripes was actually created six
months later, late May or early June of
1776 at the request on George
Washington and two other members of
Congress.
The Grand Union Flag

The historically accurate flag would have been the Grand Union
Flag, officially hoisted by Washington himself on January 2, 1776
at Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the standard of the Continental
Army and the first national flag.

Artistic concerns motivated further deviations
from historical (and physical) accuracy.

For example, the boat (of the wrong model)
looks too small to carry all occupants and
stay afloat, but this emphasizes the struggle
of the rowing soldiers.
The actual boat was a Durham Boat.

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There are phantom light sources besides the
upcoming sun, as can be seen on the face of
the front rower and shadows on the water, to
add depth.

The crossing took place in the dead of
night, so there ought to have been little
natural light, but this would have made for a
very different painting.
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A powerful nor’easter pelted snow and sleet,
blocking out the sky.
The crossing began in late afternoon as the
sun sank and continued until about 4 a.m.
Darkness covered Washington’s advance to
Trenton.
The painting is much lighter than the actual
event. Leutze’s dawn promises a new day
and bright future for the new nation.
Since the painting was done in Germany

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The river is modeled after the Rhine, where
ice tends to form in crags as pictured, not in
broad sheets as is more common on the
Delaware.
However, it is speculated that the Delaware
River really was frozen over as depicted
because of the Little Ice Age that was
occurring at the time.

Also, the Delaware River at what is now
called Washington Crossing is far narrower
than the river depicted in the painting.

It was also raining during the crossing.

Next, the men did not bring horses across the
river in the boats.
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Distant small indistinct light figures of men and
horses in the background suggest the size of
Washington’s army.
2400 men with horses and cannon crossed the river
from Pennsylvania to attack 1500 Hessians in
Trenton, NJ.
The horses and cannon were probably loaded onto
flat ferries rather than Durham boats.
The rearing horses and disarray of oars suggest the
excitement of the moment.

Finally, consider Washington's stance,
obviously intended to depict him in a heroic
fashion, would have been very hard to
maintain in the stormy conditions of the
crossing with so many people in the boat.
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Debunkers of the painting's historical
accuracy have traditionally said that
Washington would have been sitting down;
Historians have argued, however, that
everyone would have been standing up to
avoid the icy water in the bottom of the boat
(the actual boats used have higher sides).
Geographically, they are also heading in the
opposite direction of their historical
destination.
The Durham Boat
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Leutze also painted portraits.
The portrait of Nathaniel Hawthorne was
painted in Washington D.C. when he was
working on the Westward mural at the
Capitol.
Hawthorne was a prominent writer in the
1800's.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Amber Necklace

Another portrait painting The Amber
Necklace shows a mother and child.

In European countries amber necklaces
are put on babies and supposedly the
effect of the amber as it is warm on the
skin helps to ease the pain of teething and
soothes the baby.
George Washington at Dorchester
Heights, Massachusetts
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Late in life, he became a member of the National Academy of
Design.
He was also a member of the Union League Club of New York,
which has a number of his paintings.

Emanuel Leutze was a warm and giving person, always
ready to lend a hand to new artists.

He helped financially and gave them a place to work.

He died in Washington, D.C., in his 53rd year, of heatstroke.

At the time of his death, a painting, The Emancipation of the
Slaves, was in preparation.
Quiz

Using your worksheet from today’s class,
make sure that all the blanks are completed.
Thomas Paine –
Using complete sentences and paragraphs

What do you think of Thomas Paine ?

His writings , his timing, his influence ?

Could his work/writings be timely for today?
Have a great week !