ARTY FACT! LADY LIBERTY
Lady Liberty is a quintessential American icon. From the lofty Statue of Liberty to humble
pennies, Lady Liberty emerged as one of Americas greatest symbols. Todays Arty-Facts
(or artifacts) are two pennies discovered archaeologically and the statue of Lady Liberty that
tops the Pulaski Monument.
PHOTOS
Throughout American history, several other figures have also been used to symbolize America.
The Indian Princess, neoclassical Plumed Greek Goddess, and Columbia were popular at the birth
of the nation. Two male figures, Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam, were invented after the War of
1812. The Roman goddess of Liberty, more commonly known as Lady Liberty, became popular during
the mid-1800s. The goddess Liberty morphed into Lady Liberty because the association between
liberty and America was so entwined.
The political right depicted Liberty as a woman seated and modest. The political left showed
Liberty standing, partially nude with wild hair, engaged in active, often athletic struggle.
These personifications were usually surrounded by other symbols such as the American flag, The Great
Seal, or an American eagle. Liberty frequently holds the liberty pole and cap.
The liberty cap and liberty pole have a very long history in the Western hemisphere. The origin of
the liberty cap, or Phrygian cap, is in modern-day Turkey. This cap was borrowed by the Romans and
used in a ceremony called capere pileum (to take the cap). Newly freed slaves were given a working
class hat (pileus) and touched with a rod called a vindicta. The symbol has been continually used
since, but the shape of hat varied according to the culture in which it was used.
The liberty cap was introduced in the American Revolution with William Hogarths 1763 satirical picture
of English journalist John Wilkes as Lady Liberty holding a pole and cap. Paul Revere designed
the masthead of the Boston Gazette to show Britannia (the British version of Lady Liberty) wearing
a liberty cap and opening a birdcage door. The liberty cap became such a strong symbol that it was
used to symbolize the American Colonies on maps.
During the late 1700s, the French and Americans participated in a great deal of cultural
exchange, including use of the liberty cap and pole. (Remember, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from
the people of France.) In 1792, the French National Convention adopted a new seal for the republic
that pictured a woman in classical clothing holding a pole topped by a liberty cap. The liberty cap
became the official symbol of the republic, and still has compelling meaning in France today.
But in America, the liberty cap gradually disappeared. While Lady Liberty was seen as a unifying
symbol, the slave-holding southern states objected to the liberty cap and its connotation of
freeing slaves. The liberty cap was removed from the design of the liberty sculpture atop the US
Capitol building at the request of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis.
Liberty caps and liberty poles accompanied Lady Liberty on American half-cent coins in the late
1700s. Some one-cent coins also featured Lady Liberty with a liberty cap and pole. Lady Liberty graced
the front of the half-cent and one-cent American coins from 1793 to 1857. At this time, the half cent
was discontinued and the eagle replaced Lady Liberty.
Bibliography
Breen, Walter
1988 Walter Breens Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. DoubleDay, New York.
Bressett, Ken and A. Kosoff
1987 The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins,
Third Edition. American Numismatic Association, Colorado Springs, Co.
Epstein, James
1989 Understanding the Cap of Liberty: Symbolic Practice and Social Conflict in Early 19th
Century England. Past and Present. February: 75-118, no.122.
Fleming, E, McClung
1967 From Indian Princess to Greek Goddess: The American Image, 1783-1815. Winterthur Portfolio.
Vol. 3:37-66.
Harden, J. David
1995 Liberty Caps and Liberty Trees. Past and Present. February:66-102.
Harris, Jennifer
1981 The Red Cap of Liberty: A Study of Dress Worn by French Revolutionary Partisans,
1789-1794. Eighteenth Century Studies. Spring:283-312 Vol. 14, no. 3.
Korshak, Yvonne
1987 The Liberty Cap as a Revolutionary Symbol in America and France. Smithsonian Studies in
American Art. Autumn:52-69. Vol. 1, no.2.
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FURTHER RESOURCES ON MUSEUMS AND CARING FOR ARTIFACTS
Links
American Association of Museums
American Association for State and Local History
Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries
Coastal Museums Association
Costume Society of America
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
Did You Know?
Other
Another good resource for preserving your personal objects is Saving Stuff: How to Care for and
Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions by Don Williams and Louisa
Jaggar (copyright 2005, published by Simon and Schuster).
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