Visual Art
In keeping with the topic of The Illustrated Page focusing on both image and text, students will examine the way in which information is arranged in both for a richer experience. Students will analyze whether one type of media may be more misleading or considered more reliable and they will note their assertions of this discussion. During the Revolutionary War, images and text were used to air local grievances as well as to assist colonies in communicating with each other. Literacy during this time for white males in the New England and Middle colonies was “estimated to be around 85% between 1758-1762 and rising to 90% from 1787-1795; however the rates in Southern colonies and in more rural areas were lower than in urban centers.” (11) The rates for female literacy were about half of the percentages listed for white males. These facts may assist students in understanding how the use of broadsides, historically defined as posters announcing proclamations or events, would be considered useful by leaders wishing to gather support for a the cause of freedom from British rule. It may also explain why some of the “facts” used to create an image-text would be skewed to manipulate public opinion. These broadsides were possibly propaganda used to misrepresent actual realities which would sway public feelings and conversations in support of the rebellion against Great Britain. Students will continue discussion about when each piece was created and the larger political context surrounding the time period in which it was created. How did the current events influence the creation of this media from the past?
The examination of the techniques used by the artist/author, as well as the “story” that these paintings tell will give the students additional information about connections to the history and the specific knowledge that has been transmitted as factual accounts. Some of the best-loved accounts of the founding of this nation; however, were not created during the actual events or immediately after the events. Several of the most beloved classic revolutionary tales were crafted by authors and artisans decades after the Revolutionary War and the colonial time period to “create” a history that romanticized the birth of a nation or sought to conceal facts and details that may not be as flattering or patriotic. Winter at Valley Forge is just one among these tales that has been remastered to provide us with a hero in the form of General Washington and to align the events of the American Revolution with a storyline that has a happy ending.
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