Continental Congress

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George Washington and the Continental Congress

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Declaration of Independence

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For Students

Continental Congress summary

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Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.

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"George Washington before the Battle of Trenton" oil on canvas by John Trumbull, c. 1792-94; in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

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Continental Congress: Media

American history

Videos

A lit sparkler is shown against a background of the American flag.

The Fourth of July: Questions and answers

Why fireworks?

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; thumbnail © Tetra Images/Getty Images

The American flag is shown against a blue sky background.

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One colony didn't originally vote for independence.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

George Washington and the Continental Congress

George Washington and the Continental Congress

George Washington (middle) surrounded by members of the Continental Congress, lithograph...

Currier & Ives Collection, Library of Congress, Neg. No. LC-USZC2-3154

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence, oil on canvas by John Trumbull, 1818; in the...

Architect of the Capitol

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