Introduction

Revolutionary era Americans were enamored with classical icons--the toga-draped divinities and laurel-crowned heroes who gave ancient substance to eighteenth-century politics, warfare, and empire. But, as Caroline Winterer shows in our featured article, classical images were far from static as newly independent Americans reshaped them to fit the needs of a modern republic with its own expansionist possibilities. In this installment of "Teaching the JAH," Winterer uses elements of a classical iconography to suggest the significance of its persistence through time in image and story.

Sections Guide

You may use the "Sections" menu on the upper right side of each page to navigate through this installment. Provided below is a summary of each section in this installment.