Assignment
In this assignment you will be analyzing two sources together, Edward Savage's painting "Liberty in the Form of the Goddess of Youth Giving Support to the Bald Eagle" (1796) and a homemade needlepoint version of the same painting c. 1800
Images as Primary Sources
Like all primary sources, images need to be carefully read and interpreted. You may not be able to give exact answers, but you should still try. Here's the procedure I recommend you follow as you study the image:
1. Source. Develop a basic description. What do you see?
2. Observe. Does anything about this image immediately jump out at you? If so, what?
3. Contextualize. Do you see anything that reminds you of something you've seen before or learned in class? If so, what? Can you hypothesize (guess) anything about this image just by looking at it?
4. Corroborate. What questions do you still have about this image?
Your Assignment
In essay format, answer the following questions:
1. In addition to the female figure of Liberty, what other symbols of early America do you see in the painting?
2. Why do you think Savage depicts Liberty as a "goddess of youth"?
3. Why do you think this image was popular enough with Americans that people reproduced it in print and in other mediums, like needlepoint?
4. Does this image "speak" to you at all? Do you find it appealing, unappealing, boring, etc.? Would you hang it up in your house as so many Americans did in the early 1800s? Why or why not? Again, be as specific as possible. The more specific you are the higher grade you will earn.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.