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Visualizing Congress

Independence Hall

The Philadelphia building where the Second Continental Congress convened, and where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted (and, later on, the U.S. constitution)

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The Assembly Room for the Second Continental Congress

No documented seating plan survives.

The National Park Service has created a conjectural seating plan:

  • Each of the 13 colonies had a table

    • Northern colonies on the north side of the room

    • Southern colonies on the south side of the room

  • Baize (loosely woven wool fabric)

    • Covered each table

    • Green color - common in courtrooms, offices, and libraries - was perceived as neutral, practical, and dignified

  • Philadelphia chair makers crafted Windsor chairs for this room

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Recreation of the Assembly Room by the National Park Service.

Fashion of the Founding Fathers

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What did the Founding Fathers wear?

  • Powdered wigs (see below)

  • Breeches

    • ​"Garment for the legs and trunk"

    • Knee length

    • Attached with buttons or draw strings

  • Waistcoat

    • ​A sleeveless garment worn on the upper body over a dress shirt

    • Often worn beneath a frock coat

  • Frock coat

    • ​Worn over the shirt and waistcoat

    • Typically reached down to the knees

  • Stockings and shoes

    • ​Silk or woolen stockings

    • Lowheeled leather shoes with polished silver buckles

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Powdered wigs

  • Popularized by King Louis XIV of France, who wore the wigs to hide the fact that he was balding. Courtiers started mimicking his fashion statement, and this trickled down to the merchant class

  • Wigs weren't cheap, so they were a sign of class, and a way for people to show off their wealth

  • The powder was made using various recipes, but the most popular was a combination of finely ground starch scented with essence of lavender or orange flower

  • They were relatively easy to maintain and only needed to occasionally be sent to a wigmaker for delousing

    • Important to stress that the powdered wigs weren't worn for cleanliness reasons

    • Lice like clean hair, so cleanliness really wasn't the reason.

    • So what did lice have to do with it? Well, the lice preferred the wigs to the hair, and it's easier to delouse a wig than a person's actual hair that is attached to their actual head. Wigmakers could just boil the wig and pick out the nits.

  • The powder was kinda like a conditioner and dry shampoo. It was combed through very often to prevent build up of natural oils and reapplied every week or two to cleanse the hair. Extra powder is applied to the finished style for appearance or to keep areas from being too oily (like dry shampoo). The powder also helped hide any weird aromas.

  • By the late 1700s, these weren't totally in fashion. Some men were just powdering their actual hair, as opposed to having the wig itself. The reason for the switch isn't clear. One might assume it has to do with continuing to look fashionable by having your hair "dressed" somehow, which would make a lot of sense, but that can't be definitively confirmed or denied.

  • Who wore powdered wigs?

    • Wore wig

      • John Adams

    • Powdered own hair

      • Washington

      • Jefferson (note: he did have wigs, and may have worn one in 1776, but he never preferred wearing one and stopped entirely after 1801)

    • No wig, no powder

      • Ben Franklin

Engraving of Richard Henry Lee

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A young John Adams, sporting a powdered wig.

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Dressing a wig with hair bellow and powder, 1750-1780

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