Rosenthal, Max "The Dawn of Liberty"

Max Rosenthal. "The Dawn of Liberty."

Philadelphia: William Smith, 1864. 16 x 22 1/4. Lithograph by L.N. Rosenthal.  Wide margins. With photocopy of orginal key to print.  Stains and areas of wear of paper surface in top margin.  Else, good condition.  

A patriotic print issued towards the end of the Civil War, reflecting the notion that the belief in Liberty had its roots deep in American history. The Revolutionary War period scene shows General Thomas Gage meeting with a group of children who had been arrested by British troops for 'revolutionary' activity. Gage was so impressed with the boys' bravery and high ideals that he remarks, "The very children here draw in a love of liberty with the air they breathe. You may go my brave boys, and be assured if my troops trouble you again they shall be punished." The Civil War was seen in the North very much as a battle of principles, and prints such as this assured the public that their fight was part of a glorious and noble past.