America:
Adams Family Papers - The famous letters between John and Abigail Adams, plus John's diaries and autobiography.
American Memory - Huge (how does 27,000 documents by Thomas Jefferson sound?) collection of American source material.
The Constitution - Worth reading from time to time, if for no other reason than to remind yourself of how amazing this document is. In its original form it was four pages long! With a few changes, we've governed ourselves for over 200 years on four pages.
The Great Seal of the United States - How it came to be.
Guide for the Presidents of the United States - Interesting bits of information on the presidents, with a link for each of them to another site with more. I learned from thbis that Chester A. Arthur (my favorite president) might have been born in Canada.
Star of Columbia - A song by M. T. Durham.
The Supreme Court Historical Society
USHistory.org - "Created and Hosted by the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia." Large number of pages centering around the history of America from its founding through to the Revolutionary War. A lot of information centering on Philadelphia, of course, but the rest of the colonies are well-represented.
Walt Whitman - reading from "America."
America: Separation of Church and State
Critique of David Barton's "America's Godly Heritage" - A publication by a proponent of the "America is a Christian Nation" is trashed by the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs.
How to Have Prayers in Public Schools - Legally - For next time someone complains to you about how prayer has been taken out of the schools.
Religion In The Public Schools: A Joint Statement Of Current Law - A good summary of the rights of students and the restrictions on the govenrment, prepared by a number of groups, including the ACLU, American Jewish Congress, Baptist Joint Committee, General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, and the National Association of Evangelicals.
Separation of Church and State Home Page - Essays giving arguments in favor, and answers to arguments against.
Thomas Jefferson on the Wall of Separation between Church and State - Read what he really wrote.
Treaty with Tripoli, 1796 - Did you know that the United States wasn't founded on Christianity? The Founders did.
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - One of the three things Thomas Jefferson wanted on his tombstone was "Author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom." A must-read for anyone wanting to understand the thoughts of the Founders regarding religious freedom.
American Paganism:
The Apotheosis of Washington - The inside of the dome of the Capitol building. Pretty wild; Washington being raised to the heavens, to divine status, by the goddesses Liberty and Victory/Fame. Check out the surrounding paintings, in which classical goddesses teach the arts and skills to the Founding Fathers.
Architect of the Capitol Website - Pages on the Capitol. The artwork section is intriguing; the Capitol art is a mix of Pagan, Christian, and historical symbolism, which says a lot about America.
Cincinnatus - The ideal man on which the Founding Fathers, especially Washington, based their public lives. Great statue.
The Classical Tradition in America - Photos of artwork in Washington, DC, designed to accompany a course at Vanderbilt University. The statue of Washington as Zeus is particulary intriguing.
William A. Cox, "The Goddess of Freedom How Lofty She" - A poem from 1927 directed at the statue of Armed Freedom.
Fasces - Before the Fascists took it over, a symbol of republican government. Still found in many places, such as the chamber of the House of Representatives. Let's take it back.
Indiana Statehouse Images
Indiana War Memorial - Great sacred space.
Lady Freedom Among Us - A page of the next site, but it deserved its own link. It's a poem by Rita Dove, Poet Laureate of the United States, which captures both the glory of Liberty and the reality of how we haven't always lived up to her. Reality without the cynicism, idealism without the blindness.
Liberty: America's New Secular Religion and New Secular Law - An interesting an in-depth treatment of Pagan elements in American imagery by a Christian who is appalled by it. I disagree that Minerva was conflated with Liberty (I think that they are similar and allied, but not the same) and the material on Mithra, but the rest is intriguing.
Lady Liberty: The Changing Face of Freedom - Essays on the history of both the concept of Liberty and the statues of her.
The Medallic History of the United States, 1776-1876 - A reproduction of a book of medals struck in the first century of the Republic. Many of them depict images of such deities as Victory, Liberty, America, Minerva, Mercury, and Muses.
Philadelphia Public Art@philart.net - As is to be expected, the birthplace of our government has a large number of public artworks appropriate to American Paganism -- war memorials, Justice, Religious Liberty, various Ancestors, etc. Swann Memorial Fountain, with its statues of the Delaware, Schuylkill and Wissahickon rivers.
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site - Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed many monuments, sculptures, cameos, and the like, a number of which are of images connected with the ancestors and deities. He was also the designer of the most beautiful American coin ever minted, the Twenty-Dollar Gold Piece.
Selections from the C. W. McAlpin Collection - Some wonderful art from the early days of the US, with some lovely allegories. "Washington Giving the Laws to America," on Section V, is a bit over the top, but "America Presenting at the Altar of Liberty Medallions of Her Illustrious Sons" (Section VI) is a really cool image of a ritual to the goddess Liberty.
The Spirits of Washington, DC - "The Classical Temple Architecture and Pagan Statuary of Washington, DC."
Support the Tiananmen Mothers - I have a special devotion to the Goddess of Democracy erected by protestors in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, in 1989. They based it in part on the New York Statue of Liberty. On June 4, the Chinese government moved in with tanks, while the rest of the world did nothing. I have a replica of the statue in one of my shrines, and I honor her frequently. June 4, 1989, was a day of shame for this country. This site is an e-mail petition to allow the mothers of those killed that day to publicly mourn their dead. E-mail petitions rarely do any good, but it's more than was done before and when the tanks rolled in.
Supreme Court Building Friezes - Talk about Pagan imagery. Pay particular attention to what the stone tablet with the Roman numerals I - X over the Chief Justice's head, the point to which the lawgivers of all the ages are coming, represents, and what it means for the American secular religion.
Temple of Liberty - Woodcut from 1834.
USA Thinking Team -- New Images of Uncle Sam - The images (and idea) of Aunt Sarah are kind of silly, but I love the one of Uncle Sam with the hammer. Makes you want to join in with him.
Washington as Zeus - A statue that proved just a little too Pagan for acceptance.
Phyllis Wheatley - Wheatley was a slave, captured in Africa and brought to the American colonies in the mid-eigheenth century. Taught to read by her owners, who considered her part of their family, she became a famous poet. As a devout Christian, she filled most of her poems with Christian imagery. "To His Excellency, George Washington," which this site links to, is, however, an amazingly purely Pagan poem. And quite beautiful, at that.
Images of Liberty:
Images of Liberty are found in many places, starting in the Roman period. Most of the ones found today are American, particularly on coins; before presidents were put on American coins, Liberty was there. (It would be great to get back to that tradition, perhaps on the dollar coin the government keeps trying to get accepted. A forlorn hope, perhaps.) Here are some of her images:
Armed Freedom - This is the statue of a goddess, perhaps an avatar of Liberty, which stands on the top of the dome of the Capitol in Washington.
Chain Cent (1793)The chain on the back is apparently intended to represent the bonds of the states. Still, it's a rather odd thing on a coin with Liberty on the other side.
Gauden Twenty Dollar coin - The most beautiful image of her ever.
Gauden Twenty Dollar coin - A modern colored version.
The Goddess Liberty with a Portrait of Jefferson - From this site: Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Exhibition
Seal of the State of Hawaii - King Kamehameha and Liberty supporting the state.
Iranian Liberty Englightening the World - Sometimes it isn't a torch she needs. Check it out.
Liberty Leading the People - Eugene Delacroix's famous painting from the French Revolution. Note to John Ashcroft and those who had trouble with the standing Liberty coin: this Liberty has a bare breast. The horror!
Matthughes on DeviantArt
New Jersey State Flag - Liberty and Prosperity (shown as Ceres) supporting the state seal.
New York State Flag - Liberty and Justice.
One-franc Coin (1992)
The Pennsylvania Magazine
San Jacinto Liberty - On a flag carried at the Battle of San Jacinto, during the Texas Revolution.
Standing Liberty - This coin caused quite a stir when it was released because of her bare breast. I guess this sort of thing didn't start with John Ashcroft.
Texas Capitol
We Owe Allegiance to No Crown
Images of other American Deities:
These aren't necessarily American images, though. I've limited the images of classical deities to modern images to show how they've been interpreted by (presumably) non-Pagan artists.
Agriculture - A statue next to the Chicago Board of Trade.
Agriculture - 1 Rockefeller Plaza.
Alma Mater - At Columbia University
Alma Mater - At University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
America Reclining
America - About halfway down the page is an engraving of America ascending the steps of the temple of Libertas.
America: "Welcome, Noble Belgium."
Athena - In, appropriately enough, Athens, GA.
Ceres - On the Chicago Board of Trade Building
Ceres A second one, this time a mural, from the Chicago Board of Trade Building.
The Chinese Question - Cartoon by Thomas Nast, of Santa Clause fame. A supporter of civil rights, Nast created this political cartoon showing Columbia protecting a Chinese immigrant from a mob.
Columbia Brewing Co. - Love the see-through top. Can you imagine any company using a logo with that today? Ah, for the innocent, non-sex-crazed yesteryear, when modesty prevailed.
Columbia - In a manga/anime vision on Deviant Art.
Columbia - The monument from Illinois at Andersonville.
Columbia - From the Elks National Veterans Memorial, Chicago.
Columbia - From the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Columbia Protecting Science and Industry - On the grounds of the Smithsonian.
Columbia: "They Shall Not Perish."
Columbia Triumphant - From the Maine Memorial.
Commerce, Industry, Transportation - Statues in Charlotte, NC.
Commerce and Industry - The author of the site misidentifies the winged torch in the center as a caduceus.
Genius of Connecticut - In the state capitol.
Father of the Waters - A statue of the god of the Mississippi in the Minneapolis Municipal Building.
Hope - In Friendship, Indiana.
The Four Continents - Outside the main entrance to the former United States Custom House in New York City.
Industry - A statue next to the Chicago Board of Trade.
Industry - 1 Rockefeller Plaza.
Youth Leading Industry - 636 Fifth Avenue.
Images of Goddesses of Industry, Livestock, and Mining, Motherhood, and Agriculture - From the South Dakota Capitol Building
Justice - A fountain in San Antonio, Texas. Identified with some with Aphrodite, I think that the point is the erotic power of Justice.
Justice - Lots and lots and lots of images of her.
Minerva: America Guided by Wisdom - An analysis of an allegorical painting.
Minerva Dictating the Constitution - From the base of John Jay's statue in Washington. So that's where we get our Constitution from.
Minerva on Fifty Dollar Coin - Struck in 1915 to commerorate the opening of the Panama Canal.
Mother Iowa - Iowa, you surprise me.
Portlandia - The goddess of Portland, Oregon.
Progress - 1 Rockefeller Plaza.
Statues of Ladies at the Top of our State Capitol Buildings
Various - Images of allegorical virtues. (Go through the stream to see.)
Victory - On the top of the Arizona state capitol.
Virginia Great Seal - Virtus on this seal.
Vulcan Park - He watches over Birmingham, Alabama.
WWI Victory Medal - With, of course, an image of Victory.
Wisconsin - Often misidentified as "Lady Forward."
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