37. Jefferson, Franklin and Adams

Three Giants

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris’ portrayal of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence by three of America’s most revered founding fathers underscores the singular importance of the words they chose to employ. Thomas Jefferson, an estimable writer, had taken on the task of preparing a first draft for the five-man Committee of the Continental Congress that had been assigned the job. This painting depicts Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson congregated at a table in Jefferson’s Philadelphia lodgings, carefully reviewing and revising his work. Their painstaking efforts toward perfection in prose are evidenced by the crumpled and torn papers discarded on the floor.

The painting slices Jefferson’s chair in half, suggesting incompleteness in the historic scene. Indeed, the artist’s rendition leaves out two Committee members, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. While it is known that Franklin and Adams each edited the text, and that forty-seven alterations were made prior to the Committee’s presentment of the draft to Congress, no specific contribution has ever been credited to either Sherman or Livingston. Perhaps this fact accounts for the artist’s decision to devote the painting exclusively to these three giants in America’s revolutionary history.