Project Title
Abstract/Description
Around noon on October 21, 1797, a crowd of men and women gathered at Hartt’s shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts to attend the launching of the USS Constitution. The Americans who witnessed the launching of the Constitution on that cold, overcast, autumn day must have marveled at the sight of the newly completed 44-gun frigate. Joshua Humphreys, a Philadelphian shipbuilder, designed the Constitution longer and thinner than the typical frigate of the time in order to facilitate the ship’s ability to sail with greater alacrity and precision through the ocean. Humphrey also ordered the ship’s hull to consist predominantly of live oak from Georgia, to help increase the Constitution’s durability. Crowds cheered with overpowering enthusiasm and pride as the ship slid into Boston Harbor. The launching of the USS Constitution was significant because it symbolized the United State’s potential as a world power.
Recommended Citation
George, Elizabeth
(2012).
Through the Eyes of Sailors and Citizens: How Sailors on the USS Constitution Viewed the Greek Revolution.
Undergraduate Review, 8, 33-39.
Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol8/iss1/8
Rights Statement
Articles published in The Undergraduate Review are the property of the individual contributors and may not be reprinted, reformatted, repurposed or duplicated, without the contributor’s consent.