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Art That Shaped American Identity | San Jose News
Did you know “The Spirit of 76” was painted by Archibald McNeal Willard before the American Revolution even ended? Originally called “Yankee Doodle,” it was a cartoonish hit at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and toured the nation—so popular Willard painted 14 versions. The figures? Real people: a Civil War fife player, a general’s son on drums, and Willard’s own father. And get this—the song “Yankee Doodle” started as a British insult, mocking Americans as dandies with feathers in their caps, but colonists turned it into a rallying cry. Meanwhile, in the National Archives, Barry Faulkner’s…
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