Distant View of Niagra Falls

Distant View of Niagara Falls 

                                  

Thomas Cole was an artist and founder of the Hudson River School. Cole is best known for his paintings of the American landscape. One of his most famous paintings is called Distant View of Niagara Falls. This painting epitomized the American spirit and grandeur power of American landscape and its romanticism. Cole sketched many versions of Niagara Falls from different viewpoints at different times to observe the sky and other perspectives. He observed that, "the clouds in such a sky are very romantically shaped. They fly in strata one above another the underside of each cloud is darker and bolder than the upper... The clouds in the highest part are the warmest into their shades, but their lights perfectly white."

The painting is on display at The Art Institute of Chicago. I have been there a few times and have probably walked past the painting before, but it never caught my eye. Now the next time I go to the Institute, I will know all about the painting. If I were to see it before learning about transcendentalism I would not have given the painting much thought. But now I would be able to study the painting and see that the two Native Americans are very small in size compared to what is around them, meaning that humans are insignificant in the grand scheme of nature. I would also observe how the Native Americans are capturing the sight of Niagara Falls as most of the land in the north was turning into factories.    

Tecumseh 

Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief and the leader of a First Nations Confederacy group in the War of 1812.  His name, Tecumseh, meant shooting star, which is very fitting for him.  During his childhood, his tribe was demolished by wars.  Over the span of eight year his tribe was invaded.  Tecumseh believed that he was born to be a leader for his people.  Tecumseh was best known for gathering other Indian tribes and fighting against white men to try and stop them from stealing their land which led him to side with Great Britain during the War of 1812.  Without Tecumseh and his men, the British would not have been able to defend themselves in Upper Canada in the begining of the war.  It is thought that the Native Americans were being used as the Britain's pawn in the war because of how United States General Robert Hull had a nervous breakdown and surrendered in what is now present day Detriot.  The fact of the Native Americans being Britain's pawns is very untrue.  Tecumseh joined forces with the British to protect the native land and the interests of the Native American people, not to promote Great Britain's presence in North America during the war.

Here is a short video called, 'Tecumseh's Vision'.  This video is a part of an episode of the show called, 'We Shall Remain'.  The video shows background on Tecumseh and what he did during his lifetime as one of the greatest Native American leaders.  To watch the video you will have to scroll down to the bottom of the page.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/06/18/war-1812-could-have-been-war-indian-independence-118851