The Story Behind a Historic Chair

Carte de visite by Burnite & Weldon of Harrisburg, Pa. This circa 1864 photograph described as the "Hancock Chair, House of Representatives, Harrisburg" led me to believe it might have been sat in by Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, a son of Pennsylvania and a wounded warrior from the recent Battle of Gettysburg.

 

My hunch was wrong.

 

When this image was taken, Americans celebrated the chair as the one sat in by John Hancock in the summer of 1776 during the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

 

But that chair was gone—believed to have been destroyed by British forces during its occupation of Philadelphia during the fall of 1777 and the spring of 1778.

 

In 1779, a replacement chair was created by Philadelphia furniture maker John Folwell, and it was presented to the Pennsylvania legislature.

 

This is the chair pictured here.

 

The chair has a unique history, for it was occupied by George Washington during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Independence Hall. During the convention, delegate Benjamin Franklin's attention focused on the sun design on the top of the chair's back. He wondered if it was setting or rising. Franklin finally decided it was rising.

 

Here's a detail of the sun, located at the top of the chair's back: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Detail%2C_cre...

 

The chair sat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where it was used by the presiding officer until 1872, when it was returned to Independence Hall. This photograph of the chair is inscribed at the bottom "Compliments of Wm. S. Cooper." This may be William S. Cooper, an inventor and brass manufacturer.

 

Confusion about the origins of the chair continued until 1935, when furniture scholar William MacPherson Hornor Jr. revealed its origins. Today, the chair is in the custody of the National Park Service. It is now known as "The Rising Sun Armchair," a name that emerged in the late 20th century.

 

President Ronald Reagan referenced the chair at the conclusion of his 1987 State of the Union speech:

 

We the people -- starting the third century of a dream and standing up to some cynic who's trying to tell us we're not going to get any better. Are we at the end? Well, I can't tell it any better than the real thing -- a story recorded by James Madison from the final moments of the Constitutional Convention, September 17th, 1787. As the last few members signed the document, Benjamin Franklin -- the oldest delegate at 81 years and in frail health -- looked over toward the chair where George Washington daily presided. At the back of the chair was painted the picture of a Sun on the horizon. And turning to those sitting next to him, Franklin observed that artists found it difficult in their painting to distinguish between a rising and a setting Sun.

 

Well, I know if we were there, we could see those delegates sitting around Franklin -- leaning in to listen more closely to him. And then Dr. Franklin began to share his deepest hopes and fears about the outcome of their efforts, and this is what he said: ``I have often looked at that picture behind the President without being able to tell whether it was a rising or setting Sun: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.'' Well, you can bet it's rising because, my fellow citizens, America isn't finished. Her best days have just begun.

 

I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.

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