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Comments
I'm speculating that the numbers on the block and the coin bags in the Capitol Extension Pediment were a praise to the Pierce Administration's success in negotiating the Canadian Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 (signed June 5). Reportedly, Mr. William L. Marcy ( Sec. of State) had bribed Halifax, Fredericton, and St. John's in order to facilitate passage; while Lord Elgin floated it through the U.S. Senate on an ocean of Champagne. I have no actual knowledge, but suggest that the coin bags represent the small relative price paid for the greater speculation of what the Treaty would have been sold as being worth to the USA at the time. - Joe
These close-up photos are beautiful and your descriptions made me want to see every detail. I would love to see this photo spread (and more) as a special exhibit in the visitors’ center. Explanatory notes accompanying the exhibit would reveal the thinking of the time and help us understand how ideas change over a historical period.
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