The Deplorable State of America, or Sc___h Government

Anonymous, British, 18th century British

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In this allegorical satire a seated Britannia offers a Pandora's Box to America, the box intended as a symbol of the Stamp Act. Minerva, representing wisdom, advises America not to take it, while Liberty lies on the ground oppressed by a thistle (a reference to George III's chief minister, the Scottish Lord Bute), and attacked by a serpent that embodies treachery. Mercury, a symbol of truth, departs from America.

The Deplorable State of America, or Sc___h Government, Anonymous, British, 18th century, Etching

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