In June 1776 five delegates to the Second Continental Congress drafted the Declaration of Independence. The mural depicts (from left to right) Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and John Adams. On the wall in the background is a portrait of English philosopher John Locke, whose Second Essay on Government argued that the rights of man include the right of revolution.
Left: American naval officer John Paul Jones hoists the Continental Colors, the first national United States flag.
Right: George Washington is shown in a British officer's uniform, which he wore on a 1753 mission to challenge French troops along the Ohio River.
About the Cox Corridors Murals
The first floor of the U.S. Capitol's House wing is elaborately decorated with wall and ceiling murals by artist Allyn Cox. The central east-west corridor is referred to as the Great Experiment Hall because it chronicles in 16 murals the legislative milestones of three centuries, from the signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1629 to the enactment of women's suffrage in 1920.