ECONOMIC SOCIAL 109 



larger and stronger and arm them more 

 heavily than British frigates of the same 

 class, and our almost unbroken naval suc- 

 cesses of the War of 1812 were largely due 

 to this fact. His ideas and plans were ac- 

 cepted by the United States government 

 and he personally superintended the build- 

 ing of the frigate "United States," receiving 

 a salary of two thousand dollars a year from 

 the naval department for so doing. 



Philadelphia not only had the greatest 

 ship designer in the United States, but she 

 had also the best ship carver l in the world, 



1 From 1200 B. c. down to the beginning of the nine- 

 teenth century ornamentation of vessels, especially those 

 of war, was profuse, intricate and florid. A description 

 of the carving on the U. S. line-of -battle ship "America," 

 launched in 1782 and presented to Prance, will give some 

 idea of the extent to which this was carried. The figure- 

 head was a female figure crowned with laurel representing 

 America. The right arm was raised, pointing to heaven. 

 On the left arm was a buckler with a blue ground carrying 

 thirteen silver stars. On the stern of the ship under the 

 cabin windows appeared two large figures in bas-relief 

 representing "Tyranny" and "Oppression," bound and 

 biting the ground. On the back part of the starboard 



