Final answer:
Thomas Cole's series 'The Voyage of Life' symbolically represents the stages of human life rather than the birth of the United States as a constitutional republic, making the statement false.
Step-by-step explanation:
Thomas Cole was a central figure of the Hudson River School and an American artist who, after emigrating from England, used landscape painting to express themes important to the United States. His four-part series of paintings, "The Voyage of Life," is a deeply symbolic work that reflects on the stages of human life, rather than the birth and development of the United States as a constitutional republic. Therefore, the statement that "The Voyage of Life" represents the birth and development of the United States is False. While Cole's work, including The Oxbow, often dealt with themes relevant to the expansion and development of the United States, such as Manifest Destiny, The Voyage of Life is not a visual commentary on the nation's political evolution but rather a series of allegorical works that explore the journey of life from childhood to old age.