What is there to love about Philadelphia? aside from yours truly being born and raised in the "City of Brotherly love", the city has so much to offer, The Phillies for baseball fans, Philly cheese steaks for meat lovers, sales-tax free shoes and clothes for shopaholics, to name a few, but for most, the affection for Philly goes deeper.
Philadelphia abounds in historic attractions for freedom-loving individuals who wish to trace the very foundation of American independence.
What's in a Name?
Quaker founder William Penn sailed from England to America and arrived on November 8, 1682. He left England convinced that religious toleration could never be achieved in his homeland, and instead asked the King for a charter enabling him to establish an American colony. Charles II, the reigning monarch at the time, signed a charter for territory west of Delaware River and north of Maryland, approximately the present size of Pennsylvania, where about a thousand Germans, Dutch, and Indians lived without a particular government.
The King is said to have proposed the name Pennsylvania, which means "Forest of Penn," honoring Penn's late father, the admired, respected and decorated Admiral Penn of the British naval fleet. Other sources say that it was William Penn himself who chose the name Philadelphia, which means "City of brotherly love" in Greek. Once he arrived in the designated territory, Penn set an example in the pursuit of the libert. He showed how people could live free and how individuals of different races and religions could live together peacefully. Penn's policy of religious tolerance led to the influx of immigrants such that during the American Revolution a century hence, Pennsylvania became one of the largest colonies and America's first great melting pot.
Streets of Philadelphia
Exploring Philadelphia today, visitors will find some of the country's most treasured historic sites such as the Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, and the Betsy Ross House. For Americans, revisiting history will make one feel proud, patriotic, moved and inspired especially in these financially trying times.
The Sound of Liberty
The Liberty Bell Center located within the Independence National Historic Park is home to the liberty bell, a worldwide symbol of freedom. Throughout the expansive, light-filled center, historic documents and graphic images explore the facts and myths surrounding the icon of the American Revolution.
The bell was cast in the Whitechapel Foundry in the East End of London and sent to the Independence hall, formerly known as the Pennsylvania State House, in 1753. It is 12 feet in circumference around the lip and weighs 910 kilos. Inscribed at the top is part of the Biblical verse from Levictus, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
The liberty bell now bears a gap, often called a "crack." The gap is the result of an attempt to fix a thin crack that destroyed the bell's tone after the AMerican Revolution. Exactly when that crack developed is lost to the passage of more than two centuries.
The repair work dates back to 1846. After the bell was rung for President George Washington's birth anniversary, the original crack reappeared. go lengthened and led to the silencing of the bell, at least physically. forever.
While it's clang may no longer be heard, the liberty bell has a far more enduring message. It embodies the never-ending quest for freedom and the need to remain vigilant because liberties gained can be lost.Its sound of freedom resonated far and wide even among visitors from so many varied cultures. Nelson Mandela, the living icon of liberty, was quoted saying. "The liberty bell is a very significant symbol for the entire democratic world." As a sacred relic of the nation's beginning, it is well preserved as a tangible link to the struggle for freedom that created the United States.
Flag of America's Fathers
Another iconic symbol of the American Independence is the American Flag, the first of which was believed to have been created by Philadelphia patriot Betsy Ross. The Betsy Ross house is a historic house museum that commemorates her life, and research conducted by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History notes that the story of Betsy Ross making the first American flag for General George Washington entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 centennial celebrations. Six years prior, in 1870, Ross' grandson, William K. Canby, had presented a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in which he claimed that his grandmother had "made with her hands the first flag" of the United States. Canby said he first obtained this information from his aunt Clarissa Sydney (Claypoole) Wilson in 1857, 20 years after Betsy Ross' death.
Signatures for Change
Certain rare moments change the course of history. Within a mere 11 years, two such moments - the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Constitution of the United States - occurred in the Independence Hall of Philadelphia. The sculpture of the Signer commemorates the courage of those who altered their lives and those of the next generations of Americans by affixing their names on the momentous documents without which the United States would never have been born.
Philadelphia's Pride
One of the few men who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution was Benjamin Franklin. The teen-aged Franklin arrived penniless in Philadelphia in 1723. He opened his own printing office eventually and helped transform Philadelphia from a small town to the most socially advanced and cosmopolitan city in the American continent. By 1748, Franklin's printing business had become so lucrative he was able to retire and shift his attention to science and politics.
Irony of Independence
Two other men notable for their signatures and contributions were the first two United States Presidents - George Washington and John Adams. The President's House in Philadelphia was home to the two presidents and served as America's first executive mansion. An interesting paradox was that President Washington brought at least nine enslaved Africans from his Mount Vernon home to live and work in the President's House/ A visit to the mansion reveals a long-obscured glimpse in the lives of the enslaved Africans who toiled in and around the house during Washington's presidency.
Once Upon a Nation
After visiting the first "White House," visitors are curious to learn how Philadelphia became the capital of the United States from 1790 to 1800. The answer? Research revealed that the Federal Government moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1790. Southern delegates favored a site along the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia, both slave states. Northern delegates, on the other hand, favored New York or Philadelphia. Alexander Hamilton was eager to have Congress pass a bill that would allow the federal government to assume the states' huge financial debt from the Revolutionary war. A compromise was reached. In exchange for southern support of his debt relief bill. Hamilton and his supporters voted in favor of designating Philadelphia as the temporary capital for a period of ten years, after which the seat of government would move to Washington, D.C.
With its unmistakable air of liberty, Philadelphia emerged as an intellectual center. Between 1740 and 1776, Philadelphia presses issued an estimated eleven thousand works, including books pamphlets and almanacs. In 1776, there were seven newspapers reflecting a diverse range of opinions. To this day, Philadelphia fosters an environment of enlightened thinking, tolerance and diversity. With this atmosphere, it is easy to fall in love with Philadelphia, America's most historic city where human aspirations for political and religous liberty were forged and fulfilled.
Start at the Center
The Independence Visitor Center is the perfect place to begin your visit to Philadelphia. The Center is just a stone's throw from some of Philadelphia's most popular attractions, including the Liberty Bell Center and the Independence hall. Armed with pamphlets and maps, you'll know where to go, what to see and how to get the particular attractions you wish to visit.
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