Letters to the Editor
Written by PA Heritage Staff in the Letters category and the Spring 1989 issue Topics in this article:Fight for Freedom
“The Friends Fight for Freedom” by William C. Kashatus III in the summer 1988 issue was fascinating. Of particular interest was the photograph of the burning of Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia on May 17, 1838. My grandfather was sixteen years old and he went to the Hall that night and described the fire in his diary as “the grandest thing” he had ever seen. I don’t know how many people lived in Philadelphia that year, but I think fifteen hundred spectators watched the burning of Pennsylvania Hall, not fifteen thousand. The most interesting thing about the fire and the slavery and anti-slavery groups has been lost from public consideration. In Philadelphia in 1838, there were two political parties rather evenly matched. The ability for each to win seemed to rest on a group of free Blacks which held the balance of power. Whoever received their votes won the election. These were hard times and these Blacks held the key. This, I believe, was the cause of the riot and the fire. Later the state legislature passed a law disenfranchising the Blacks from voting. I am not a historian nor a Quaker, as was my grandfather, but sometimes the truth about a subject tends to become distorted through the years. In any case, yours is a great magazine!
H.C. Randolph
Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
According to several contemporary accounts and eyewitness reports of the burning of Pennsylvania Hall, fifteen thousand spectators did throng to the scene of the raging inferno. Many of these first hand accounts were published shortly after the incident. For detailed discussions of this controversial period of the abolitionist movement in Pennsylvania, readers are encouraged to refer to the bibliography accompanying this article.
Original and Genuine
I have just read the winter 1989 edition of Pennsylvania Heritage; it certainly is a terrific magazine. I read with much interest the article by Linda Kowall, “Original and Genuine, Unadulterated and Guaranteed!” I have one question concerning the photograph of John Wanamaker seated at his desk. The man leaning over him bears a striking resemblance to William Jennings Bryan, the democratic presidential candidate of 1896, 1900 and 1908. Is there any way of finding out if it is Bryan? I am seventeen years old and collect political memorabilia. I pride myself on the accurate identification of all the candidates in what Harry S. Truman called the nation’s “every four year spasm.” Thank you for your time, cooperation and your great magazine.
Gregory A. Wynn
Carlisle, Pa.
In Linda Kowall’s article, “Original and Genuine, Unadulterated and Guaranteed!,” there appears a photograph of John Wanamaker receiving a visitor in his store office. Is not Wanamaker’s unidentified guest William Jennings Bryan, the “Cross of Gold” orator, three-time unsuccessful presidential candidate, former Secretary of State and, later, prosecutor in the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial”? It would be interesting to know more about the relationship of Pennsylvania’s “Merchant Prince” and Nebraska’s “Great Commoner.”
John T. Bradley
Lancaster, Pa.
Despite his duties as department store titan, John Wanamaker befriended heads of state, presidents and prominent individuals during his lifetime. He served as United States Postmaster General for several years and advocated Rural Free Delivery. As an influential individual, he carried on correspondence and conducted meetings with leading personalities of the day. Yes, the unidentified visitor in the photograph is none other than William Jennings Bryan!
