A Radical Shift: Pennsylvania’s Constitution of 1776

Posted by on Aug 13, 2026 in | Comments Off on A Radical Shift: Pennsylvania’s Constitution of 1776 “Our form of government still continues, but I think it cannot last long,” John Penn (1729–95) wrote to his family in England in October of 1775. The grandson of William Penn, John Penn was serving as governor of Pennsylvania. For some time, he had been observing changes in the attitudes of Pennsylvania residents regarding their relationship with the mother country. In June of 1774, he had...
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Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on Revolutionary Things: Objects from the Collection Massachusetts has the Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill and the Shot Heard Round the World; Virginia can lay claim to Mount Vernon, Monticello and Yorktown; and New Jersey and New York bore the brunt of the fighting in the conflict. But few if any of the original 13 colonies can compete with Pennsylvania in terms of the sheer concentration of people, places and things associated with the nation’s...
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Run-Up to the Revolution: Philadelphia’s Response to the Taxation Crisis

Posted by on Aug 23, 2021 in | Comments Off on Run-Up to the Revolution: Philadelphia’s Response to the Taxation Crisis Colonial America in the 18th century was a dynamic environment — constantly shifting, changing and growing as its population increased and governments and institutions developed to support it. More merchants progressively established shops in cities such as Philadelphia, Boston and New York, selling a dizzying array of necessities and luxury goods both domestic and imported. These goods,...
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John Dickinson, Reluctant Revolutionist

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on John Dickinson, Reluctant Revolutionist Students of American history will recognize John Dickinson as the Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress who had the temerity to speak against separation from Great Britain and the obstinacy to refuse to sign the Declaration of Independence. Paradoxically, Dickinson had been an early leader of the patriot cause in Pennsylvania, author of the “Farmers’ Letters”...
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Through a Looking Glass: Colonial and Colonial Revival Hope Lodge

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Through a Looking Glass: Colonial and Colonial Revival Hope Lodge An avenue of overarching trees leads from the road to the house which stands on a slight rise. A little to the west is St. Thomas’s Hill, thrice held by soldiers during the Revolutionary struggle. In front, to the north across the pike, the Wissahickon winds through peaceful meadows and beyond rises the long slope of wood-crowned Militia Hill – every rood of land full of historic...
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An Address for the Afterlife at Laurel Hill Cemetery

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on An Address for the Afterlife at Laurel Hill Cemetery It all began in 1836, when architect John Notman (1810–1865) laid out a series of meandering walkways and terraces on the east bank of the Schuylkill River above Fairmount Park. With his design for Laurel Hill Cemetery, the twenty-six-year-old native of Scotland created the first architecturally designed cemetery in the country. He also established the nation’s second garden-type cemetery,...
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