Independence Hall, The Birthplace of a Nation

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Independence Hall, The Birthplace of a Nation September 1824 was a busy month for Phila­delphians. The Mar­quis de Lafayette returned to America for the first time since the Revolution­ary War, and it was rumored that the high point of his tra­vels would be a visit to Penn­sylvania’s venerable State House. Naturally, much of the preparation for his visit cen­tered on the old red brick building where the events of the Revolution had...
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James Wilson, Forgotten Founding Father

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on James Wilson, Forgotten Founding Father Carlisle buzzed that night with festivities. On the streets of the usually quiet little Cumberland County town bonfires blazed while spirited political speeches rang out on every corner, all in celebration of Pennsylvania’s vote to ratify the new Constitution of the United States. The Federalists had finally won their cause, and it was time to savor the victory. But not everyone was in a...
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Strolling Through History at Hopewell Village

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Strolling Through History at Hopewell Village For more than a century, Hopewell Furnace in southeastern Pennsylvania had exemplified the technological growing pains of a nation initially built on agriculture but destined to become the industrial titan of the western hemisphere. Between 1771, when Mark Bird (1739-1816) established his furnace at the headwaters of French Creek in Berks County, and 1883, when the­ fires finally cooled,...
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An Act Appointing Deputies to Convention to Revise Federal Constitution

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on An Act Appointing Deputies to Convention to Revise Federal Constitution On December 30, 1786, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania appointed Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, James Wil­son, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Gou­verneur Morris, and Jared Ingersoll to serve as dele-gates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, then serving as president of Pennsylvania, was added to the list of delegates by a special act on March 28, 1787...
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