The Making of a Miracle

Posted by Peggy Robbins on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Making of a Miracle Early in 1788, George Washington wrote his friend the Marquis de Lafayette that there had been a “miracle” in Phila­delphia. Considering the many efforts and failures be­tween 1765 and 1787 to estab­lish an enduring form of government, first for individ­ual states and then for all­ – fundamental laws, orders of government, plans of union, resolutions, declarations,...
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Painting for Peer, Patron and the Public

Posted by Kent Ahrens on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Painting for Peer, Patron and the Public For three centuries, Pennsylvania has en­joyed a rich and di­verse cultural heritage. The elegance of its colonial and federal architecture and furniture in Philadelphia is unrivaled, prompting architect Benjamin Latrobe in 1811 to christen the city “the Athens of the Western World.” During the opening years of the nine­teenth century, Philadelphia attracted artists and artisans from...
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Poor John Fitch, The Inventor Few Remember

Posted by Ian De Silva on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Poor John Fitch, The Inventor Few Remember Philadelphia, August 22, 1787. With the promise of some relief from their intense debate and the heavy summer air, delegates to the Constitutional Convention strolled a few blocks from the State House (now Indepen­dence Hall) to the banks of the Delaware River. Along the river puffed an oddity, a curiosity that the statesmen had never before seen: a steam-operated boat­ – the first of its...
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