Historian of Pennsylvania Exceptionalism: Samuel W. Pennypacker

Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in | Comments Off on Historian of Pennsylvania Exceptionalism: Samuel W. Pennypacker Reflecting on “the play of forces” that propelled him to Pennsylvania’s governor’s office in 1903, Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker (1843–1916) confidently declared, “there is no such thing as an accident” (a notion popularized by Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis). This was not to say chance plays no part in history because he pronounced with equal certitude: “To every man certain...
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An Epic in the Making

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on An Epic in the Making “It’s exciting. It’s moving. It’s surprising. It’s suspenseful It’s filled with men who became heroes, and women who became legends. It’s an epic 300 years in the making. It’s Pennsylvania history. Experience it. It’s too good to miss.”   Motivation is tough to describe, even tougher to define. It’s the stuff acting is made...
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How to Uncover Black Family History

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on How to Uncover Black Family History Genealogy has replaced astrology as America’s favorite topic at social gatherings. Several factors are responsible in sparking the present upsurge in Black genealogy. The civil rights movement of the 1960’s encouraged a feeling of Black solidarity that had not existed before. Marches, demonstrations, and mass jailings brought together diverse elements of the Black community and made...
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The African-American Clan

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The African-American Clan Recent publications and media presentations have spurred an unusual interest in genealogical research. This enthusiasm extends from the academic community to large numbers of lay people who are attempting to retrace their roots. As is well known, genealogical research in its simplest form results in the ability to construct a blood-line tree that presents the kinship relationships between people...
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They Left with the British: Black Women in the Evacuation of Philadelphia, 1778

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on They Left with the British: Black Women in the Evacuation of Philadelphia, 1778 Black women were a small but important segment of the eighteenth-century Pennsylvania laboring classes. As slaves, as indentured servants, or as free persons of color, their options were extremely limited, but they could and did make decisions that affected their lives. The evacuation of Philadelphia by the British in 1778 during the Revolutionary War reveals the kinds of limited choices which...
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A Black Underground: Resistance to Slavery, 1833-1860

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Black Underground: Resistance to Slavery, 1833-1860 The Underground Railroad is an important historical link with which most Pennsylvanians are familiar. Ever since William Still, the Black histo­rian, published his famous record of fugitive aid in 1872, however, many have questioned whether in reality the Underground Railroad existed. Some say that fugitive aid in Pennsylvania was rendered individually and spontaneously. Others say that an...
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Shorts

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts “Forging Freedom: The Influence of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society on Civil Rights Movements” is on view at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania through Friday, August 31 [2001]. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society was founded in Philadelphia in the late eighteenth century to combat prejudice, eliminate slavery, and create opportunities for blacks. For more information, write:...
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Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor Flight Right A friend has passed along a copy of the Summer 2001 issue of your excellent magazine. It is thus a little late to be commenting on the article by Neal Carl­son [“Taking Flight! Pittsburgh’s Gate­way to the Skies”] on Pennsylvania Central Airlines, which became Capital Air­lines in 1948. I write as one who has researched and written about that airline in several...
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African Americans and Civil Rights in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on African Americans and Civil Rights in Pennsylvania Summer and swimming go hand in hand – or so thought the Creative Steps Day Care Camp. The camp’s leaders had signed a contract to use the pool at a private swim club, but when the children – 46 African Americans and ten Hispanics ranging from kindergarten through seventh grade – arrived for their summer swim, they were subjected to harsh criticism by some club members....
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Remembering Place: Black National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Remembering Place: Black National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania The National Historic Landmarks (NHL) program was established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and refined by amendments to it in 1980. The federal law requires the U.S. Department of the Interior to certify the historic authenticity of NHLs based on strident criteria, including association with events, people, and great ideas; distinguishing characteristics in architectural or...
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