Editor’s Letter

This edition of Pennsylvania Heritage brings us to the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in the spring of 1775. Two of the features included here commemorate historic milestones in the pursuit of liberty and a third serves as an introduction to Pennsylvania’s involvement in the Revolution.

Following the conflicts at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, discontent continued to mount in communities throughout the American Colonies over British “taxation without representation,” even in some of the most remote places. At this early point in the war, the residents of the recently formed Westmoreland County in western Pennsylvania met in a tavern in Hanna’s Town on May 16, 1775, to adopt a series of resolutions to challenge British Parliament’s absolute authority in America and to form a militia to defend the colonists’ rights. In “The Hanna’s Town Resolves,” historian Brady Crytzer examines this appeal for self-autonomy on the Pennsylvania frontier and describes how such community expressions would ultimately unite disparate elements in the colonies toward a common goal.

Also in the spring of 1775, another struggle for freedom was gathering strength in Philadelphia — the movement for the abolition of slavery. In “A Beacon of Liberty for the Enslaved,” journalist Peter  Durantine recounts the history of the nation’s first antislavery organization, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. The story marks the organization’s 250th anniversary, spanning from its Quaker origins, its founding at Rising Sun Tavern in April 1775, and the antislavery efforts of its most vocal proponent, Anthony Benezet, through its reorganization in 1784, with Benjamin Franklin serving as its president in the last few years of his life, to Emancipation and into the present, as the society continues to advocate for racial and social justice throughout the world.

From Westmoreland County to the Continental capital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania played a pivotal role in the fight for liberty and the founding of the republic. In an exclusive interview conducted by regular contributor William C. Kashatus, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Gordon S. Wood discusses the political and social aspects of the American Revolution in Pennsylvania. The topics include Pennsylvania’s Gradual Abolition Act, Benjamin Franklin as man and myth, Thomas Paine and the impact of his inflammatory pamphlet Common Sense, the radical Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, and the effects of democratization in post-Revolutionary America.

Another feature in this issue takes us to the period of the American Civil War. Among the several Union military leaders who hailed from Pennsylvania, Samuel W. Crawford was one of the few officers to serve at both Fort Sumter at the beginning of the war in 1861 and Appomattox Court House at the Confederate surrender in 1865. In “From Fort Sumter to Appomattox and Back,” State Museum of Pennsylvania senior curator Robert D. Hill follows Crawford’s Civil War career, both during and between those two momentous events, including his rise to commander of the 3rd Division of the V Army Corps (Pennsylvania Reserves) and the dramatic charge he led on the second day at Gettysburg that drove back the Confederates advancing toward Little Round Top. A sidebar highlights artifacts from Crawford’s service that are now part of the State Museum’s collection.

Kyle R. Weaver
Editor