Raising Philadelphia by Justin McHenry
Written by Kenneth Finkel in the Book Review category and the Summer 2025 issue Topics in this article: African Americans, Benjamin Franklin, Colonial Era, commerce, education, Enlightenment, Justin McHenry, Philadelphia, politics, printing, Thomas Paine, women
Raising Philadelphia
The Making of America’s First Great City, 1750–1775
by Justin McHenry
Brookline Books, 224 pages, hardcover $32.95
McHenry’s appetite for research and his passion for storytelling combine here to illuminate threads of history and biography into readable stories for a broad audience. Focusing on Philadelphia’s transformation into a cultural and political epicenter during the pivotal pre-Revolutionary years, McHenry draws from both secondary and vintage sources, delving into key moments, institutions and individuals.
An anecdotal introduction, “The City and The Boy,” is followed with eight illustrated chapters, each contributing to an enriched narrative. McHenry’s reliance on detail combines with his talent as a storyteller. The first chapter, “The Franklin that Philadelphia Built,” is followed by an examination of Philadelphia as a financial and business center: “King Credit and the Merchant’s of Bloom.” These and subsequent chapters trace the city’s meteoric economic rise and serve as counterpoint to Philadelphia as a city of the Enlightenment.
“Fear of a Free City” focuses on the Black population, slavery and the emerging abolition movement. The fourth chapter on women also leads with a compelling title — “Hope. Doubt. Solitude. Adversity.” — and here McHenry explores the ways in which gender roles evolved. Next comes “Education is a Battlefield” and then “From Deep Within the Soul to the Outer Reaches of Space,” exploring the city’s robust print culture. McHenry then turns to the rise of Philadelphia’s political culture in “Pamphlets, Paxtons, and Politics,” followed by the final chapter, “1775: A Change is Going to Come.” A conclusion rounds out the book with a focus on Thomas Paine’s influential writings and his pivotal role in the city and the founding of the nation.
McHenry paints a vivid picture of a city moving ever closer to the brink of independence. This work not only chronicles historical events but also captures the essence of Philadelphia’s emergence as America’s first great city.
Kenneth Finkel
Temple University