In order to so do some research for my final paper of the semester of Graduate school, my wife and I headed up to Philadelphia to research some Revolutionary War and colonial sites.
Philadelphia was one of the largest cities in the British North American colonies, and served as the rebel capital during the war. Although the British did capture in 1777, who held it for 9 months. It is the main reason why Washington was at Valley Forge in 1777 in what was a historically cold winter.
The picture below is my wife and I inside the room where the delegates to the First and Second Continental Congress debated their relationship with England and ultimately made the decision to declare independence during the Second Continental Convention. This is also the room where the debates raged on drafting a constitution in 1787. We were told that the only original piece of furniture in this room is the big chair at the front. That chair is mentioned by James Madison in his notes of the Constitutional Convention.
You can get tickets to the Independence Hall tour online. The cost is only $1 and it is well worth it. First they take you into the room where the first Supreme Court sat, which is small room in Independence Hall with a seating gallery for spectators.
The picture of the bench that was the first Supreme Court. You can see where the lawyers sat in front of the bench. We were told most of the furniture in this room is original.
I highly recommend this tour. It is well managed by the park service and very cheap at $1.
After we completed our tour of Independence Hall, I dropped my wife at the hotel, who wanted to rest, and I went to the Museum of the American Revolution.
The Museum is huge with a lot of original artifacts from the American Revolution. The price to get in varies on age and other factors such as military status, etc… The average price is $15 to $18, but is lower for kids under 12. You can purchase tickets on their website.
There are displays of the original weapons used in the war. They have original displays of teacups and other items used in everyday living.
Below is a replica of a brawl that George Washington broke up on the campus of Harvard College. Washington spent the early years of the war in the northeast and suffered some culture shock.
Although racism was still prevalent in the North, blacks were given more autonomy and interacted with whites on a more equal level, which shocked the Southern born Washington. Washington learned to be more adaptable to this and eventually allowed blacks to serve in the Continental Army.
The Museum has also increased in its diversity. They have artifacts from the slave trade and a Native American section of the museum, along with a video showing have Native Americans were involved in the American Revolution.
The picture below is of a slave woman that was quoted as saying she would choose to die if she could get 1 minute of freedom. In front of the picture are original cuffs that slaves were held in.
The museum also has a number of short films throughout the building that are on various topics of the Revolution.
If you are really into the history and want to see diverse perspectives, I highly recommend a trip to Philadelphia to see where our nation got started. After done with Independence Hall and the Museum of the American Revolution, you can walk around and see all the old homes from the colonial period.
