Independence National Historic Park

Our second day in Philadelphia was the start of our tour through American History. We began our day at the place where our nation began, the birthplace of America, Independence Hall. In these hallowed room both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted. It is now the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.

During the blistering summer of 1776, 56 courageous men gathered at the Pennsylvania State House and defied the King of England. Eleven years later, representatives from 12 states gathered to shape the U.S. Constitution, finally creating one unified nation, and we got to see where it all happened and hear the stories of those brave men.

Construction on this building started in 1732. Built to be the Pennsylvania State House, the building originally housed all three branches of Pennsylvania's colonial government. The Pennsylvania legislature loaned their Assembly Room out for the meetings of the Second Continental Congress and later, the Constitutional Convention. Here, George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in 1775, the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, and Benjamin Franklin gazed upon the "Rising Sun" chair in 1787.

Karin thought it would be fun for all of us to wear red, white or blue on the days we visited historical sites, it made for really cute pictures!

The interior of this legendary hall is beautiful and done in a Georgian style with lots of neoclassical elements.

We began our tour in the Supreme Court Room. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania sat in this room in the 1700s. On July 8, 1776, an act of defiance occurred here when a group of Pennsylvania militiamen stormed in and tore down British King George III's coat of arms.

Then we moved across the hall to the room where it all took place, the Assembly Room. 

The Pennsylvania legislature loaned the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House out to the men of the Second Continental Congress in May 1775. Meeting just a month after shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord, the men prepared for war. They approved the nomination of George Washington as Commander in Chief of the newly created army, and they approved the resolution creating the Marine Corps. They also pursued peace, drafting the Olive Branch Petition. King George III never responded to that petition and talk began to grow of seeking independence. On July 2, 1776, the men voted to approve the resolution for independence. On July 4, 1776, they voted to approve their document, the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was signed in this room on August 2, 1776. 

The Pennsylvania legislature loaned their room out again in May 1787 to the men of the Constitutional Convention. The nation's first framework of government, the Articles of Confederation, had proven unsatisfactory. In a climate of great concern, delegates arrived in Philadelphia to address the inadequacies of the Articles. In four months, they created the U.S. Constitution, a feat George Washington called "little short of a miracle". The debates of the Constitutional or Federal Convention were heated at times, over issues like the power balance between large states and small states as well as the slave trade. During the debates, Pennsylvania delegate and elder statesman Benjamin Franklin looked at the chair where Washington was seated as the presiding officer. Carved into that chair is a sun. As the men signed the Constitution, Franklin said that he had the great happiness to know it was a rising and not a setting sun.

George Washington used this chair for nearly three months of the Federal Convention's continuous sessions. James Madison reported Benjamin Franklin saying, "I have often looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I... know that it is a rising...sun."

After our visit to Independence Hall, we crossed the Avenue of our Founders to visit the Liberty Bell.

The liberty bell is housed in a well designed visitors center directly across from Independence Hall, which is visible through the floor to ceiling windows just behind the bell. The bell is visible from the street, 24 hours a day.

The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence. Once placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence Hall), the bell today is located in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm of Lester and Pack. 

The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell.  The cause of the break is thought to have been attributable either to flaws in its casting or, as they thought at the time, to its being too brittle.In its early years, the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations.

The inscription on the bell reads:

"Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof Lev. XXV. v X.

By Order of the ASSEMBLY of the Province of PENSYLVANIA for the State House in PhiladA

Pass and Stow

Philada

MDCCLIII"

The first part of the inscription is from the bible, Leviticus 25:10

Tradition tells of a chime that changed the world on July 8, 1776, with the Liberty Bell ringing out from the tower of Independence Hall summoning the citizens of Philadelphia to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon. Historians debate whether the bell was actually in working condition in 1776. however, its association with the Declaration of Independence was fixed in the collective mythology.

The Bell achieved its iconic status when abolitionists adopted the Bell as a symbol for the movement. It was first used in this association as a frontispiece to an 1837 edition of Liberty, published by the New York Anti-Slavery Society. It was, in fact, the abolitionists who gave it the name "Liberty Bell," in reference to its inscription. It was previously called simply the "State House bell." William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery publication The Liberator reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem about the Bell, entitled, The Liberty Bell, which represents the first documented use of the name, "Liberty Bell."

When I saw this shirt in the gift shop it made me giggle, all my nephews looked at it and said "I don't get it." which made me feel old and sad that their lives haven't been blessed by Zack Morris, AC slater and the rest of the gang.

Our last stop at the Independence National Historic Park was the National Constitution Museum.

The Constitution Center is an institution devoted to the United States Constitution, the center is an interactive museum and a national town hall for constitutional dialogue, hosting government leaders, journalists, scholars, and celebrities for public discussions including presidential debates. 

A couple of future presidents.

We spent a long time exploring the amazingly curated We The People Exhibit. This is the National Constitution Center’s main exhibit, which guides visitors through milestones in America’s history and reveals how the U.S. Constitution is as important today as it was in 1787.

Located in the Richard and Helen DeVos Exhibition Hall, the exhibition feature three concentric rings of interactive exhibits. The circular shape of the exhibition was chosen, in part, to reflect the enduring presence and influence of the U.S. Constitution.

Justice Becky Johns, hard at work

These models represent the main houses of each of the three branches of government, the Capitol building for the Legislative

The White House for the Executive 

The Supreme Court House for the Judicial 

The Signers Hall is one of the museum’s most popular and iconic attractions, it invites you to walk among the Founding Fathers who added their name to the Constitution—as well as those who dissented—on September 17, 1787.

Signers’ Hall brings to life the final day of the Constitutional Convention in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. There are numerous famous faces in the room, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. It is a really cool exhibit!

The Burton's had a fun time posing with some of their favorite founding fathers.