BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Philadelphia -- Independence NHP -- Presidential House

PA -- Philadelphia -- Independence NHP -- Presidential House:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1]

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INDPRE_130414_009.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm The Executive Branch A New Nation: A New Form Of Government The federal government moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1790. Years of contentious debate over where to locate the nation's capital contributed to the divide between North and South. Southern delegates favored a site along the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia, both slave states. Northern delegates favored New York or Philadelphia. Alexander Hamilton was eager to have Congress pass a bill that would allow the federal government to assume the states' huge financial debt from the Revolutionary War. A compromise was reached. In exchange for southern support of his debt relief bill, Hamilton and his supporters voted in favor of designating Philadelphia as the temporary capital for a period of ten years when the seat of government would move to Washington, DC. While in Philadelphia, Presidents Washington and Adams had to make executive decisions regarding states' rights, executive power, citizenship, diplomacy, Indian territories, and slavery. Many of their initiatives, treaties, actions, and decisions determined the course of the nation for generations and contributed to establishing a national identity. Both favored the strong central government supported by the Federalists, whose members included John Marshall and Alexander Hamilton. Republicans such as Thomas Jefferson, were those who wanted more powers reserved for the states. Their bitter disputes led to the creation of the two-party system of government that still prevails. Executive Decisions International Both Washington and Adams faced shifting alliances with France and England as well as issues regarding international trade. When war between France and Great Britain threatened to expand to the United States, Washington sent John Jay in 1795 to conclude a treaty with Britain to settle old Revolutionary War debts and establish peace. The terms of the Jay Treaty incensed many, including Thomas Jefferson, who said the treaty acted "against the legislature and people of the United States." On July 4, Jay was burned in effigy, and on July 25, a crowd gathered,screaming, "Kick this damn treaty to Hell!" Congress ratified the treaty, but it soured relations with France. Washington, in his Farewell Address, recognized the advantage of our remote location and wealth of resources, and advised against permanent alliances with all foreign nations and stressed the importance of free trade. He warned of the danger of political parties and the importance of the system of checks and balances among the three branches of government. National Rights Of Individuals And States The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified in 1789 during Washington's presidency. The Bill of Rights reserves all powers not specifically granted to the federal government to the citizens or states. It attempted to define individual, state and federal rights. These issues continue to arise, and are sometimes decided by the Supreme Court. Naturalization Act Of 1790 In 1790, Congress debated a bill about the American citizen. Concerns arose about religious and political affiliation, moral character and length of residency. However, there was no disagreement about the most fundamental point: future citizens must be "free white persons." Race, Ethnicity & Country Of Origin Many European immigrants were becoming American citizens, but the U.S. Constitution excluded most Indians because they were "non-taxed." In the 1790s, native peoples controlled much of the land of this continent as sovereign, independent nations. Though chiefs of the Iroquois and other Indian nations received medals from President Washington, beneath this picture of friendship there simmered a struggle to define the relationship of land, autonomy, and citizenship on the North American continent as European settlers refused to recognize the primacy of the rights of Indian peoples.
INDPRE_130414_016.JPG: First Bank of the United States: The First Bank of the United States was chartered at the urging of President Washington's Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Established on February 25, 1791, the Bank unified and stabilized the many currencies in use. The Bank served as the national depository for government revenue and a vehicle for paying the foreign debt. The original bank building still stands at 120 South Third Street, within Independence National Historical Park. Driving The Indian Nations Out Of The Northwest Territory: Presidents Washington and Adams proclaimed respect for the sovereignty of the Indian nations but white settlers frequently violated boundary treaties with no consequences from the government. In the Ohio Territory, the chiefs of the Shawnee and Miami refused to leave their ancestral lands, and, after the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1793) and the Treaty of Greenville (1795) most of Ohio was no longer Indian territory. 1798: Closing The Doors Against "Dangerous Aliens" By 1798 political alliances had changed. Immigrants from Europe and the Caribbean crowded Philadelphia streets. Adams and others doubted their loyalty. He signed a new Naturalization Act that required an immigrant to be residents for fourteen years rather than 5 before an immigrant could become a citizen. He had the power to imprison or deport any alien he considered dangerous. The Alien Act authorized the President to deport aliens considered "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" during peacetime. The Alien Enemies Act allowed the wartime arrest, imprisonment and deportation of an alien subject to an enemy power. The Sedition Act said that any treasonable act, including publication of "any false, scandalous and malicious writing," was punishable by fine and imprisonment. It was used to stifle dissent and silence newspapers that opposed the Federalists who believed these laws would strengthen the federal government and weaken Jefferson and his Republican (anti-Federalist) supporters. Whiskey Rebellion In 1791 a tax was imposed on distilled whiskey to help reduce the national debt. Angry that large distillers were taxed at a lower rate, several thousand armed men gathered near Pittsburgh to protest. The government sent a militia led by President Washington to quell the resistance. The leaders of the new nation demonstrated its power to enforce the law. Resentment helped elect Thomas Jefferson, a Republican, in 1800.
INDPRE_130414_030.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm A Brief History Of The President's House Before -- For hundreds of years before 1630, Algonquian peoples resided here. 1630 -- Arrival of Europeans in Delaware River Valley. 1767 -- Built by Mary Lawrence Masters, a rich widow. 1772 -- A wedding present to daughter Polly and Lieutenant Governor Richard Penn. 1777 -- Headquarters of General Sir William Howe, leader of British forces, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. 1778 -- Headquarters of Major General Benedict Arnold whose betrayal of the Revolution begins here. 1782 -- Major fire in 1780. Financier Robert Morris buys the newly reconstructed residence. 1790 -- Philadelphia becomes the national capital. Additions are built for George Washington's residential and official purposes. 1797 -- Newly elected President Adams moves in. 1800 -- After government departs for Washington D.C., the house was converted into Francis's Union Hotel, then became shops and a boarding house. 1832 -- House demolished. Three stores are built within the gutted space, leaving only the side walls and foundation of the former House. 1935 -- Unappreciated as historically significant, the stores are demolished, exposing the side walls. 1951 -- Last remaining walls unknowingly demolished to create Independence Mall. 1954 -- Public restroom for Independence Mall built on the site. 2003 -- The Liberty Bell Center opens, partially covering the site of the former slave quarters. A public uproar -- initiated by African American citizens, historians and others -- ensues. Philadelphia's African American community and Avenging the Ancestors Coalition fight to commemorate the house and its residents. 2007 -- Archeology reveals foundations of several areas. Today -- You have the opportunity to explore this site and discover its important place in American history. The Architecture The President's House This is the site of the official residence of the first two presidents of this young nation, the United States of America. From 1790 to 1797 President George Washington and his extended family lived here; and, from 1797 to 1800 President John Adams lived in the house that once stood here. As you think about these rooms, look closely at the artifacts; listen carefully to the stories of the people who lived here. Many may be new to you. Ground Plan from 1781 This plan shows the President's House as it was in 1781 when Robert Morris contracted to purchase it. Though modified by President Washington before he moved in, this plan is consistent with later descriptions of the house during Washington's presidency.
INDPRE_130414_037.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm Visitors To The President's House Officials Many dignitaries arrived to meet or dine with the President, including men who would become presidents themselves -- Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams. Visitors also included Supreme Court justices, cabinet secretaries and congressmen. Ambassadors Foreign ambassadors and emissaries were welcomed, including Joseph Bunel, from Haiti. Bunel was sent to strengthen economic ties by Touissant L'Ouverture. L'Ouverture led the Revolution that liberated the enslaved Africans in St. Domingue (Haiti), creating the first black-governed republic in the Western hemisphere. President Adams enabled trade that was beneficial to both new republics. Indian Dignitaries Washington and Adams met with more than forty delegations from Indian nations. President Washington met here to settle tribal land claims with Thayendanegea, also known as Joseph Brant, a Mohawk warrior and respected military leader of the Iroquois Nations. Washington also invited a Chickasaw Indian delegation to the President's House to negotiate territory boundaries. It is believed Chief Piomingo, as well as Chief George Colbert, Chief William Glover, met with Washington in the State Dining Room. Many of these treaties were breached over time, and eventually all tribal lands were confiscated by the United States. Household Labor Enslaved Africans In The President's House Both Washington and Adams had hired help, but, George and Martha Washington also brought at least nine enslaved Africans from their Mount Vernon estate to Philadelphia; these include their cook Hercules; Martha's personal maid, Oney Judge; Oney's brother Austin; as well as Moll, Christopher, Giles, Joe, Richmond, and Paris. Artisans & Laborers Many artisans, mechanics, and free laborers lived in Philadelphia in the 1790s. They were essential to the city's prosperity, and, some worked at the President's House during both Washington's and Adams' terms. Indentured Servants George Washington also had indentured servants at President's House; most worked there for a three-year term without wages in exchange for housing, food and training. At the end of the indenture, the servant would be a free person. Slavery In The President's House Washington & Mount Vernon Mount Vernon, Washington's 2,500- acre estate in northern Virginia, made him one of the wealthiest men in the 1790s. In addition to dozens of hired people and indentured servants, both black and white, Washington controlled the lives of more than 300 enslaved Africans. Martha Washington & The "Dower Slaves" Martha Dandridge Custis, the widow of Daniel Custis, married George Washington in 1759. The Custis estate included 17,500 acres and 285 enslaved men, women, and children. As a widow she received the lifetime use of, and income from, one third of his estate, including at least 85 of the enslaved. The rest was held in trust for her son and his heirs. When they married, George Washington became the manager of Martha's holdings; however he did not own them. In his will, George Washington freed the 124 enslaved men, women arid children he personally owned. Though he claimed to struggle with the idea of slavery, he also acknowledged their economic importance for the plantation. It is possible that Martha Washington may not have been legally able to free the more than 200 enslaved people who were in the Custis' trust for her son's children, though it is clear she made no attempt to do so. These "dower slaves" were divided among her heirs, breaking up African families that now had some free and some enslaved members. While others chose to free enslaved Africans during their own lifetime, the Washingtons did not. Washington'S Deceit Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act (1780) granted freedom to any enslaved person who resided there for at least six months, and the law was amended in 1788 to prohibit non-residents from moving enslaved persons out of the state to evade the law. The Washingtons permitted this transfer near the end of a six month period so the enslaved in their household were not protected by the state law; there is a document suggesting this be covered up to create as little notice as possible. Daring To Escape In 1793, while residing here, Washington signed a fugitive slave law that provided for the return slaves who had escaped and crossed state lines. Several of the Washington's enslaved attempted a run to freedom, but only two succeeded, Hercules, from Mount Vernon, and Oney Judge, from Philadelphia. Though still a fugitive, Hercules was emancipated after Washington's death; but Oney Judge Staines, who escaped to New Hampshire, married and lived as a fugitive until she died in 1848. In hiding, her life was constantly endangered and she lived in dire poverty. As you walk through the President's House, be aware that you are following in the footsteps of enslaved Africans as much as those of the Founding Fathers.
INDPRE_130414_056.JPG: DISCOVERIES Though much was lost, much remained of the cultures brought to these shores, including music, foods, religious beliefs and practices, folklore that was adapted and incorporated into their new circumstances. Historians and genealogists continue to discover evidence and information that creates a fuller picture of their lives. It is likely that information about the President's House will continue to be discovered. As this work continues we may develop a more accurate picture of events at this site, of life in Philadelphia for the diverse populations that lived and worked here, and a better understanding of the factors and forces that shaped the history of the nation.
INDPRE_130414_066.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm The Dirty Business of Slavery Slave Trade In The Americas The trans-Atlantic slave trade began in the early 1500s with the arrival of Dutch and Portuguese explorers and did not officially end end until it was outlawed by Brazil in 1888. "Chattel slavery" -- the legal ownership of individuals men, women and children by others who could sell them at will existed in all the Americas from Canada to Chile. During these years, more than 10 million Africans were kidnapped from West and Central Africa and brought to the Americas. Of those, about five percent came to the pre-Revolutionary United States. Britain outlawed the slave trade in 1807, and Congress made the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the United States illegal in 1808, the earliest date permitted by the constitution for such a ban; but the buying, selling and ownership of race-based enslavement continued. The increase of the population of enslaved Africans after 1808 was the result of births to enslaved mothers already here. The Value Of Human Life This plan shows the President's House as it was in 1781 when Robert Morris contracted to purchase it. Though modified by President Washington before he moved in, this plan is consistent with later descriptions of the house during Washington's presidency. Slave Economy Plantations Slavery came to the Delaware River Valley in the 1630s, when this was part of New Netherlands. British settlers, including many Quakers, expanded slavery once they began moving to the new colony of Pennsylvania after 1680. By 1790, Africans and their descendants were concentrated in the Chesapeake region of Maryland, Virginia, and southern Delaware and in the Low country of the Carolinas and Georgia where plantations dominated. Wealth At A Terrible Price In 1790 tobacco and sugar processing, shipbuilding, and trade with the West Indies were thriving. Much of this still involved enslaved labor, which continued to dominate many political and economic considerations.

INDPRE_130414_072.JPG: SLAVERY IN A GROWING NATION From the President's House, Washington and Adams led a nation of almost four million according to the first census in 1790; it grew to more than five million by 1800.

	1790	1800
Total US.Population	3,929,214	5,308,483
Free Africans	59,150	108,500
Enslaved Africans	694,280	893,602

The population of enslaved Africans was also increasing from just under 700,000 in 1790 to nearly 900,000 in 1800. As Washington and Adams governed the new nation, slavery continued to grow as well. By 1800 one out of every six people in America was enslaved. In the Ohio Territory, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery, even though decades more were needed to end it there completely. In the 1790s, Congress admitted Kentucky and Tennessee as slave states and Vermont as a free state.

SLAVERY TIMELINE

1662	Virginia law decrees that children of African American mothers "shall be bond or free according to the condition of the mother."
1705	Virginia lawmakers fix the status of blacks as slaves when they decree ‘All servants imported and brought into the Country...who were not Christians in their native Country... shall be accounted and be slaves." They also fix slaves as real estate which can be passed on from generation to generation. In addition slaves who resist their master can be disciplined or killed without penalty.
1780	Pennsylvania becomes the first government in the Western Hemisphere to begin an abolition of slavery with the Gradual Abolition Act. The law allows citizens of other states tern- porarily residing in Pennsylvania to hold domestic slaves for up to 6 months, after which those enslaved Africans have the right to manumission. Members of the U.S. Congress (then the only branch of the federal government) and their personal slaves are specifically exempted from the state law.
1780	The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act prohibits any further importation of enslaved Africans into the state and guarantees that the future children of enslaved Pennsylvania mothers will be born free.
1787	Slavery is made illegal in the Northwest Territory.
1787	The U.S Constitution states that Congress may not ban the slave trade until 1808.
1788	Pennsylvania state legislature amends the 1780 law, closing loopholes. The 1788 amendment prohibits a Pennsylvania master from transporting a pregnant enslaved woman out of state (so the child will be born enslaved), from separating enslaved husbands and wives or children and parents, and requires a master to register the child of an enslaved mother within 6 months of birth. Non-resident slave-holders are prohibited from rotating their domestic slaves out of Pennsylvania to prevent those enslaved Africans from qualifying for manumission under the state law.
1791	The first year that the Washington's violate the 1788 amendment by bringing back into Pennsylvania enslaved Africans who had been transported out of state to prevent their obtaining their freedom. This illegal out-of-state rotation of the President's House enslaved Africans continues until the end of Washington's presidency
1791	An amendment is proposed (and fails) in the Pennsylvania Assembly to exempt all slave-holding officers of the federal government (including Washington, his Cabinet, and the Supreme Court) from the Gradual Abolition Act. This was an attempt to make the state more hospitable to slave-holders in hopes of having Philadelphia become the permanent capital of the United States. The proposal is withdrawn before debate after heated opposition from the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.
1793	The U.S. Congress passes and Washington signs the Fugitive Slave Act. The U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 2) guaranteed the right of a slave-holder to recover a runaway slave.
1808	The first year that children of enslaved Pennsylvania mothers are freed of their indentures under the 1780 Gradual Abolition Act. The first children born after March 1, 1780 turn 28 in this year. Legally, they had been indentured servants (not slaves) and are now free.
1808	United States Bans Slave Trade Importing African slaves is outlawed, but smuggling continues.
1820	The Missouri Compromise bans slavery north of the southern boundary of Missouri.
1847	The Pennsylvania state legislature frees all enslaved Africans remaining in Pennsylvania.
1860	Compromise of 1850 includes a stronger Fugitive Slave Act intended to make it easier for slaveholders to retrieve fugitives from slavery.
1857	The Dred Scott case holds that Congress does not have the right to ban slavery in states and, that slaves are not citizens.

INDPRE_130414_082.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm HISTORY LOST AND FOUND MAKING HISTORY History is not neat. It is complicated and messy. It is about people, places and events which have both admirable and deplorable attributes. This also is the case with the story of this house. While important moments in the early history of the nation took place here, so did less positive ones such as the use of enslaved individuals to operate it. This is not always pleasant to acknowledge, but it is an important and controversial aspect of the significance of this place. One of the challenges of telling the story of free and enslaved African Americans in Philadelphia and elsewhere has been the difficulty of locating information about their lives. They did not leave behind many records. The process of enslavement often denied them the ability to learn to read and write, took away their names, and permanently separated family members all of which made it difficult to retain records or genealogical connections. Connected to the story of this house are important insights into the lives of the enslaved people who occupied it. If we are to better understand how a nation founded on democratic principles could also embrace slavery it is important to explore what it meant to everyone, black and white, who were a part of this contradiction. It is an opportunity draw lessons from the past which might help make us better as we move to the future. CONFLICT AND COLLABORATION The site of the President's House had been ignored or overlooked as the National Park Service and the City of Philadelphia focused on the restoration of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. But, in the shadow of the Mall, there was another story -- the one of slavery -- that had yet to be told. It was buried both literally and figuratively right in front of our eyes. Excavation of this site uncovered the space President George Washington had designated for household servants and some of the enslaved Africans he brought here from his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon. An interdisciplinary team had been creating a traditional interpretation for this site when some historians, scholars and the public insisted on an expanded vision. Now it has been transformed into a space that explores the history of the new nation when Philadelphia was the capital from 1790 to 1800, as much as it honors the lives of enslaved Africans whose voices had been stilled. Neither tells the entire story; together they create a more truthful portrait.
INDPRE_130414_094.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm CONFLICT AND COLLABORATION The site of the President's House had been ignored or overlooked as the National Park Service and the City of Philadelphia focused on the restoration of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center. But, in the shadow of the Mall, there was another story -- the one of slavery -- that had yet to be told. It was buried both literally and figuratively right in front of our eyes. Excavation of this site uncovered the space President George Washington had designated for household servants and some of the enslaved Africans he brought here from his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon. An interdisciplinary team had been creating a traditional interpretation for this site when some historians, scholars and the public insisted on an expanded vision. Now it has been transformed into a space that explores the history of the new nation when Philadelphia was the capital from 1790 to 1800, as much as it honors the lives of enslaved Africans whose voices had been stilled. Neither tells the entire story; together they create a more truthful portrait.
INDPRE_130414_099.JPG: Note that the wording on the signs doesn't correspond exactly with what's shown below. The wording below is based on that which appears on http://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/plans/eisterhold/03-The-Executive-Branch.htm HISTORY LOST & FOUND ARCHEOLOGY We know about archeologists who dig in remote places to uncover extinct animals and ancient civilizations. But, archeologists also work at sites such as this one to help us better understand more recent events by uncovering the foundations and artifacts from buildings that have been destroyed. EXPOSED Washington's letters described planned renovations to the house. We have been able to determine the outline of the original house and to reveal changes to the design that occurred over time. Our team has identified which spaces served specific functions, including space that was converted to housing for some of the enslaved Africans and other household servants. The foundation of the house suggests that a two-story bow window was added. It may be the model for the bow window in the Oval Office of the White House that was approved by President Washington.
INDPRE_130414_125.JPG: Washington's Death and a Renewed Hope for Freedom: When President John Adams ordered a day of mourning throughout the nation to mark George Washington's death in 1799, Reverend Richard Allen saw an opportunity for the Free African Community of Philadelphia to expand the meaning of Liberty. He called on Americans to honor the first president by imitating his will in which he freed his slaves, and by heeding the First Africans' increasingly bold petitions to Congress.

AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Independence Hall (United States)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Independence Hall is a U.S. national landmark located inside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Known primarily as the location where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted, the building was completed in 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. It became the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and United States Constitution were all signed at Independence Hall. The building is now part of the larger Independence National Historical Park and listed as a World Heritage Site.

Independence Hall is a red brick building, built between 1732 and 1753, and designed in the Georgian style by Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton, and built by Woolley. Its building was commissioned by the Pennsylvania colonial legislature and it was initially inhabited by the colonial government of Pennsylvania as their State House. Two smaller buildings adjoin Independence Hall: to the east is Old City Hall, and to the west is Congress Hall. These three buildings are together on a city block known as Independence Square, along with Philosophical Hall, the original home of the American Philosophical Society.

Liberty Bell:

The bell tower steeple of Independence Hall was the original home of the "Liberty Bell" and today it holds a "Centennial Bell" that was created for the United States Centennial Exposition in 1876. The original Liberty Bell, with the distinctive crack, is now on display across the street in the Liberty Bell Center. In 1976 Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain visited Philadelphia and presented a gift to the American people of a replica Bicentennial Bell, which was cast in the same British foundry as the original. This 1976 bell hangs in the modern bell tower located on 3rd Street near Independence Hall.

Declaration of Independence & Second Continental Congress:

From 1775 to 1783, it served as the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress, a body of representatives from each of the thirteen British North American colonies. The Declaration of Independence was approved there on July 4, 1776, though the vote was held two days earlier and the Declaration was read aloud to the public in the area now known as Independence Square. This historic document unified the colonies in North America who declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. These historic events are celebrated annually with a national holiday for U.S. Independence Day.

On June 14, 1775, delegates of the Continental Congress nominated George Washington as commander of the Continental Army—defeating John Hancock in the Assembly Room of Independence Hall. The Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin to be the first Postmaster General of what would later become the United States Post Office Department on July 26.

Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence on June 7, 1776. The final version of the document is written July 2 (despite minor revisions) and finally, the United States Declaration of Independence is ratified on July 4, 1776 and the new, United States declares independence from the British Empire.

During September of 1777, Philadelphia was occupied by the British Army, and the Continental Congress was forced to abandon the State House and flee to York, Pennsylvania where the Articles of Confederation were approved in November of 1777. The Congress returned on July 2, 1778, after the end of the British occupation.

U.S. Constitution and the Philadelphia Capital Building:

In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Congress of the Confederation endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states, Rhode Island being the only exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in June 1787 at Independence Hall.

The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention voted to keep deliberations secret, and to keep the Hall's windows shut throughout the hot summer. The result was the drafting of a new fundamental government design. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed, and took effect on March 4, 1789, when the new Congress met for the first time in New York's Federal Hall.

In 1790, the Congress moved back into Philadelphia and first met in Congress Hall, mere footsteps away from Independence Hall, on December 6. Philadelphia would remain the seat of the federal government until 1800, where it made its permanent home in Washington, DC. During this time Independence Hall served as the Capitol Building with executive offices, while the Supreme Court assembled in Old City Hall and the Congress continued to meet in Congress Hall.

Recent events:

On October 18, 1918, Tom�š Masaryk proclaimed the independence of Czechoslovakia on the steps of Independence Hall.

In 1948, the interior of the building was restored to its original appearance. Independence National Historical Park was established by the 80th U.S. Congress later that year to preserve historical properties associated with the American Revolution. Independence National Historical Park is made up of a landscaped area of four city blocks, and outlying sites that include: Independence Square, Carpenters' Hall (meeting place of the First Continental Congress), the site of Benjamin Franklin's home, the reconstructed Graff House (where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence), City Tavern (center of revolutionary-war activities), restored period residences, and early banks. The park also holds the Liberty Bell, Franklin's desk, a portrait gallery, gardens, and libraries. A product of extensive documentary research and archaeology by the federal government, the restoration of Independence Hall and other buildings in the park set standards for other historic preservation and stimulated rejuvenation of old Philadelphia.The site is administered by the National Park Service, and it is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (joining only three other U.S. man-made monuments still in use, the others being the Statue of Liberty, Pueblo de Taos, and the combined site of the University of Virginia and Monticello).

On July 4, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave an address here on Independence Day, 1962. Independence Hall has been used in more recent times as the staging ground for protests because of its symbolic history in support of democratic and civil rights movements. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are now protected in a secure zone with entry at security screening buildings.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, as part of a national effort to safeguard historical monuments by the United States Department of Homeland Security, pedestrian travel around Independence Square and part of Independence Mall were restricted by temporary bicycle barriers and park rangers. In 2006, the U.S. National Park Service proposed installing a seven-foot security fence around Independence Hall and bisecting Independence Square, a plan that met with opposition from Philadelphia city officials, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and Senator Arlen Specter. As of January 2007, the National Park Service plan was revised to eliminate the fence in favor of movable bollards and chains, and also to remove at least some of the temporary barriers to pedestrians and visitors.

Independence Hall is pictured on the back of the U.S. $100 bill, as well as the bicentennial Kennedy half dollar. The Assembly Room is pictured on the reverse side of the U.S. two dollar bill, from the original painting by John Trumbull entitled Declaration of Independence.
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