Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the second-most populous city in the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation's capital until 1800. It maintains contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city with a population of 1,603,797 as of the 2020 census and is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions consisting of 6.245 million residents in the metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area.
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell today is located across the street from Independence Hall in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park.
James Forten was an American abolitionist and businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A free-born African American, he became a sailmaker after the American Revolutionary War. Following an apprenticeship, he became the foreman and bought the sail loft when his boss retired. Based on equipment he himself had developed, he established a highly profitable business. It was located on the busy waterfront of the Delaware River, in an area now called Penn's Landing.
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memory of the American Revolution. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Founding Fathers in the Second Continental Congress.
The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution that is devoted to the study of the Constitution of the United States. Located at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the center is an interactive museum which serves as a national town hall, hosting government leaders, journalists, scholars, and celebrities who engage in public discussions, including Constitution-related events and presidential debates.
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778. The National Park Service preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. The park contains historical buildings, recreated encampment structures, memorials, museums, and recreation facilities.
Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the 55-acre (22 ha) park comprises many of Philadelphia's most-visited historic sites within the Old City and Society Hill neighborhoods. The park has been nicknamed "America's most historic square mile" because of its abundance of historic landmarks.
The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British military campaign during the American Revolutionary War designed to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened and formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander in 1775, and authored and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year, on July 4, 1776, which formalized and escalated the war.
Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia, then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies, was a gathering place for the Founding Fathers who discussed, debated, developed, and ultimately implemented many of the acts, including signing the Declaration of Independence, that inspired and launched the revolution and the quest for independence from the British Empire.
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, by the Sons of Liberty in Boston in colonial Massachusetts. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea from China in American colonies without paying taxes apart from those imposed by the Townshend Acts. The Sons of Liberty strongly opposed the taxes in the Townshend Act as a violation of their rights. In response, the Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Native Americans, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company.
The Independence Seaport Museum was founded in 1961 and is located in the Penn's Landing complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collections at the Independence Seaport Museum document maritime history and culture along the Delaware River. At the museum are two National Historic Landmark ships and the J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library.
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976.
The President's House in Philadelphia was the third U.S. Presidential Mansion. George Washington occupied it from November 27, 1790, to March 10, 1797, and John Adams occupied it from March 21, 1797, to May 30, 1800.
The Liberty Bell Museum, also the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum was a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ, formerly Zion's Reformed Church, in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The museum was located in the basement of the church, where the Liberty Bell, an iconic and globally-recognized symbol of America's independence and freedom, was hidden from the British Army by Allentown-area American patriots during the American Revolutionary War from September 1777 to June 1778.
Harriet Forten Purvis was an African-American abolitionist and first generation suffragist. With her mother and sisters, she formed the first biracial women's abolitionist group, the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. She hosted anti-slavery events at her home and with her husband Robert Purvis ran an Underground Railroad station. Robert and Harriet also founded the Gilbert Lyceum. She fought against segregation and for the right for blacks to vote after the Civil War.
The history of African Americans or Black Philadelphians in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been documented in various sources. People of African descent are currently the largest ethnic group in Philadelphia. Estimates in 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau documented the total number of people living in Philadelphia who identified as Black or African American at 644,287, or 42.2% of the city's total population.
Dr. Philip C. Mead, an American historian specializing in the period of the American Revolution, is Chief Historian and Curator of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
Commemoration of the American Revolution typifies the patriotic sentiment surrounding the American Revolution and the desire to preserve and honor the "Spirit of '76". As the founding story of the United States, it is covered in the schools, memorialized by a national holiday, and commemorated in monuments, artwork, and in popular culture. Independence Day is a major national holiday celebrated annually. Besides local sites such as Bunker Hill, one of the first national pilgrimages for memorial tourists was Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate, which attracted ten thousand visitors a year by the 1850s.
The United States Semiquincentennial, also called Sestercentennial or Quarter Millennial, will be the 250th anniversary of the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence. Festivities will be scheduled to mark various events leading up to the anniversary on July 4, 2026.
R. Scott Stephenson is an American historian and museum professional who has served as president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia since 2018. Stephenson previously served as the Museum's first director of collections and interpretation from 2007 to 2018, during which time he oversaw the development of the Museum's award-winning exhibitions, multimedia experiences, and educational programs as well the Museum's collection. Stephenson was on the team that raised $173 million to build and open the Museum, surpassing the $150 million campaign goal. Prior to that, he developed and collaborated on exhibits, films, and interpretive programs for a number of historical institutions including Colonial Williamsburg and the Smithsonian.
SEPTA bus: 21, 42, 57 
