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 As a landmark in history, the Pennsylvania State House qualifies
threefold. The Philadelphia building, considered the birthplace of the
United States of America, was the site of: the signing of the Declaration
of Independence in 1776; ratification of the Articles of Confederation
uniting the 13 colonies in 1781; and adoption of the Constitution
outlining the nation’s basic laws in 1787.
More widely known as Independence Hall, the building was designed by
Andrew Hamilton for the Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A
modest brick structure with a central tower intended to house a
2,080-pound bell, it was the most ambitious public building undertaken in
the 13 colonies when construction began in 1732. However, it took 21 years
to complete because the commonwealth built it piece by piece on a
pay-as-you-go basis.
The Pennsylvania State House hosted sessions of the Second Continental
Congress from 1775 to 1783. On July 4, 1776, the congress adopted the
Declaration of Independence, in which the North American colonies
proclaimed their political separation from Great Britain.
The bell in the building’s tower is said to have summoned citizens to hear
the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in the area
now known as Independence Square. The Pennsylvania assembly had installed
the bell in 1751 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the commonwealth’s
Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania’s original constitution. For this
reason, the bell was inscribed with a quote from Leviticus 25:10:
"Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
Nicknamed the Liberty Bell, it quickly became associated with the newly
freed nation, which became the United States of America.
With its new nation in place, the congress began work on the rules for its
operation. The Articles of Confederation, adopted by the congress in 1777
but not ratified until 1781, allowed the 13 states to present a unified
front when dealing with foreign governments. The articles had two major
weaknesses, though. They did not give the congress the power of taxation,
so it could only request funding from the states. And while, the larger
states were expected to contribute more, each had the same single vote as
the smaller states.
 So six years later, representatives of 12 states convened at Independence
Hall to revise the Articles of Confederation. Rhode Island opted not to
send a delegate. George Washington chaired the convention, which ran from
May to September 1787. Throughout that summer, the building’s windows were
kept closed to prevent passersby from overhearing the deliberations.
The result was a completely rewritten document, a Constitution consisting
of a preamble and seven articles, which outlined a new form of government.
It specified separate powers for the legislative, executive and judicial
branches, and it split the legislative branch into two houses: one
providing equal representation for all states and the other proportional
representation based on population.
The Constitution also stipulated that only nine of the 13 states needed to
ratify it for it to take effect. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became
the ninth state to approve it, and it became effective in March 1789.
Because of the importance of the documents drafted and debated at
Independence Hall, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) designated the building a World Heritage Site in
1979. It is part of the larger Independence National Historical Park,
which includes the Liberty Bell Center, where the original Liberty Bell is
displayed.
The tower of Independence Hall now holds the Centennial Bell, created for
the United States Centennial Exposition in 1876. Yet a third bell hangs in
a modern tower nearby. Cast at the same British foundry as the original,
this replica, called the Bicentennial Bell, was given to the people of the
United States by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain during a visit to
Philadelphia in 1976.
British
Columbia travel
writer
Toni Dabbs is a regular contributor to The
Cultured Traveler.
 
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