July 10, 2911

From Randy:  Philadelphia is a city full of history but there are a few pieces that seem to be significant to me.  The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  They represent and are the real items that were there when this country first started.  

Independence Hall is where the founding fathers met to sign the Declaration of Independence and where the Constitution was created and signed.  The actual chair that was used by George Washington as he presided over The Constitutional Convention is there.  The walls of Independence Hall has been witness to some of the most important conversations, the most important decisions and the most important events of our nation’s history.

The Liberty Bell stands alone as the most recognizable symbol of America’s freedom.  It is not perfect, it has a crack running through it that was attempted to be repaired and yet the crack remains perhaps symbolic of imperfect people trying to form a nation.  When you are within it’s sight and you understand what it represents  you can not help but to be moved by its awesome presence.  

Walking around town you have a chance to walk where people such as Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, etc  walked.  It has changed tremendously since they were there but hopefully they would still recognize it as the place where they risked their lives to start a new nation.  

There were a many things I learned in Philadelphia, here are a few…   John Hancock presided over the convention where the Declaration of Independence was signed and George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention.   During the Declaration of Independence Convention George Washington was already busy fighting the British.  The Declaration was set in print before it was done in the calligraphy style we are so used to seeing.  George Washington did not become president until 1789.  Between 1776 and 1789 we were under the Articles of Confederation and there were various “Leaders” in charge.  What this means is that it could be argued that George may have been the first president but not the first leader of the United States.  That is not said to discredit Washington but to share some information I have recently come to understand.  As it seems France assisted the colonies as a means of causing great irritation to the British.  France actually did not receive anything of value in return for their helping the colonies.  

The amount of history that exist is Philadelphia is phenomenal and is something I highly recommend experiencing.