Independence Hall

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Independence Hall
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Exterior view of Independence Hall (circa 1770s)
Location:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates:	39°56′56″N, 75°9′0″W
Established:	1753
Visitation:	645,564 (in 2005 [1])
Governing body:	U.S. National Park Service

Independence Hall, officially known as the Pennsylvania State House, is a U.S. national landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Known primarily as the location where the Declaration of Independence was approved, the building is now part of the larger Independence National Historical Park and listed as a World Heritage Site.

1 History
2 Building Architecture
3 Significance
4 Gallery
5 Independence Hall in Popular Culture
6 See also
7 Footnotes
8 External links

[edit] History

The bell tower atop Independence Hall, formerly home to the Liberty Bell.

It was built between 1732 and 1753 and designed in the Georgian style by Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton and inhabited by the colonial government of Pennsylvania as their State House. It was commissioned by the Pennsylvania colonial legislature and built on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets.

[edit] Declaration of Independence & The Second Continental Congress

Main article: United States Declaration of Independence

Main article: Second Continental Congress

From 1775 to 1783, it served as the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence was approved there on July 4, 1776, though it had actually been voted for two days earlier and read aloud in the area now known as Independence Square.

The Declaration of Independence is the document in which the Thirteen Colonies in North America declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so.

1775:
- June 14 - Delagates of the Contenental Congress nominate George Washington as commander of the Contiential Army—defeating John Hancock in the Assembly Room.
- July 26 - The Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin to be the first Postmaster General of what would later become the United States Post Office Department.
1776
- June 7 - Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence.
- July 2 - The final (despite minor revisions) U.S. Declaration of Independence is written.
- July 4 - United States Declaration of Independence. United States declares independence from the British Empire.
1777
- September - Philadelphia occupied by the British Army. The Continental Congress is forced to abandon the city and Independence Hall.
1778
- July 2 - The Continental Congress returns from York, Pennsylvania.

[edit] U.S. Constitution

Main article: United States Constitution

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 Confederation Congress 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 May 1787. 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 of so that others could not hear the discussions going on inside. The result was the drafting of a new fundamental government design which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states). Congress, noting dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation government, unanimously agreed to submit the proposal to the states despite what some perceived as the exceeded terms of reference. 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.

[edit] Liberty Bell

Main article: 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.

[edit] Current events

Because of its symbolic history, Independence Hall has been used in more recent times as the staging ground for protests^[1] 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. ^[2]

1950 - Interior of building restored to appear as it did in 1776
On July 4, 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave an address here. [2]
In reviewing security issues due to the September 11, 2001 attacks the U.S. National Park Service decided not to erect a security fence around the building and nearby Liberty Bell. [3]

[edit] Building Architecture

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[edit] Significance

The building is part of Independence National Historical Park, 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). 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.

[edit] Gallery

Commodore Barry in Independence Square	Independence Hall from 6th Street	Independence Hall from the north; the formal entrance is on the south side	The Assembly Room, in which both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drafted and signed
The Syng inkstand, with which both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed, is on display at Independence Hall	John Trumbull's painting of the Declaration of Independence	Trumbull's painting on the U.S. $2 bill	Independence Hall's bell tower.