Updated May 26, 2023
Overview of Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historical civic structure in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where America’s Fore Fathers discussed and accepted the U. S. Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The building, the focal point of Independence National Historical Park, has received the UNESCO World Heritage designation.
The structure, which was built in 1753 as the State House of Pennsylvania, has served as the seat of government for the Provincial and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since the state capital was relocated to Lancaster in 1799. From 1775 until 1781, it served as the Confederation Congress Congress’ primary gathering place. In the summertime of 1787, the Constitution Convention was held there.
Former president William Howard Taft directed the conference held in Independence Hall in 1915, where the League to Enforce Peace was officially established.
This organization later evolved into the International community in 1920 and thus the Un a quarter century later.
Independence Hall is now a component of Independence National Historical Park, which spans 55 acres in Philadelphia. It includes other significant sites, including Congress Hall and the Liberty Bell Center.
Numerous guided walking tours and other outdoor and indoor activities are available to guests. The renowned Liberty Bell, among the most symbolic of the American Civil War, is housed inside the Liberty Bell Centre and is across the street.
Independence Hall is very close to Congress Hall. Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the most significant sites in American history; therefore, the Acknowledgement of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, officially separating the country from the Kingdom of Britain.
History of Independence Hall in Philadelphia
- Originally housing all three divisions of Pennsylvania’s colonial government, the structure was intended to serve as the Pennsylvania State House.
- The 2nd Continental Congress and, subsequently, the Constitutional Convention held their meetings at the Assembly Room, which was lent by the Pennsylvania assembly. The Confederation Articles were approved in this room in 1781, and George Washington was named Commander in Commandant of the Continental Army in 1775.
- The Proclamation of Independence and the United States Constitution were written in the Assembly room of Independence Hall, commonly referred to as “the cradle of America.”
- The events of 1776 and 1787, which encompassed the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, respectively, have had a profound influence on legislators and political thinkers worldwide, as the values of freedom and democracy outlined in these treaties were designed to have a significant impact in a national context.
- Even though the physical copies of these significant historical documents are now housed at the Archival Institution in Washington, visitors can still observe where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed.
- Architect Andrew Hamilton and builder Edmund Woolley created Independence Hall to accommodate the Pennsylvania State Assembly. It was a proud brick building in 1753 with a wooden tower that originally housed the Liberty Bell.
- The structure has undergone numerous restorations, most notably those led by American Architect Haviland there in the 1830s and the National Park Service starting in the 1950s. Because the Second Continental Congress convened there in October 1775 and took the country’s initial moves toward independence from Great Britain.
- Independence Hall is regarded as the birthplace of American freedom, as it was where the adoption of the Declaration of Independence took place. The 13 colonies’ delegates tried to prevent war with England; however, by June 1776, it was clear that warfare was inevitable.
- Thomas Jefferson drafted the initial draft of the Declaration of Independence, but shortly after the end of June, delegates reconvened in the State House to vote. On July 4, 1776, the U.S. was founded after nine colonies voted to declare independence. On July 8, Colonel John Nixon stepped at the entrance of the State House and read the declaration to the people of Philadelphia. In celebration of the start of freedom, bells sounded across the city.
Evolving
More than that, the Declaration of Independence’s signing and reading occurred at the State House. The American Constitution was written and ratified in 1781, and the Constitution’s Articles of Confederation were accepted in 1787. The completion of the Constitution happened on September 17, 1787, and it became operational on March 4, 1789, when the new Congress convened for the first time in Federal Hall in New York. The creation and raising of the very first American flag took place there.
