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On July 4th, 1776, delegates from the 13 American colonies declared to the world that they were separating from England and forming a new country called the United States.
They created a nation from scratch, based on the then-radical idea of the “consent of the governed,” rather than the decrees of a monarch.
Any celebration of America’s 250th birthday in 2026 must include a pilgrimage to the founding city of America, to walk the cobbled streets where patriots and loyalists, Founding Fathers and everyday people, Indigenous people and immigrants, the free and the enslaved lived through the Revolutionary War and the pivotal moments that shaped our great nation.
Centrally located along the East Coast, Philadelphia was a natural meeting spot for planners of the new nation.
George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson would spend nearly half their public careers within just five blocks of Independence Hall, living and working in many historically rich, preserved sites you can visit today on Philadelphia’s Path to Democracy.
One way to “meet” the 18th-century Philadelphians shaping the cradle of liberty is through their portraits in People of Independence at the Second Bank Portrait Gallery in Old City.
Second Bank Portrait Gallery — Photo courtesy National Park Service
Short captions describe notable subjects (including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Mifflin, the Marquis de Lafayette, Patrick Henry, Casimir Pulaski, naval captain John Paul Jones and Mohawk chief Thayendanegea), their interrelationships and contributions to the founding ideas of liberty.
While red-brick buildings are the portal to history, the documents produced in them are the true legacy.
The Declaration of Independence established the colonies as a new nation in 1776. Eleven years later in 1787, the U.S. Constitution gave us our laws. Both foundational documents were debated and signed in Independence Hall, earning the building status as a World Heritage Site.
The public was swayed toward independence by Thomas Paine’s wildly influential 1776 pamphlet published in Philadelphia, Common Sense. In it, Paine railed against monarchy, and for freedom-for-all and self rule.
Months later, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence over three weeks in the summer of 1776, from a rented room at bricklayer, Jacob Graff’s house at 7th & Market Streets.
Independence Hall — Photo by D. Knoll for Visit Philadelphia
Delegates to the Second Continental Congress (the governing body of the colonies and the early United States) argued over every word until they voted to approve the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
That night, it’s likely John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of the Congress, Charles Thomson, ran the manuscript down Market Street to John Dunlap’s print shop. Dunlap printed through the night making hundreds of “broadside” copies to be sent out on horseback, spreading news of America’s birth around the world.
Following the Revolutionary War, the framers settled on the Articles of Confederation as the nation’s first governing document, in effect from 1781 to 1789.
Then delegates from every state in the nation came to Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention (May 25 to September 17, 1787), to hammer out the law of the land (aka the United States Constitution) at Independence Hall.
Together, the three parchments from Philadelphia (the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution) made an indelible imprint on the course of history. Residents and visitors can see original printed copies of all three in the Great Essentials exhibit at Independence Hall.
The West Wing of Independence Hall, which features original printed copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States. — Photo courtesy National Park Service
Inspiration for the Constitution came from Philadelphia founder William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges, which allowed for individual rights and self-government in Pennsylvania.
His progressive ideas helped shape the U.S. Constitution 86 years later.
Early American communication happened through hand-written letters, printed pamphlets, newspapers and especially face-to-face meetings. And so, public meeting places play an outsized role in the nation’s history.
Visions clashed, ideals were strived for and debate raged!
Here are some of the best-known places where important conversations took place. These discussions determined how the nation would be configured and governed … and made Philadelphia the home of the American Revolution.
This circa-1740 residence with upholstery shop in the front room (as was common practice for tradespeople) was the home of Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the first American flag. A tour of the house and property includes a visit to the parlor where Ross is said to have received the Flag Committee.
This handsome Georgian building served as the secret meeting place for the First Continental Congress, where delegates from 12 colonies met to send their grievances to the British crown.
Carpenters' Hall — Photo courtesy Carpenters’ Hall
Known as “the Nation’s Church,” this Old City church welcomed worshippers including Washington, Adams and Franklin, plus many signers of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution including Dr. Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris and Francis Hopkinson.
The site has been in continuous use for 330 years, since the church’s founding in 1695.
City Tavern served as a celebration site for milestones such as the first anniversary of independence and George Washington’s farewell dinner.
The first stock exchange in the U.S. was founded in the front room, known as the “Merchants’ Coffee House and Place of Exchange.” The current building is a reconstruction from 1975.
These assembly rooms were the home for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for the 10 years that Philadelphia was America’s capital (1790-1800). The building is connected to the more famous Independence Hall, then known as the Pennsylvania State House.
A walk down Elfreth’s Alley — one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in the United States — is like traveling back in time.
Two adjacent houses, built in 1755, now function as a museum and gift shop.
Elfreth’s Alley — Photo by Visit Philadelphia
The house outlined here was Ben Franklin’s home while serving in the Second Continental Congress in 1776 and the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Residents and visitors can learn more at the Benjamin Franklin Museum on site.
Known as the “state house bell,” what’s now known as the Liberty Bell was rung to mark time, events and emergencies until 1839, when abolitionists noted the Biblical inscription, “Proclaim Liberty thro’ all the Land and to all the Inhabitants thereof” and made it a symbol for their cause. The bell is now housed in the interpretive Liberty Bell Center.
This unrivaled combination of influential historic figures, places and events makes Philadelphia universally recognized as the most important city for seeing where America was born.
The only way to fully experience Philly? Stay over.
Book the Visit Philly Overnight Package and get free hotel parking and priceless peace of mind.