Independence Hall

Where Important Documents Were Drafted and Debated

By Toni Dabbs

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.

Toni Dabs is frequent contributor to The Cultured Traveler.