In 1682, on the banks of the Delaware River, William Penn and a group of Indian chiefs met beneath the shade of a large elm tree. The resulting Treaty of Amity and Friendship paved the way for the founding of the Pennsylvania colony and became a universal symbol of religious and civil liberty. Despite its protection by sentinels during the American Revolution, the great elm was finally uprooted in an 1810 storm, making national headlines. In honor of Penn's inspirational diplomacy, Kenneth W. Milano explores the frenzy of artists and historians interest in this historical landmark and chronicles the Penn Society's efforts to commemorate the place of Penn's Treaty and the public-spirited citizens of Kensington's success in memorializing the site through the construction of Penn Treaty Park.
“Anyone who is losing hope for America must read The Seed of a Nation. The inspiration lives, the seed sprouts, the idea works” (Scott W. Boyd, Pennsylvania State Representative). “The Seed of a Nation is a thoroughly researched and fascinating account of William Penn’s efforts to establish a ‘Holy Experiment’ in Pennsylvania—a vision of governance grounded in faith and operating on the principles of tolerance and respect for all” (Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf). It was this “Holy Experiment,” set out in Penn’s Charter of Privileges, that provided the framework for the United States Government, including the essential underlying mandate to provide freedom for all people. So brilliant was William Penn’s legacy that Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence, called him, “the greatest lawgiver the world has produced.” This fascinating work looks at the life and impact of William Penn—an impact that still echoes today.
Bridging the fields of indigenous, early American, memory, and media studies, On Records illuminates the problems of communication between cultures and across generations. Andrew Newman examines several controversial episodes in the historical narrative of the Delaware (Lenape) Indians, including the stories of their primordial migration to settle a homeland spanning the Delaware and Hudson Rivers, the arrival of the Dutch and the first colonial land fraud, William Penn’s founding of Pennsylvania with a Great Treaty of Peace, and the “infamous” 1737 Pennsylvania Walking Purchase. As Newman demonstrates, the quest for ideal records—authentic, authoritative, and objective, anchored in the past yet intelligible to the present—has haunted historical actors and scholars alike. Yet without “proof,” how can we know what really happened? On Records articulates surprising connections among colonial documents, recorded oral traditions, material and visual cultures. Its comprehensive, probing analysis of historical evidence yields a multi-faceted understanding of events and reveals new insights into the divergent memories of a shared past.
Unpacks the twenty-one most common myths and misconceptions about Native Americans In this enlightening book, scholars and activists Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker tackle a wide range of myths about Native American culture and history that have misinformed generations. Tracing how these ideas evolved, and drawing from history, the authors disrupt long-held and enduring myths such as: “Columbus Discovered America” “Thanksgiving Proves the Indians Welcomed Pilgrims” “Indians Were Savage and Warlike” “Europeans Brought Civilization to Backward Indians” “The United States Did Not Have a Policy of Genocide” “Sports Mascots Honor Native Americans” “Most Indians Are on Government Welfare” “Indian Casinos Make Them All Rich” “Indians Are Naturally Predisposed to Alcohol” Each chapter deftly shows how these myths are rooted in the fears and prejudice of European settlers and in the larger political agendas of a settler state aimed at acquiring Indigenous land and tied to narratives of erasure and disappearance. Accessibly written and revelatory, “All the Real Indians Died Off” challenges readers to rethink what they have been taught about Native Americans and history.
Philadelphia began, nearly a century before the American Revolution, as the colony of Englishman and Quaker convert William Penn. Founded in 1681 on the doctrines of the Quaker faith, the city in Penn’s Woods rose to prominence quickly, ultimately serving as host to the First and Second Continental Congresses, and the Constitutional Convention at Independence Hall, key milestones in the birth of the United States of America. Benjamin Franklin and the other Founding Fathers convened in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776, a singular moment in world history celebrated one hundred years later at the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, better known as the Centennial Exposition, also hosted by the city. For a time, the fledgling nation’s capital was here, and throughout time, Philadelphia has remained front and center in any discussion of America’s time-honored history and traditions. As a project devoted to celebrating the decorated and emblematic past of this great American city, The Philadelphia Citizen’s Almanac: Daily Readings on the City of Brotherly Love showcases pinnacle moments in Philadelphia’s journey through time, along with little known anecdotes, facts, figures, and other lore. Included are essays on a wide range of topics, from John Adams’ account of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to Major League baseball’s encounter with the Phillie Phanatic, spanning every epoch in the city’s history from its origins and growth to the recent past. Every day in the calendar year includes a detailed look at a historical event that took place on that day, followed by a listing of events of consequence, and each of the twelve months concludes with an essay that elaborates on one theme. Begin the new year right by escaping a few minutes each day to retrace key moments in the life of America’s birthplace, the city of Philadelphia.
With its rich foundation stories, Philadelphia may be the most important city in America's collective memory. By the middle of the eighteenth century William Penn's "greene countrie town" was, after London, the largest city in the British Empire. The two most important documents in the history of the United States, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were drafted and signed in Philadelphia. The city served off and on as the official capital of the young country until 1800, and was also the site of the first American university, hospital, medical college, bank, paper mill, zoo, sugar refinery, public school, and government mint. In First City, acclaimed historian Gary B. Nash examines the complex process of memory making in this most historic of American cities. Though history is necessarily written from the evidence we have of the past, as Nash shows, rarely is that evidence preserved without intent, nor is it equally representative. Full of surprising anecdotes, First City reveals how Philadelphians—from members of elite cultural institutions, such as historical societies and museums, to relatively anonymous groups, such as women, racial and religious minorities, and laboring people—have participated in the very partisan activity of transmitting historical memory from one generation to the next.
