Independence Hall in American Memory

by Charlene Mires

Winner of the 2003 Literary Award from The Athenaeum of Philadelphia Independence Hall is a place Americans think they know well. Within its walls the Continental Congress declared independence in 1776, and in 1787 the Founding Fathers drafted the U.S. Constitution there. Painstakingly restored to evoke these momentous events, the building appears to have passed through time unscathed, from the heady days of the American Revolution to today. But Independence Hall is more than a symbol of the young nation. Beyond this, according to Charlene Mires, it has a long and varied history of changing uses in an urban environment, almost all of which have been forgotten.

In Independence Hall , Mires rediscovers and chronicles the lost history of Independence Hall, in the process exploring the shifting perceptions of this most important building in America's popular imagination. According to Mires, the significance of Independence Hall cannot be fully appreciated without assessing the full range of political, cultural, and social history that has swirled about it for nearly three centuries. During its existence, it has functioned as a civic and cultural center, a political arena and courtroom, and a magnet for public celebrations and demonstrations. Artists such as Thomas Sully frequented Independence Square when Philadelphia served as the nation's capital during the 1790s, and portraitist Charles Willson Peale merged the arts, sciences, and public interest when he transformed a portion of the hall into a center for natural science in 1802.

In the 1850s, hearings for accused fugitive slaves who faced the loss of freedom were held, ironically, in this famous birthplace of American independence. Over the years Philadelphians have used the old state house and its public square in a multitude of ways that have transformed it into an arena of labor grievances have echoed regularly in Independence Square since the 1830s, while civil rights protesters exercised their right to free speech in the turbulent 1960s. As much as the Founding Fathers, these people and events illuminate the building's significance as a cultural symbol.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 21, 2002

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really dry overview of the history of Independence Hall and how Americans, especially in the Philadelphia area, view the landmark.

[Justinian]

2009-10 - Independence Hall In American Memory. Author: Charlene Mires. 368 pages. 2002

If you visit Independence Hall today you will see a typical Georgian public building surrounded by open spaces and other buildings from the colonial to the early federal period. Mostly what you will see though is the building itself, due to the scarcity of buildings on the north side which provides lovely vistas of the structure.

The structure itself stands frozen in time. A memorial to the transition from an unhappy colony to an independent country. The building witnessed the debates and proclamations of Independence, the struggles to form a country and for ten years served as a national capital. Its architecture provided a link to the recent separation. When the capital moved on to Washington DC, the Georgian architecture was cast aside in favor of more Roman structures, as the founders sought to build the new nation on the foundations of the Roman Republic.

This book follows the history of this building and the landscape around it from its inception through its current incarnation. Besides the evolution of the physical structure it also discusses the building as symbol and the meaning and use of the symbol and its meaning through time.

What I found most interesting about this book was what you do not see when you visit Independence National Historical Park. When a building is frozen in time what is lost is what happened to it before it was frozen and the context of that journey. During the British occupation of Philadelphia the building served as a stable and a prison for captured American officers. When the US capital was moved to its current location the building reverted to a city governmental structure with a museum of natural history, and art on the second floor. This was in many ways a fore runner to the Smithsonian complex in one structure. The building did not really begin to register in the national conscious beyond the city of Philadelphia (who still owns the structure) until the visit in 1824 of Lafayette. Even after this visit the city grew up around the structure. Buildings harboring immigrants, blacks, Jews, and factories littered the landscape in many cases dwarfing the structure on all sides.

The structure really did not gain prominence in the nation as a touring destination until the 20th century with the rise of the interstate. Even then, the Liberty Bell was a far stronger symbol and touchstone of national myth and feeling.

This book is greatly enhanced by its choice of photographs which show the building and its surroundings over a period of time from its time as a small building choked in an inner city environment until its current position is international icon. While the text explains, the pictures graphically demonstrate.

This book is in the end a very interesting book because it tells the story of what you do not see when you visit Independence Hall. It tells the story of people and social movements which passed through the Hall or made it a backdrop for their lives and activities.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea how much stuff went on at Independence Hall. Protests and speeches and movements and everything else in-between. Who knew?! This was a well written case study of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, and I am really glad we had to read this for class. Charlene Mires made some great connections to a broader national narrative. It was really well done. My one problem was that some of the footnote numbers were not superscripted, but that is more of an editing issue than anything else, so don't let that stop you from reading it because it was great!

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for a history workshop. It was ok