Philadelphia: A 300-Year History

by Russell F. Weigley

In this, the definitive comprehensive history of Philadelphia, the reader will discover a rich and colorful portrait of one of America's most vital, interesting, and illustrious cities.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Local History, Travel, Essays, American Revolution

842 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1982

About the author

Russell Frank Weigley, PhD, was the Distinguished University Professor of History at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a noted military historian. His research and teaching interests centered on American and world military history, World War II, and the American Civil War. One of Weigley's most widely received contributions to research is his hypothesis of a specifically American Way of War, i.e. an approach to strategy and military operations, that, while not predetermined, is distinct to the United States because of cultural and historical constraints.

Weigley was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1930. He graduated from Albright College in 1952, attended the University of Pennsylvania for his masters degree and doctorate, and wrote his dissertation under Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Roy F. Nichols. It was published as Quartermaster General of the Union Army: A Biography of M.C. Meigs (Columbia University Press, 1959). After receiving his degree, Weigley taught at Penn from 1956 to 1958, and from 1958 to 1962 at Drexel University. Then he joined the faculty at Temple as an associate professor and remained until his retirement in 1998 as Distinguished University Professor. The school considered him the heart and soul of the History department, and at one point he had over 30 PhD candidates working under him concurrently. He also was a visiting professor at Dartmouth College and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Weigley's graduate teaching emphasized military history defined in a broadly comprehensive way, including operational, combat history but also extending to the larger issues of war and its significance; to the history of ideas about war, peace, and the armed forces; and to the place of the soldier in the state and in society.

Weigley was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 1969-70. He received the Athenaeum of Philadelphia Award for Non-Fiction in 1983 and the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize of the American Military Institute in 1989. His Age of Battles received the Distinguished Book Award of the Society for Military History for 1992 for a work in non-American military history. He has served as President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the American Military Institute. In recognition of his scholarly achievements, Weigley was named Distinguished University Professor at Temple in 1985.

- from Wikipedia

Reviews

[L L · Rating 2 out of 5]

History has historically been my worse subject, so please be aware of my bias in this review. Despite being averse to history, I’ve recently decided to start learning more about both Philadelphia and the United States. This book assembles essays from a variety of authors and covers Philadelphia’s colonial period to around 1975. I started reading this 750 page tome (sp?) with much interest, especially in seeing how the initial plan of this city was laid out, started skimming when I reached the 18th and 19th century, and by the 20th century, I was rapidly skimming. Though the essays are decent and informative—most of them lack a strong narrative arc or argument and read more as laundry lists of facts about the development of various aspects of Philadelphia (e.g. demographics, crime, civil institutions, government reform etc…). As someone who is interested in the “spirit” of cities, this book was more just about the bones and though providing me with a few facts about the city’s history, failed to provide a cohesive vision for understanding it. Perhaps I should not expect history to be written this way, but I want to read history as a story, not a chronological date list.

[Aaron Hollander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This symphony of a city is a survey, that does a level job at presenting all the many dimensions of this complex urban setting. I learned a great deal about my home town, so many wonderful, amazing, and surprising insights, that undoubtedly I'd never have know without the benefit of such a grand undertaking. So many new ideas, persons, places, sundries of surprise for further investigation. The style leans academic. Facts and figures are balanced. The authors' voices(s) were functional, but not inventive, except for the chapter "The Iron Age" by Nathaniel Burt and Wallace E. Davies, which actually was vigorous and colorful, and made more fun. I caution the prospective reader: it is thorough, and a little dry at times, but you do get a broad portrait of the locale. History lovers, and especially those from, indebted to, or committed to Philadelphia, and wanting to know more of its past, this might very well be the ticket for you. I'm glad to have read it.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, thorough and enjoyable. Highly recommended.

[Steve Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a multi-author book, written to celebrate the 300th anniversary of William Penn's arrival in 1681. So it's an academician's book, not aimed at a popular audience, and it's almost 40 years out of date. But it tells the story of what was, for many years, America's largest city, successive chapters covering successive eras. And it covers everything -- politics, race, business, culture, education, and the unfolding story of the relationship of Philadelphia to he state, the region, and the nation.

Ian gave me this when we moved here, but I wasn't ready for it then. We just finished our fifth year here, however, so I knew many of the geographical, historical and cultural references. I found it easy to keep motivated and stick with it through all 750 pages. It has sharpened my pride in living in the heart of this exciting place.

Not for everyone, but if you're comfortable with dry, academic books and want thorough coverage of this magnificent city,'s history I recommend it highly.

[Mark Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally finished this now after nine days. At 750 pages, plus Notes and Index, this is a massive yet readable history of the first three hundred years of Philadelphia from its founding in 1682 until 1982. Each of the sixteen chapters has a different author, but all bring valuable insight into the city’s history. As someone who considers himself a Philadelphian, and can even trace remote ancestry back to one of the first English Quaker settlers, I now feel more connected to the story of the city.

[Lisapa Poe · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a non-native Philadelphian, I found this extremely informative and interesting. Each chapter is written by a different author who is a historian of that era. While this is a good idea in that an expert speaks on each subject, it results in an uneven read, because some historians are better and more entertaining writers than others. Some chapters whizzed right by and others I had to force myself to slog through.

Also entertaining is that it was published in the 1980s, so the final chapter looking forward is amusingly archaic.

Overall, I learned a lot about my adopted city from this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Philadelphia history.

[Susan Waskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how to rate this because I found it somewhat uneven with its many different authors, though the editor seems to have tried mightily to bring things together into a reasonably consistent tone. There were a couple of chapters that were just a dull slog. A strength of the book overall is that most chapters kept the reader nicely oriented geographically -- relating the status quo and the changes within each era to how the city physically changed (borders, building, development, movement of people, etc.) -- which I found to be immensely helpful for absorbing the history as it was presented.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a past resident of Philadelphia who returns annually to walk the olde city streets, I found this book incredibly thorough and interesting. Highly recommend for anyone who would like an indepth history lesson on how Philadelphia evolved from a Quaker settlement, past US capital, and thriving metropolitian city (who is over under the shadow of NYC and DC)

[Spike Spikey · Rating 2 out of 5]

man this was one long book....and not enough interesting writing to hold me. Maybe its Philadelphia's fault

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not most engaging read, but there's not much else for a general history of the city.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different sections have very different styles and some are more compelling than others. I am finding this a great background read for prepping a Philadelphia History course.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish i could find a true narrative history of this material. These are separate essays, some quite good. But it's not tied together.

[Katie]

Through no real fault of its own, much more comprehensive than what I was looking for.