Annotation

By:Mack Brazelle

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

(fil-E-del- FE-ye, pen-SL-van-YE)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the time leading up to the Revolution, was a place of great growth. To understand why it grew so fast, we must first look at the growth patterns of the State of Pennsylvania. Although founded relatively late, Pennsylvania grew quickly in population, compared to other states. In 1682, less than 700 people lived in Pennsylvania. At the same time, more that 10,000 people lived in New York. By 1720, however, more than 30,000 people lived in Pennsylvania, and that number rose to nearly 320,000 by 1780; second only to Virginia. No area benefited more from this growth than the city of Philadelphia. As the state’s capital, Philadelphia became an important town containing a quarter of the States’ population. By 1720, Philadelphia was the biggest northern city in America. As a commercial center, Philadelphia competed successfully with New York. Philadelphia’s port area grew at an astonishing rate. Located on the Delaware River, the port gave access to the Atlantic but was protected by New Jersey and the Three Lower Counties, which were later named Delaware.

The great Benjamin Franklin (resident of Philadelphia from 1723-1790) was a pioneer on the collection and annalists of population figures in early America. Franklin noted that the population growth in Pennsylvania was so large mainly because of immigration and increased birth rates. Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia both benefited from the areas late foundation because there remained little danger in colonization by 1682. Franklin believed that settling in Pennsylvania was less difficult and therefore more children survived into adulthood. The reason Pennsylvania experienced such large immigration can be contributed to its founder, William Penn.

Penn, a Quaker, wanted a place for religious and personal freedom because historically Quakers were persecuted throughout Europe. Penn encouraged migration to Pennsylvania among the other colonies and Europe. Using his religious contacts he brought Quakers and other Christians of all skills and trades to Pennsylvania. Prosperity was the result of this massive immigration. Pennsylvania was so prosperous many used indentured servitude as a method of immigration. Penn brought massive amounts of people together under a proprietor form of government.

With a proprietor government, defined as giving power to land owners, Penn intended to make Pennsylvania a settlement that would grant political and legal privileges to a wide range of the population. However, the nature of proprietor government gave the majority of the power to a select few. The structure of the government and its goals were fundamentally at odds. Penn’s government was flawed because he was more concerned with creating a Christian settlement than a democratic government. Penn believed that the character of the people was more important than the laws of the government. He once said, “Let me be good and the government can not be bad”. Ironically, because of the proprietor government, mostly well-to-do merchants and landowners were appointed to office. These landowners found it hard to manage their settlements for lack of authority. When landowners attempted to collect rent and taxes, settlers refused. As immigration grew and the population diversified, Penn found that his once loyal citizens were now demanding more control over the government. The idea of local self-government began to grow in Philadelphia. The old style of proprietor government was doomed to fail.

In the years to come, the city of Philadelphia would host the Continental Congress and witness the drafting of the three most important documents in our nations history: The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights. Today, Philadelphia is looked upon as the place where many of our nations personal freedoms were born. Philadelphia is in many respects a symbol of freedom.

Simmons, R. C., The American Colonies: From Settlement to Independence. New York: David McKay, 1976.

Leo Lemay, J. A., Ed. Franklin: Writings. New York: The Library of America, 1987.