Description
Book SynopsisCovering more than two centuries of social, economic, and political change, and offering a challenging, innovative approach to urban as well national history, First City tells the Philadelphia story through the wealth of material culture its citizens have chosen to preserve.
Trade Review"A wonderful volume, filled with stories of historical discovery, describing the preservation of Philadelphia's past for the benefit of all. . . .
First City is a first-rate piece of historical interpretation that will be a great contribution to America's cultural history." *
Journal of the Early Republic *
"A synthetic history of what is arguably the nation's most historically conscious city. . . . It represents well the tensions and opportunities that await writers seeking to push the craft of history to a new level of self-awareness and creativity." *
American Historical Review *
"A remarkable book." *
Public Historian *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Making History Matter
Ch. 1. Pieces of the Colonial Past
Ch. 2. Recalling a Commercial Seaport
Ch. 3. The Revolution's Many Faces
Ch. 4. A New City for a New Nation
Ch. 5. A City in Flux
Ch. 6. Reforming Philadelphia
Ch. 7. In Civil War and Reconstruction
Ch. 8. Workshop of the World, Schoolhouse of History
Ch. 9. Restoring Memory
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
Permissions
