Search results for ""Author Laura E. Beardsley""

The birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, Pennsylvania is steeped in history as deep as that of the United States as a whole. Founded by William Penn in 1682, Pennsylvania would see America’s first public protest against slavery, its first colonial constitution to ensure freedom of conscience, and a daguerreotype image of Philadelphia’s Central High School that remains the oldest known photograph taken anywhere in the United States. That landmark image is among the many highlights of Remembering Pennsylvania. With a selection of fine historic images from her best-selling book, Historic Photos of Pennsylvania, Laura E. Beardsley provides a valuable and revealing historical retrospective on the growth and development of Pennsylvania. Reproduced in vivid black-and-white, over 100 photos in this volume showcase Pennsylvania’s natural beauty, industrial might, and advances in education and the arts. Farmlands and waterfalls, coal mines and steel mills, museums and universities—all contribute to the tapestry that is Pennsylvania’s landscape and history. Most of all, the images in this collection pay tribute to the people who have made up Pennsylvania’s storied past, even as the state looks ahead to a hopeful future.

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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.

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