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Philadelphia
Philadelphia (city, Pennsylvania) is the largest city of Pennsylvania and the fifth largest city in the United States, coextensive with Philadelphia County. Philadelphia is located in the southeastern corner of the state, at the junction of the Delaware River and Schuylkill River. A major port, the city lies about 160 km (about 100 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean and is situated approximately halfway between New York City and Washington, D.C. The birthplace of the nation-both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were drafted here-Philadelphia has been an important commercial, industrial, and cultural center of the United States throughout its history.
The Delaware people originally inhabited the present site of Philadelphia. It was later settled by Swedes as early as the 1640s. In 1681 the land was granted by Charles II of England to William Penn, a prominent Quaker. Desiring to found a colony where religious freedom would be guaranteed, Penn arrived on the site in 1682 and with his surveyor general, Thomas Holme, helped plan the city he named Philadelphia (Greek for "brotherly love"). The city was laid out on a systematic plan extending between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It consisted of a 22-by-8 block grid pattern including four public squares (now parks) that defined each of the city's sectors, as well as a central square (now the site of City Hall). In 1683 the city was made the capital of the newly created colony of Pennsylvania, a status it held until 1799. The settlement flourished from the time of its foundation. Most early settlers were Quakers, or Friends, but as the city developed into a thriving center of colonial trade and crafts, increasing numbers of German, Dutch, Scottish, and Irish immigrants arrived. The community was incorporated as a city in 1701, and by 1720 it had about 10,000 inhabitants.
In 1729 Benjamin Franklin, who had moved to Philadelphia from Boston six years earlier, began publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin subsequently played an important role in the intellectual life of the city, helping to transform it into the cultural center of the British colonies in America. He was influential in founding here the colonies' first free library, hospital, and learned society. During this period the city also became a leading commercial and industrial center.
As the most populous community in the British colonies, Philadelphia figured prominently in the events leading to the American Revolution (1775-1783). The Continental Congress met in the city from 1774 to 1776, and the Declaration of Independence was signed there in 1776. Important battles, including the Battle of the Brandywine and the Battle of Germantown (both in 1777), were fought close to Philadelphia. After the war the Constitution of the United States was drafted here in 1787, and the city served as the national capital from 1790 to 1800. The first official U.S. census in 1790 counted a total of 28,552 inhabitants. Commerce and industry, notably the manufacture of iron and textiles, grew rapidly, and in 1854 the city limits were extended to the county boundaries and a number of surrounding settlements were annexed. By 1860 the city had more than half a million inhabitants. Philadelphia was an early center of the abolitionist movement, and during the American Civil War (1861-1865) it was a major industrial supplier for the Union. Following the war the city's economy continued to expand at an accelerated pace, attracting emigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, and other European countries. In 1876 Philadelphia hosted the centenary of American independence, the first international fair held in the United States. |
