The Capital City

Founded in 1682, Philadelphia became a haven of religious tolerance because William Penn, a Quaker and a victim of discrimination, believed strongly in allowing others to worship freely. The city's growth also rested on economics, and by the 1770s it ranked as the most important commercial city in North America and one of the British Empire's largest. Its importance and central location made it the logical place for aggrieved colonists to gather. In 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Carpenters Hall. In nearby Independence Hall, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention met there to write the Constitution of the United States. From 1790 to 1800, the new federal government used the city as its national capital. Thus from 1774 to 1800, Philadelphia functioned, with brief interludes, as the political capital of the emerging nation.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States