Two hundred fifty years ago, in May 1775, delegates from thirteen British North American colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. 

Why was Philadelphia chosen as the seat of Congress? What made the city a critical hub for revolutionary ideas, commerce, and culture? And how has Philadelphia’s early history shaped the broader narrative of American Independence? 

Paul Kahan, a historian of American political, economic, and urban history, joins us to explore Philadelphia’s early American history with details from his book. Philadelphia: A Narrative History, the first comprehensive history book about Philadelphia in over 40 years.

Paul’s Website | Book 

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/411
 
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 153: Committees and Congresses: Governments of the American Revolution
🎧 Episode 242: A History of Early Delaware
🎧 Episode 332: Experiences of Revolution, Pt 1: Occupied Philadelphia
🎧 Episode 352: James Forten and the Making of the United States
🎧 Episode 379: Women Healers in Early America
🎧 Episode 396: Carpenters' Hall and the First Continental Congress
🎧 Episode 402: Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America

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