Independence Hall in American Memory tells the story of a building, a city, and the nation from the 1720s to the 1990s. For students and other readers of U.S. history, urban history, and American studies, the book offers a focused and provocative engagement with issues of liberty, citizenship, national identity, urban development, and the presentation of the past. For public history students and professionals, Independence Hall in American Memory offers an in-depth cultural history of the landmark most associated with the nation’s founding and a thought-provoking alternative to conventional methods of preserving and interpreting historic places.
The following guides developed specially for this website are intended for college courses (undergraduate and graduate) and public history professional development, but many of the teaching strategies are adaptable for grades 8-12.
Additional resources for teachers:
- The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia
- Independence National Historical Park Resources for Teachers
- The Declaration of Independence: Created Equal? (Library of Congress)
- The Constitutional Convention (TeachingAmericanHistory.org)
- The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (National Park Service)
- The Pennsylvania Abolition Society and the Free Black Community (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
- From Fugitive Slaves to Free Americans (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
- Exploring Nativism in Pennsylvania (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
- Civil War and Civil Liberties in Pennsylvania (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
- Women’s Suffrage Webquest (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
- Women’s Rights (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
- Civil Rights in Pennsylvania (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
Above: Assembly Room, first floor of Independence Hall. (Independence National Historical Park)