Raising Philadelphia: The Making of America’s First Great City, 1750–1775

Raising Philadelphia: The Making of America’s First Great City, 1750–1775

A wealth of stories showing why Philadelphia was America’s first great city in the years before the Revolution. Riots and revolutions. Relationships and rivalries. Freedom and enslavement. The generation of Philadelphians prior to the American Revolution propelled the meteoric rise of the city into the thriving cultural heart of Colonial America. This is the dramatic story of Philadelphia’s ascension over the course of the final decades of colonial America, detailing along the way the lives of the people molding the city in their image. You will travel into the heady salon of Elizabeth Graeme. Be there with David Rittenhouse in his observatory tracking the transit of Venus. Experience the rise and fall of the friendship of John Morgan and William Shippen. Follow Anthony Benezet’s crusade against slavery. And witness the transformation of Philadelphia as its citizens gain their political voices to declare their independence. Raising Philadelphia takes the reader through this critical moment in American history to bring to life the vibrancy of Philadelphia as it rose up to become America’s first great city. Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – Benjamin Franklin and the Enlightenment Chapter 2 – Philadelphia Society Chapter 3 – Women of Philadelphia Chapter 4 – Slavery and the Anti-Slavery Movement Chapter 5 – The Fights over Education Chapter 6 – Arts & Sciences Chapter 7 – Political Culture Chapter 8 – 1775 Conclusion Justin McHenry is a writer, historian, and archivist. He is the author of Lemuria: A True Story of a Fake Place and editor of the collection of stories, The Garden at Rose Brake. His writing has appeared in various magazines, journals, newspapers, and various online publications like the Journal of the American Revolution, Belt Mag, and 100 Days of Appalachia. Born, raised, and educated in West Virginia, he still lives there with his wife and two daughters.