Philadelphia was the largest city in British North America at the time. Independence Hall was originally built as Pennsylvania’s colonial seat of power with the governor’s office and the courtroom inside the building. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed here. You have to book in advance Read more
It was the largest settlement in New England at the time of the American Revolution, so there is plenty of history. Elfreth’s Alley is the oldest street in America that is still continuously inhabited in its 18th century form. The Second Empire style city hall can be seen from the Read more
This museum in New York City should be seen in context with Philadelphia’s Weitzman Museum of Jewish Americans. This is the art and culture museum, and that is the history museum. The yellow OY/YO is immediately recognizable in both museums as are the photos of European Jews landing in Coney Read more
I was fully prepared for the Guggenheim in New York City to be the same experience as the Museum of Modern Art downtown. It’s crowded, caters to the basic mass market, and is massively overhyped. Its interior is structurally similar to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washing D.C. Being a giant Read more
Delaware made assisting slave escapes illegal, so participants had to be very clever about the Underground Railroad or risk getting caught. If caught, the penalty included a year in prison, a fine of $100, and being sold into slavery—a high price. Abolitionists sometimes managed to redeem the freedom of their Read more
Delaware’s Old State House in the state capital Dover served its purpose from 1791 to 1933. The new state house is located across the street. Visiting and parking is free with guided tours available several times a day. Today, it is an education centre on the constitutional contributions of Delaware Read more
On July 1, 1776, Caesar Rodney was called on to break the tie for Delaware’s vote for independence. Delaware’s two other delegates to the Continental Congress disagreed. He rode a horse through the night from Dover to Philadelphia the following afternoon to support independence. Following the defeat of the British Read more
I didn’t have much of an incentive to visit. After all, how can an art museum in a small town like Dover in a small state like Delaware wow me? But I decided to visit anyways because admission is free for students and the museum said it was on American Read more
The State Museum of New Jersey in the state capital Trenton is free of charge and has a strange interpretation of native people. Although Native Americans are still very much alive, their history is interpreted through archeological ethnography instead of their living cultural experiences. The State Museum of New York Read more
The state capital of New Jersey was only a small town during the American Revolutionary War when General George Washington defeated the British and their mercenaries several times and lodged his troops briefly in the barracks. It is still a small, sleepy town today with the husks of 20th century Read more