Editing Philadelphia (section)

===American Revolution===
{{See also|Pennsylvania in the American Revolution|Philadelphia campaign}}
[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|The [[Committee of Five]] presenting their draft of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] in [[Independence Hall]] on June 28, 1776, depicted in [[Declaration of Independence (painting)|an 1818 painting]] by [[John Trumbull]]; historian [[Joseph Ellis]] called the Declaration "the most potent and consequential words in American history."<ref>John Hazelton, ''The Historical Value of Trumbull's: Declaration of Independence'', [[Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography]], volume 31 (Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1907), 38.</ref>]]
[[File:Philadelphia Presidents house.jpg|thumb|[[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]] on [[Market Street (Philadelphia)|Market Street]] served as the presidential mansion for the nation's first two presidents, [[George Washington]] and [[John Adams]], from 1790 to 1800 prior to the completion of the [[White House]] and the development of Washington, D.C. as the nation's new capital.]]
[[File:Exterior of the Independence Hall, Aug 2019.jpg|thumb|[[Independence Hall]] on [[Chestnut Street (Philadelphia)|Chestnut Street]] between 5th and 6th streets, where the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] was signed and the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] was ratified, on July 4, 1776, and June 21, 1788, respectively]]
Philadelphia's importance and central location in the colonies made it a natural center for [[American Revolution|America's revolutionaries]]. By the 1750s, Philadelphia surpassed [[Boston]] as the largest city and busiest port in [[British America]], and the second-largest city in the entire [[British Empire]] after London.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lew |first=Alan A. |title=Geography: USA |year=2004 |chapter-url=http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch4.html |publisher=Northern Arizona University |chapter=Chapter 4 – The Mid-Atlantic and Megalopolis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202002258/http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch4.html |archive-date=February 2, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution |last=Rappleye |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Rappleye |year=2010 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-4165-7091-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/robertm_rap_2010_00_1148/page/13 13] |url=https://archive.org/details/robertm_rap_2010_00_1148/page/13 }}</ref> In 1774, as resentment of the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government's]] policies towards the colonies and support for independence began burgeoning in the colonies, Philadelphia hosted the [[First Continental Congress]] at [[Carpenters' Hall]], and 12 of the original 13 colonies sent delegates to the Congress.

From 1775 to 1781, Philadelphia hosted the [[Second Continental Congress]],<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web |title=View of Philadelphia, Circa 1770 |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/9578/ |work=[[Library of Congress]] |year=1770 |publisher=[[World Digital Library]] |access-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205330/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/9578/ |url-status=live }}</ref> whose 56 delegated unanimously adopted the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] inside what was then called Pennsylvania State House and was later renamed [[Independence Hall]]. Written predominantly by [[Thomas Jefferson]] from his second-floor apartment on [[Market Street (Philadelphia)|Market Street]] within walking distance of Independence Hall, the Declaration has been described by [[Pulitzer Prize for History|Pulitzer Prize]]-winning historian [[Joseph Ellis]] as "the most potent and consequential words in American history,"<ref name="American Creation"/> and its adoption represented a declaration of war against [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]. Since the Declaration's July 4, 1776, adoption, its signing has been cited globally and repeatedly by various peoples of the world seeking independence and liberty. It also has been, since its adoption, the basis for annual celebration by Americans; in 1938, this celebration of the Declaration was formalized as [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]], one of only [[Federal holidays in the United States|eleven designated U.S. federal holidays]].

After [[George Washington]]'s defeat at the [[Battle of Brandywine]] in [[Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania|Chadds Ford Township]], on September 11, 1777, during the [[Philadelphia campaign]], the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was defenseless, and the city prepared for what was perceived to be an inevitable British attack. Because bells could easily be recast into munitions, the [[Liberty Bell]], then known as the Pennsylvania State Bell, and bells from two Philadelphia churches, [[Christ Church, Philadelphia|Christ Church]] and [[St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia)|St. Peter's Church]], were hastily taken down and transported by heavily guarded wagon train out of the city. The Liberty Bell was taken to [[High German Evangelical Reformed Church|Zion German Reformed Church]] in Northampton Town, which is present-day [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]], where it was hidden under the church's floor boards for nine months from September 1777 until departure of British forces from Philadelphia in June 1778.<ref>Nash, p. 19</ref> Two Revolutionary War battles, the [[Siege of Fort Mifflin]], fought between September 26 and November 16, 1777, and the [[Battle of Germantown]], fought on October 4, 1777, took place within Philadelphia's city limits.

In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress adopted the [[Articles of Confederation]] on November 15, 1777. Independence Hall in Philadelphia was the meeting place for the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]], which ratified the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] on September 17, 1787, which is now the longest-standing codified national constitution.

Philadelphia served as capital of the United States for most of the colonial and early post-colonial period. including for a decade, from 1790 to 1800, while Washington, D.C., was being constructed and prepared to serve as the new national capital, and [[List of capitals in the United States|on five prior occasions]] between 1776 and 1790.<ref>''Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings'', pages 30–33</ref> In 1793, the largest [[1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic|yellow fever epidemic]] in U.S. history killed approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people in Philadelphia, or about ten percent of the city's population at the time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Part 3: Philadelphia/The Yellow Fever Epidemic |work=Africans in America |publisher=PBS Online |year=1998 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1590.html |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-date=March 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321120827/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1590.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Arnebeck |first=Bob |title=A Short History of Yellow Fever in the US |work=Benjamin Rush, Yellow Fever and the Birth of Modern Medicine |date=January 30, 2008 |url=http://geocities.com/bobarnebeck/history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028142521/http://geocities.com/bobarnebeck/history.html |archive-date=October 28, 2009 |access-date=December 4, 2008 }}</ref> The capital of the United States was moved to Washington, D.C. in 1800 upon completion of the [[White House]] and [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] buildings.

The state capital was moved from Philadelphia to [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] in 1799, then ultimately to [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] in 1812. Philadelphia remained the nation's largest city until the late 18th century. It also was the nation's financial and cultural center until ultimately being eclipsed in total population by New York City in 1790. In 1816, the city's free Black community founded the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]], the first independent Black denomination in the country, and the first Black [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]]. The free Black community also established many schools for its children with the help of [[Quakers]]. Large-scale construction projects for new roads, [[canal]]s, and railroads made Philadelphia the first major [[Industrial Revolution|industrial]] city in the United States.