Greater Philadelphia and the Nation - by Charlene Mires & Jean R Soderlund (Hardcover)

About the Book

"For the nation's 250th anniversary, the editorial team of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia presents a new history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions: the region, the nation, and the world. With the city at the center, topics range from pre-colonial times to the present to animate the region spanning southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and northern Delaware. Informed by the most advanced contemporary scholarship and richly illustrated, Greater Philadelphia and the Nation opens with Philadelphia's important role during the American Revolution and its place as the nation's capital and as a capital for Black America. For the first time, these topics are combined with the ongoing dynamics of citizenship and nationhood as they unfolded in the Philadelphia region from the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. The volume also follows the region's reach through transportation, communications, and popular culture. From revolutionaries to Rocky, readers will be immersed in Greater Philadelphia's role in creating, challenging, and sustaining the nation"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Informed by current scholarship and richly illustrated with full-color photographs and maps, Greater Philadelphia and the Nation and its companion volumes The Greater Philadelphia Region and Greater Philadelphia and the World bring to the public an up-to-date, diverse history of Philadelphia across its many dimensions.

This visually stunning reference--assembled by the editorial team of the online Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia--begins with Philadelphia's role during the American Revolution, as the nation's first capital until 1800, and as home to one of the North's largest free African American communities in the Antebellum period. From the Civil War to Woman Suffrage, from the Lenape People to the Gray Panthers, from Black Power to Occupy Philadelphia, the book chronicles the ongoing dynamics of citizenship and nationhood as they unfolded in the Philadelphia region from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries.

The book is arranged thematically, with chapters containing:
- Historical accounts of the events leading up to and during the Revolution, as well as how it continues to be remembered in parks, institutions, and national celebrations;
- A chronicle of the journey the region took from enslavement to freedom, from the Underground Railroad to the Pennsylvania Emancipation Exposition, from the Mother Bethel AME Church to the Civil Rights movement, and beyond;
- A review of the many ways the Philadelphia area defends the nation, including armories, the Navy Yard, and veterans' organizations;
- An overview of the region's innovations in banking, communications, and transportation, as well as its contributions to American popular culture.
Each chapter also features an "Explore More" section that provides opportunities for further reading and research, including places to visit and sites to investigate, to encourage discovery beyond the book's pages.

From the Revolution and rebellions of early America to the violent riots of the nineteenth century to the nonviolent protests of the twenty-first, Greater Philadelphia and the Nation demonstrates how Philadelphia, and its periphery across southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware, create, challenge, and sustain the nation.

About the Author

Charlene Mires is Professor of History at Rutgers University-Camden and Editor-in-Chief of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Her books include Independence Hall in American Memory, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Jean R. Soderlund is Professor of History Emeritus at Lehigh University. Her books include Lenape Country: Delaware Valley Society Before William Penn, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.