You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast. Hello and thank you for joining the American Revolution. Today

episode 97 a coup in Philadelphia.

So far in my story, I've not given much focus to Philadelphia beyond discussions of the Continental

Congress itself, which was of course located there. The city plays a key role in the

revolution beyond simply hosting Congress. I touched on this a little when I talked about

the adoption of various state constitutions, but it is such an important topic

that I thought it worth of voting an episode to how a political coup in Philadelphia turned Pennsylvania from a conservative colony that leaned

Tory into a radical state that looked much more like New England, all in a matter of weeks.

To understand this change, it's important to understand the Pennsylvania politics of the

time.

Before and during the revolution, Philadelphia was the largest city in British North America.

Pennsylvania was one of the last colonies to be created in America and the only one not touching

the Atlantic Ocean.

It was mostly an inland wilderness.

Despite its late start and geographic limitations,

it quickly became a major trading center with a large and growing population.

William Penn of course founded Pennsylvania when King Charles II gave him land in settlement of a debt that he owed to Penn's father, Admiral

William Penn.

As an aside, Pennsylvania is actually named after the father, Admiral Penn, not his son, the founder.

The colony populated rapidly due to the availability of cheap land and Penn's promise of

religious freedom.

Penn advertised heavily in the German states and got a large German speaking

...