HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA PA

Philadelphia is rich in cultural history. It all starts in 1682 when William Penn officially founded the city. Prior to that, the area was inhabited by Lenape Indians. After founding by William Penn, Philadelphia grew into a very important city, and was the site of the first and Second Continental Congresses during the American Revolution. After the American Civil War, Philadelphia’s corrupt government caused reform efforts, and a more Democratic Party government took over, which still exists today. The city was once known for it’s poor to milled-class families, and gang and mafia plagued the city. Around the 1990’s, revitalization efforts took over, and Philadelphia is now the center of many family oriented and expensive high-rise condos.

Philadelphia is easy to get to, as the Delaware River runs next to it. In the early 1800’s, Philadelphia was one of the United States busiest ports and over 60,000 residents lived there. Trade was very big, and many manufacturing plants were built in Philadelphia’s center. Manufacturing continue to grow, and by the late 1850’js, immigrants from Ireland and Germany flowed into Philadelphia to fill these jobs and opportunities.

During the Civil War, Philadelphia’s population continued to grow. By 1876, the population was at 817,000! Mostly along the Delaware River, but also west into the Schuylkill River.

During the Great Depression and World War II, the crash of the stock market brought 50 banks inside of Philadelphia to close. Mortgages and foreclosures skyrocketed, and unemployment peaks in 1933. The Mayor at the time, J. Hampton Moore, worked to cut jobs from city workers that were no longer needed, thereby saving the city millions of dollars, and kept Philadelphia from defaulting on its debts. When WWII began, Philadelphia mobilized and sold war bonds. Almost 184,000 Philadelphia residents enlisted in the US Armed Forces, which in turn caused a labor shortage in the city.

After World War II ended, there was a housing shortage, and the houses that did exist lacked proper living conditions and were cramped. The city’s population started to decline as people pushed out to the suburbs. Some businesses started to restructure to support more middle-class lives, to keep people from moving out. The city then encouraged development projects, including the area surrounding Temple University. The Airport was expanded, Rittenhouse Square was improved, and the overall image of the city started to improve.

In current day, Philadelphia is home to more than 1.5 million people. There are many things to do in this city, as it is rich with cultural history and modern-day actives.