The Changes Of Colonial Philadelphia

Philadelphia was found up by William Penn who is the Proprietor of Pennsylvania in 1682, and it’s political system was largely effected by Quaker’s belief:religious freedom. So that Philadelphia was controlled by the Quaker and The Proprietor. With this kind of political system, Philadelphia turned to be a city with a relatively free social environment which attracted a lot of immigration, Benjamin Franklin was one of them. Franklin believed in pursuing money and freedom which he tried best to tell people in the city through his own success. And also he took part in lots of social reforms actively, such as setting up the Junto, military company, fire company, the Academy of Philadelphia and so on. William Penn and Benjamin Franklin both had a very important effect to colonial Philadelphia, and they connected their own beliefs with the city’s future and led the people to take part in different kinds of social affairs, with the spirit of independence and liberty, which brought the city’s progress. This essay is aimed to research how the spirit of freedom and public service formed in this city and the contribution William and Benjamin made. And it also reveals some city problems caused in this time. This essay may be helpful to the domestic study on the history of Philadelphia.Except from the Introduction and Conclusion, this essay has four chapters. The first chapter explains the colony’s social and environmental condition before the establishment of Philadelphia and it also shows William Penn’s city plan. William Penn explained the meaning of love to different denominations and wanted them to agree with religious freedom. He thought that believing in God was the basic nature of people and hoped to establish a real City of Brotherly Love, which is the basic meaning of the spirit of Philadelphia. With Penn’s plan, Philadelphia began its history. It was exactly the reason William was the leader of Quaker and Proprietor of Pennsylvania that Philadelphia was under the Quaker and Proprietor’s rule. This kind of rule ignored people’s social subjectivity as a city resident.The second chapter makes something clear that Benjamin Franklin valued personal moral character and wanted to build a residents’city very much. In Benjamin’s ideal city, people could make money depend on the spirit of independence and freedom, as well as good morality. People could step into the society and make city prosperous with individual wealth. So Benjamin Franklin believed in independence and freedom, this idea of individual value is related to city’s development and social welfare. Benjamin Franklin made an important complement to the spirit of Philadelphia.The third chapter introduces how Benjamin Franklin pushed the city forward with his belief and also the city’s achievements during the colonial period. In the 1720s, Philadelphia had a growing population and an expending physical dimension, Benjamin called on the residents’ independent character as the host of the city. He also took actions in the education, militia, charity, and abolition of slavery to help people take part in social affairs, he made the municipal service reformed to a large extent objectively, so that he was known as the first citizen of Pennsylvania.With people’s effort, Philadelphia was gradually growing into a center of politics, economy and culture.The forth chapter explains that although William Penn wanted to make a City of Brotherly Love, and Benjamin Franklin hoped establish people’s role as the city’s master. But the poor in this city was still unable to do something with public service, and the Black people was not free and equal as others because of social prejudice and slavery. These objective difficulties the city met obstructed Philadelphia became a real "City of Brotherly Love".The last part concludes several lessons and some reflections related to the history of the colonial Philadelphia. To keep a city energetic, except from the government’s management, all the city residents also should take part in social affairs. With these efforts, the city can develop into a humane city, a cultural city.