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Historic Documents
Historic Personages
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Revolutionary War
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Textbooks

Overview

Complete textbooks, free to every reader: the story of the United States from its first peoples to the new millennium, and the workings of US government.

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US History

The full sweep of the United States, from first peoples to the new millennium, in sixty units.

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US Government

How the republic works: the Constitution, the branches, and the citizen, in thirteen units.

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Historic Documents

Overview

The founding texts of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the speeches and civic writings that shaped a nation, preserved in full and free to read.

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The Declaration of Independence

The full text, its drafting, its signers, and its legacy.

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Founding Documents

The Bill of Rights, landmark speeches, and civic texts, in full.

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Historic Personages

Overview

The lives that shaped the founding of the United States: printers and generals, flagmakers and pamphleteers, preserved in their own words and records.

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The Electric Ben Franklin

Printer, scientist, diplomat: his life and works in full.

George Washington at Valley Forge

The winter encampment of 1777 to 1778.

Thomas Paine

Common Sense, The Crisis, and the major works, complete.

Betsy Ross and the US Flag

The flagmaker of Arch Street and the flag's history.

William Penn

The founder of Pennsylvania and his holy experiment.

Notable People

Signers, patriots, and citizens across the archive.

Philadelphia

Overview

The city where the United States began: its history and its neighborhoods, its politics and its people, and the views its artists left behind.

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Birch's Views of Philadelphia

The city of 1800, engraved plate by plate.

Republican Philadelphia

The seat of national government, 1790 to 1800.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Charters, boundaries, and the frame of government.

Philadelphia History

Four centuries of the city, with timeline and postcards.

Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia

Guided walks through the historic city.

Historic Districts

The neighborhoods, from Fairmount Park to Market Street.

Philadelphia Oddities

The city's curiosities, from ENIAC to Grip the raven.
Revolutionary War

Overview

The war for independence as the capital lived it: the campaign for Philadelphia, the engagements beyond it, and the soldiers and commanders on both sides.

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The Philadelphia Campaign of 1777

From the landing at Head of Elk to the fall of the capital: the battles, marches, and decisions of 1777.

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Battle of Brandywine

September 11, 1777: the war's largest single-day battle, and after it the road to Philadelphia lay open.

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Historic Places

Overview

The ground where it happened: the house where presidents lived and the enslaved labored, the bell that became a symbol of liberty, and the station that guarded the port.

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Lazaretto Quarantine Station

The oldest quarantine station in the United States.

The Liberty Bell

Its casting, its crack, and how it became a symbol.

The President's House

The first executive mansion and the household it held, free and enslaved.

Historic Germantown

The village of firsts, from Tompkins to the upper burying ground.
About

Overview

An archive kept by the Independence Hall Association: who we are, why this history is free, and how the work continues.

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The Independence Hall Association

The association's own record: its founding in 1942, its campaigns for Independence National Historical Park, and its work since.

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Free Online Textbooks

US History Textbook
US Government Textbook

Historic Documents

The Declaration of Independence
Founding Documents
The Bill of Rights

Historic Personages

The Electric Ben Franklin
George Washington at Valley Forge
Thomas Paine
Betsy Ross and the US Flag
William Penn
Notable People

Philadelphia

Birch's Views of Philadelphia
Philadelphia History
Historic Districts
Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia
Philadelphia Oddities
Republican Philadelphia

Revolutionary War

The Philadelphia Campaign of 1777
Battle of Brandywine

Historic Places

The President's House
Historic Germantown
The Liberty Bell
Lazaretto Quarantine Station

About

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The Independence Hall Association
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Keeping US history free, for everyone, since 1999.
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