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Independence Hall is a U.S. national landmark located inside on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Construction of the Pennsylvania State House, which came to be known as Independence Hall, began in 1732. It was a symbol of the nation to come. At the time it was the most ambitious public building in the thirteen colonies. The Provincial government paid for construction as they went along, so it was finished piecemeal. It wasn't until 1753, 21 years after the groundbreaking, before it was completed. It was the original "Philadelphia lawyer," none other than Andrew Hamilton that oversaw the planning and worked to guarantee its completion.

The building has undergone many restorations, notably by Greek revival architect John Haviland in 1830, and by a committee from the National Park Service, in 1950, returning it to its 1776 appearance.

Independence Hall is, by every estimate, the birthplace of the United States. From 1775 to 1783 (except for the winter of 1777 - 1778 when Philadelphia was occupied by the British Army) this was the meeting place for the Second Continental Congress. It was in the Assembly Room of this building that George Washington was appointed commander in chief of the Continental Army in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. (1)In the same room the design of the American flag was agreed upon in 1777, the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781, and the U. S. Constitution was drafted in 1787. The building, inside and out, has been restored whenever possible to its original late-18th century appearance. Most of the furnishing are period pieces. The "rising sun" chair used by George Washington as he presided over the Constitutional Convention is original.

Notable among the document's many innovative features is the separation of powers among the legislative (Congress), executive (President), and judicial branches of government. Also important is that the Congress was split into two houses, the upper house (originally in the upper floor of adjoining Congress Hall), and the lower house (main floor of Congress Hall); the first gave equal power to all the states regardless of size and the second gave proportional representation according to size.(2)You have to imagine the debates between the large and small states each attempting to form a government favoring them.You also have to marvel that this compromise was reached at all ? -a tribute to the extraordinary minds that were working together to make a new nation that could survive and renew itself in the face of unforeseeable obstacles.

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�@自由の鐘（Liberty Bell)
「ひびの入った二度となることのない世界一有名な鐘」である自由の鐘は、ニューヨークの自由の女神と並んで、アメリカの自由のシンボルである。ペンシルバニア州議会は、州議事堂用に鐘を発注し、以後、州議会の公式の鐘として、議会の召集に、選挙の投票の呼び掛けに、あるいは市民の冠婚葬祭の知らせになどに、鐘は鳴らされた。１７７６年７月８日、アメリカの独立宣言が、はじめて市民に知らされた際にも、この鐘が打ち鳴らされた。

�A戦後のジョージ・ワシントン
ワシントンは絶大な権力を保持することが出来たにもかかわらず、1783年に陸軍最高司令官の辞任を議会に申請。ワシントンは説得されて1787年夏のフィラデルフィアで開催された憲法制定議会に出席し、満場一致で議長に選出されたが、議論の場には出席しなかった。（様々な条項の賛否を決する場にのみ出席）しかし彼の存在が出席者達の連帯感をつなぎとめ討議を続けさせる役にたった。また、彼はおよそ8,000エーカーの農地を所有したが、当時広大な農地を持っていたにもかかわらずその生活は貧しく多くの現金を手にしたことはなかった。実際彼は大統領に就任しニューヨークに転居するために600ポンドの借金をしていた。