In a groundbreaking initiative, a collaborative effort from multiple Philadelphia-area historical organizations has birthed ‘The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding,’ a comprehensive online archive aimed at illuminating the varied stories of the American Revolution.
This project, which has been in the works for a decade, has successfully digitized and catalogued over 6,000 documents spanning more than 57,000 pages. The venture began with three key archives— the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Library Company— and has since expanded to include eight member organizations.
Patrick Spero, director of the American Philosophical Society, envisions the collection will ultimately include over 100,000 documents ahead of the nation’s upcoming semiquincentennial celebrations next summer.
‘‘The Revolutionary City’ aims to tell as complete a story of the Revolution of Philadelphia as possible,’ Spero stated. ‘We have diaries from people that you’ve never heard of. But if you read their diary, you’ll learn new things about what it was like to live through this momentous event.’
Among the vast trove of materials is Thomas Jefferson’s personally annotated copy of the Declaration of Independence, including his notes on how it should be read aloud.
Additionally, the archive showcases more common documents such as letters between Elizabeth Coleman and Nathan Sellers, a young Quaker couple who maintained a secret correspondence using pseudonyms due to Sellers’ break from religious pacifism in support of the Revolution.
The archive also highlights significant social changes in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, particularly within the Black community. The collection contains legal documents dated 1781 that recount the story of John Francis, a free Black man who sold himself into indentured servitude to purchase his wife’s freedom from slavery.
These tangible artifacts of history will be accessible in the associated in-person exhibition, which is currently being held at the Philosophical Society’s museum adjacent to Independence Hall.
Curator Caroline O’Connell has meticulously assembled a range of objects and documents that reflect the everyday lives of Philadelphians navigating a chaotic era. ‘They were just typical Philadelphians,’ O’Connell observed. ‘There are people living, working, enduring during this period and who are being impacted by this unfolding conflict around them.’
The completion of ‘The Revolutionary City’ has required a decade-long collaboration, with significant effort invested in scanning documents and meticulously inputting metadata into a user-friendly searchable platform.
Many of the original documents are handwritten in an 18th-century script, often posing challenges for modern readers. However, the archive has incorporated artificial intelligence capabilities that can transcribe these historical scripts in real time.
Bayard Miller, associate director of digital initiatives at the American Philosophical Society, explained, ‘Once the documents are transcribed and they go through the handwritten text recognition, every word in that document now is searchable.’ This means that even niche topics can be explored thoroughly. For instance, a search for documents referencing ‘rum’ can yield numerous results, including accounts from when the British army occupied Philadelphia in 1777.
During the occupation, residents were required to report any rum they possessed under threat of severe consequences, showcasing the depth of the historical records now available.
In contrast to past anniversaries of the United States, which featured extensive construction initiatives— like the Centennial Exposition of 1876 and various park projects— Spero highlights ‘The Revolutionary City’ as a significant digital infrastructure project for the 21st century.
‘“TheRevolutionaryCity.org is more than a website,’ Spero remarked. ‘It is a massive online digital repository that has taken hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars to build. It’s going to take that same amount of effort to continue to maintain into the future.’
The current exhibition related to ‘The Revolutionary City’ is set to close on December 28. However, the expansive digital archive will remain accessible indefinitely, providing a continually growing resource for those interested in uncovering the myriad stories of America’s founding.
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