Ain't No Angel Gonna Greet Me

This latest missive finds its way from Philadelphia, which is rapidly becoming my home in September (the third year in four). Thankfully for my sanity, and no doubt the good of my research, I really like the city, and it's been a lot of fun rediscovering my favourite haunts.

One of those haunts is Citizen's Bank Park, home of the Phillies. Philly sports fans get a bad press - indeed, if you talk to most people about them, they will almost certainly mention the time that the Eagles fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus. It is certainly true that Philadelphia fans make for an intimidating atmosphere. On my first trip to Citizen's Bank Park, to watch what was ultimately a meaningless game in the broader sphere of the playoffs, a Phillies player who dropped a catch after being blinded by the sun in the first inning was greeted by a swift chorus of boos.

However, watching sport in America is a totally different experience to football matches in England. Last Tuesday, the Phillies were playing against the New York Mets - the closest team, both geographically and in their division. The distance meant that there was a sizeable New York presence in the crowd; certainly my section had a large number rooting for the Mets. This led to some heated exchanges between certain sets of fans - but at the end of the match those who had engaged in the banter made sure that they went over to their sparring partners and shook hands. This only went to confirm my general impression that even when the banter gets quite heated, it is largely good-natured. If events go over the top anywhere in the stadium, the other fans cease from their tete-a-tetes - it is pleasingly self-regulated.

The lively atmosphere was fitting for what was a closely fought game between the two best teams in the NL East division. As when I had visited Shea Stadium earlier in my trip, Tom Glavine (a sure Hall of Famer) was pitching for the Mets; he was taken out at the end of the seventh inning having shut out the Phillies, giving the Mets a two-run lead. And, as with the last time I saw the Mets, the relief pitchers resolutely failed to make the most of it - surrendering the tying run in the 8th inning (the 'Liberty Bell' had earlier been lit up when Phillies star Jimmy Rollins halved the deficit with a home run). Given the American aversion to the draw, or 'tie', the game was sent into extra innings when both teams failed to score in the 9th inning. And in the bottom of the 10th, last year's MVP Ryan Howard sent a ball flying deep into the stands to seal the game for Philadelphia. It's an exciting time to be a sports fan here - the NFL season is about to start, and the Phillies are well in the running for a playoff spot in baseball.

My other love of Philadelphia comes from its pivotal role in the American Revolution. By 1770, it was unquestionably the most important city in America, politically, economically, demographically and geographically speaking. As such, it found itself the location for two of the founding events of the modern world - the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Both of these took place at what is now known as Independence Hall, although it shall forever be in my heart the Pennsylvania State House (at the same time as the Continental Congress was sitting, the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention was sitting upstairs). The tour of Independence Hall is well worth doing. Partially, I admit, it excites me to be standing in the same room where such momentous events took place. The ranger tours, however, are generally excellent. Mine started off with us sitting in a room with a painting of the signing of the Constitution; we were then challenged to name as many of the signers as we could. I got to snigger at the instantaneous suggestions of Jefferson and Adams (who were serving as US envoys to France and Britain respectively), before adding some credibility to the group by suggesting names such as Roger Sherman and John Dickinson, although I resisted the temptation to reel off the entire Pennsylvanian delegation. I like to think it was my contributions that led to being given a round of applause for not being American (a rare thing over here!), but I think it was the rest of the group just being polite.

The real thrill, for me, though, was that on my tour this time the second floor of the State House was included - it isn't always open. And while the rest of the group may not have been thrilled to see the colonial Governor's office, or the long banquet hall where many colonial balls took place, but I was in heaven - because this was where the 1776 Constitution (the bedrock of my thesis) was debated and signed. The room isn't brilliantly preserved, unlike the chamber where the Constitution was signed, but just to have seen the room made me feel nice and warm inside.

Of course, there is far more to Philadelphia than just the Pennsylvania State House. There's also far more to the city than the Liberty Bell, which I made a point of not visiting, because I don't see that there's anything especially remarkable about a Bell that broke every time people tried to use it. The bulk of the remainder of my time was spent at the National Constitution Center, which was absolutely fantastic. It's a very recently built interactive museum that allows you to explore the history of America through the prism of the Constitution. It's a little off-putting going around as a non-American, as so many of the references are to "our rights" and other similar formulations, but in terms of its treatment of American history, I really haven't found anything better. I spent two and a half hours wandering round the exhibits, and I had been there two years previously.

Moreover, it was only such a short trip because I zoomed through the 20th century parts. The exhibition comes in two parts - one, around the outside, which charts the constitutional struggles of American history; the other explains the way that the political system works. The outer exhibit includes a recurring test to find out whether you would be eligible to vote at various stages in history (having passed the age of 21, my ability to vote extended approximately 200 years from my last visit), although the meat of the displays come through charting when the constitution was tested, and how the balance of power has swung between the various branches of government. It does a particularly effective job of showing how elected officials seeking to change beliefs as to how the constitution operated needed to appeal to the people to bring about such change. The real jewel in the crown of the historical rundown, though, is the "Counterpoint" exhibits, where contentious points in history are debated as if by contemporaries. This adds a refreshingly subversive note to the story of unhindered progress, giving an insight into the arguments of those who were against independence, or those who wanted to defend slavery, or those who stood against women gaining the vote. That the developments of history were difficult and controversial is something that often gets missed in American public history, and I was delighted to see it placed so prominently.

The inner display explains how the constitution actually operates today. This is the part of the exhibition clearly geared most towards children, but it has an abundance of good content. You start off with an "American faces" display where you can find out stories about the 'hidden heroes' of the constitution - such as John Bayard, who broke the deadlock in the election of 1800 and thus ensured that Thomas Jefferson was elected President (previously, electors in the Electoral College were given two votes for President, with the second placed candidate becoming Vice-President, as political parties were not envisaged. In 1800 this meant that Jefferson's running mate, Aaron Burr, received the same number of votes as Jefferson, and so the election was thrown to the House of Representatives, where Jefferson's Federalist enemies considered blocking him from being elected).

The rest of the exhibition is more fun and considerably more interactive. The Supreme Court section, for example, allows you to hear the evidence presented in key constitutional cases, such as whether the First Amendment, providing for freedom of expression, allows flag-burning. The section on how laws get made is particularly amusing - one option you can follow is the campaign of a pressure group to have the Turkey made America's national symbol (as Ben Franklin desired). This must have been great fun to write, because the pressure group is called 'GOBBLE' and they find a tame Senator to sponsor their cause. "Senator, Minnesota rears at least 10,000 turkeys for export every year and we feel making the turkey the national symbol would provide a big boost for such an important industry. We supported you at the last election, but if you do not sponsor this bill, we may have to take our support elsewhere". The tour finishes in a room where every one of the signers of the Constitution is immortalised in bronze statue, as well as the three delegates who refused to sign the document. This gave me another chance to indulge my historical nerdiness, getting my photo taken alongside the Pennsylvania delegation. Well, a man can dream!

The Old City area is chock-full of important sites, such as the Free Quaker Meeting House, which housed those members of the Society of Friends who risked ostracism from their peers by taking up arms in the patriot cause during the War of Independence. Across the road, you can visit the Christ Church Burial Ground, which is the site of Ben Franklin's grave. The grave is covered in pennies, because of a famous quote of Franklin's, that "when I die, even a penny will be of no use to me". The graveyard also contains the final resting place of four other signers of the Declaration of Independence, most notably Francis Hopkinson and Benjamin Rush, who was also a pioneering doctor in Philadelphia, saving many lives during repeated yellow fever epidemics.

One of my favourite unsung sites, though, is Carpenters' Hall. This was the site of the First Continental Congress. Delegates had eschewed the more prestigious State House because they felt that Carpenters' Hall would give them a little more secrecy in their deliberations. That it was the preferred location of the radicals in Philadelphia gave a signal of what was to come from the 1774 meeting - for it was in that building that perhaps the most significant document of the Revolution was produced. I refer to the Continental Association, which took the remarkable step of all the 13 colonies acting as one for the first time, entering into a non-importation and non-exportation agreement. That is to say, they broke off commercial contact with Britain until their grievances were resolved. Moreover, this agreement was to be policed by popularly elected committees in each city - thus massively expanding the number of people who were to play an active part in resistance to the acts of the Crown. In one fell swoop, the colonies had proven they could act in concert for a common goal, and in so doing gave vastly more people the vote, and an emotional attachment to the Revolution.

Of course, that is a story that you don't hear too often in Philadelphia. Attention still focuses mainly on the Declaration of Independence as Americans' birthright, rather than charting the rocky course that it took to success. As I've said before, it masks the real genius of the American Revolution - that such powerful documents could arise and build such a solid foundation for a nation when there were many profound reasons why it might fail. I wonder if I should set up my own walking tour of Philadelphia to give some of these stories a greater airing!

I've got more Philadelphian stories to tell, but they will have to wait for another day (my apologies - but I lost an earlier version of this e-mail). So in the next couple of days you can look forward to tales of my crossing the Delaware, a trip to prison, and a route march through Fairmount Park. For now though, I will leave you with all my best wishes.