In 1776, Philadelphia was the largest city in mainland British North America and home to between 30,000 to 40,000 residents. Women and men, young and old, black and white, poor and rich all walked the same streets as the delegates who met here for the First and Second Continental Congresses. Far less often are their perspectives on the American Revolution and notions of independence included in standard narratives. This Landmark series explores how the history of these events expands when a broader range of viewpoints, and the sources they left behind, are considered founding documents too. Using materials from The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding (https://therevolutionarycity.org), this workshop will provide educators with enhanced scholarly perspectives, techniques for teaching 18th-century manuscripts and printed materials, and the on-the-ground experiences needed to bring a richer and more multi-faceted history of the nation’s founding back to their classrooms. Better still, these materials are digitized and in one online location that the APS has committed to maintain in perpetuity. Workshop participants will have ready access to them long after 2026.

Four themes guide “America’s Forgotten Founders” and ensure a robust and broad-ranging discussion–declaring independence, slavery and abolition, lived experience, and the economy–all ideas that expand teachers’ understanding of what was revolutionary about the close of the 18th century. These four workshop themes are chosen from the nine themes around which The Revolutionary City portal is organized. The Rev City’s themes were, in turn, created in collaboration with a stakeholder team of educators, archivists, community leaders, scholars, and public historians to create more accessible pathways through the digitized archival material in the portal to uncover otherwise hidden voices. Declaring independence, slavery and abolition, lived experience, and the economy are all critical to the story of independence and also help users explore a range of voices through a wide variety of documents. During the five-day workshop, participants will both engage with the original archival and printed materials digitized for the Rev City portal and visit several of the sites where the activities described in these documents took place. 

This workshop will be offered twice in-person with virtual pre- and post-workshop synchronous sessions. 

Pre-Workshop Virtual Orientation: Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 3:00-5:00PM EST

In-Residence Workshop Session 1: Monday, July 20, 2026 through Friday, July 24, 2026

In-Residence Workshop Session 2: Monday, August 3, 2026 through Friday, August 7, 2026

Post-Workshop Virtual Follow-up: September 2026 (date and time tba)

The America's Forgotten Founders: The Revolutionary City of Philadelphia Workshop has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Our application portal is now accepting applications through March 6, 2026. Apply via Interfolio: https://apply.interfolio.com/178920

We welcome applications from full- or part-time K-12 educators in the United States who teach in public, charter, independent, and religiously affiliated schools, or as home schooling educators. Museum educators and other K-12 school personnel are also welcome to apply if they demonstrate that participation will advance project goals and enhance their own professional work.  We are reserving 20% of the available spaces for educators who are new to the profession (five years or fewer of teaching experience). 

Pre-Workshop Virtual Orientation

Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 3:00-5:00PM EST

One month prior to the in-person workshop, participants will attend a required, online introductory session to become familiar with how to navigate The Revolutionary City portal. The session, held for all workshop participants, will be led by project Director Brenna Holland, with Rev City project Co-Directors Bayard Miller and Sabrina Bocanegra. Participants will learn about metadata and how to use themes, locations, people, and subjects to search the Rev City portal. They will be provided with an overview of the in-person workshops and participate in a discussion of a pre-circulated reading.

Reading:

• T.H. Breen, Kathleen Duval, Leslie M. Harris, Michael D. Hattem, Serena Zabin, “The Revolution at 250: A Conversation,” Journal of the Early Republic 44 (Winter 2024), pp. 513-579.

Day One: Declaring Independence

To declare independence took more than shouting about freedom. What happens when we consider independence as a process rather than an event? Day One introduces teachers to Philadelphia, to each other, and to the declaration process, which began well before the events of July 1776. Participants will have a hands-on review of The Revolutionary City online archival portal, with a focus on the “Declaring Independence” Document Spotlights led by Rev City project Co-Directors Bayard Miller and Sabrina Bocanegra. This is followed by a session with leading scholars of the Declaration, Dr. Emily Sneff and Dr. David Gary. Together, participants will complete a close reading of various drafts of the Declaration, analyze how its meaning changed over time, and identify ideas about other pursuits of freedom beyond those of the Declaration’s drafters. In the afternoon teachers will participate in trio of tours, providing expansive document- and place-based exploration of declaring independence. These tours include the APS’s exhibition These Truths: The Declarations of Independence, the Museum of the American Revolution and their Declaration’s Journey exhibition, and Carpenters’ Hall which was the site of the First Continental Congress. All three sites are within two city blocks of one another.

Reading: 

• Emily Sneff, When the Declaration was News (introduction and chapter 1).

Day Two: Economy, Slavery, and Abolition Part I

How did the American Revolution impact the daily lives of colonial Philadelphians? And how did material culture become part of the revolutionary effort (as well as resistance efforts to independence)? Day Two begins with a discussion lead by Dr. Jessica Roney to explore colonial Philadelphia’s trade patterns and ask how “independent” America’s economy was at the time of the revolution. The city was one of the largest economic centers of British North America, with extensive networks into the West Indies and South America. Independence initiatives, and particularly nonimportation efforts and embargoes, disrupted this trade and often pitted the interests of importers and retailers against those of consumers and revolutionary leaders.

Slavery was a central facet of life in revolutionary Philadelphia, documented in a variety of primary sources. Philadelphia was also the site of the first organized abolition society in North America. How did slavery and freedom intersect and diverge in the revolutionary city? How did the rhetoric of the American Revolution contribute to abolition efforts? That afternoon, the group will travel to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for a hands-on learning session with original documents led by Dr. David Brigham followed by a session with Dr. David Waldstreicher on the intertwined histories of slavery and freedom during the American Revolution. The records of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society (PAS) are held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and provide an important counterpoint to traditional narratives about the meaning of independence and freedom during the revolutionary era.

Reading: 

• Cathy Matson, The Economy of Early America: Historical Perspectives and New Directions (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), introduction and chapter 7.
• Kirsten Sword, “Remembering Dinah Nevil: Strategic Deceptions in Eighteenth-Century Antislavery,” Journal of American History 97 (September 2010), pp. 315-343.
• Gary Nash, “The Black Revolution in Philadelphia,” from Forging Freedom: The Formation of Philadelphia’s Black Community, 1720-1840, pp. 38-65.

Day Three: Lived Experience

Philadelphians experienced the revolution in a variety of ways. Some city residents chose sides in the conflict based on politics. But many more made practical decisions that reflected the messy on-the-ground realities of war. What factors were most significant in Philadelphia? How did these change over time? How do they compare to traditional histories about what caused the American Revolution? Day Three focus on large collections of family papers, with an emphasis on the Wyck Association Collection and the Eastwick Collection, both held at the APS. These two large collections, from prominent Philadelphia Quaker families, include the letters and other records of many women and provide evidence of others, including children and both free and enslaved laborers. Participants will explore the on-the-ground realities of wartime Philadelphia and dive into the archival collections at the APS with Dr. Brenna Holland and Dr. Zara Anishanslin . After lunch, participants will board a chartered bus for visits to two of the existing family homes, now house museums. Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm is a National Historic Landmark in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia that served as the ancestral home to the Wistars and Haines families from 1690-1973. The second house museum, Stenton, completed in 1730, was home to six generations of Logans and a diverse community of enslaved, indentured, and free laborers, who lived and labored at Stenton for over 50 years.

Reading: 

• Rosemarie Zagarri, “Introduction” and Susan Brandt, “Marketing Medicine: Apothecary Elizabeth Weed’s Economic Independence During the American Revolution,” in Women in the American Revolution: Gender, Politics, and the Domestic World, pp. 1-15 and 60-79. 

Day Four: Economy, Slavery, and Abolition Part II

Day Four begins with a morning session focused on learning strategies for finding under-represented people in the archives, followed by a visit to the African American Museum in Philadelphia to view their permanent exhibition, Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia 1776-1876. We will revisit our discussion from Day Two on slavery and abolition during a working lunch.

The group will then travel to the Library Company of Philadelphia to explore the center’s rich collection of early economic Americana. The afternoon will focus on the economic impact of war at the wharf and local businesses, as well as in the homes using newspaper advertisements, nonimportation agreements and broadsides, shopkeeper ledgers, and minutes from colonial committees designed to regulate both the importation and consumption of goods. This session will be held at and benefit from .

Day Five: Taking it to the Classroom with Transcription

How can we bridge the gap between 18th-century manuscripts and 21st-century learning? Day Five begins with an introduction to transcription and paleography through hands-on practice with Dr. Catherine Person. Reading 18th-century handwriting can be intimidating at first glance. But many readers can actually become quite skilled at reading texts, which becomes easier with practice and familiarity. Participants will learn tips and tricks to build confidence in transcription. The group will then be joined by Dr. David Nelson to learn about how the Rev City Portal is already incorporating transcribed documents via innovative digital transcription tools. Participants will then workshop, in groups, the transcription of documents they have chosen from the Rev City portal and begin to develop learning activities that relate to their own interests.

Post-Workshop Virtual Follow-up

In September 2026 there will be a virtual follow-up workshop held on Zoom for all participants. This will provide an opportunity for evaluation of the workshop itself, as well as a chance for participants to share progress on the learning activities that they have produced up to that point.

Faculty and Presenters: 

Dr. Brenna Holland, APS Director of Programs, Co-Director for America's Forgotten Founders

Dr. Catherine Person, APS Head of Education Programs, K-12 Education Specialist for America's Forgotten Founders

Bayard Miller, APS Associate Director of Digital Initiatives & Technology, Co-Director for The Revolutionary City project

Sabrina Bocanegra, APS Head of Digital Access, Co-Director for The Revolutionary City project

Dr. David Gary, APS Associate Director of Collections, curator for the APS's exhibition These Truths: The Declarations of Independence 

Dr. Emily Sneff, author of the forthcoming book When the Declaration Was News

Matthew Skic, Senior Curator at the Museum of the American Revolution

Michael Norris, Carpenters' Hall Executive Director

Dr. David Waldstreicher, Distinguished Professor at CUNY Graduate School and author of The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence

Dr. David Brigham, Historical Society of Pennsylvania CEO

Dr. Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware

Laura Keim, Stenton's Curator

Rachel Corma, Stenton's Education Director

Kim Staub, Wyck House and Garden Executive Director

Dr. Jessica Roney, Director of the Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) at the Library Company of Philadelphia and Associate Professor of History at Temple University

Dr. John Van Horn, Director of the Library Company of Philadelphia

Dr. David R. Nelson, APS Digital Scholarship Programmer

Sites: 

The American Philosophical Society
104 South 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA

The Museum of the American Revolution
101 S 3rd St, Philadelphia, PA

Carpenters' Hall
320 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA

The African American Museum in Philadelphia
701 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
1300 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 

Stenton
4601 N 18th St, Philadelphia, PA

Wyck Historic House and Garden
6026 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA

Library Company of Philadelphia
1314 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 

Independence Hall
520 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA

The American Philosophical Society has secured room blocks for both weeks of the NEH workshop at the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District Hotel. Participants are responsible for hotel payment. 

The hotel rate for the In-Residence Workshop Session 1 (Monday, July 20, 2026 through Friday, July 24, 2026) is $169 per night. The hotel rate for the In-Residence Workshop Session 2 (Monday, August 3, 2026 through Friday, August 7, 2026) is $109 per night. 

Participants selected for the workshop will receive an email from the APS inquiring about hotel needs and will offer the opportunity for participants to express interest in sharing a room.

Program Director:

Brenna Holland, Ph.D.
[email protected]

K-12 Specialist:

Catherine Person, Ph.D.
[email protected] 

Project Coordinator:

Thomas Johns
[email protected] 

Postdoctoral Associate:

Sarah Pearlman Shapiro
[email protected]