Marking Pennsylvania History

Of Myth and History

Writer George Lippard was a delightful 19th-century eccentric who often took pleasure embarrassing the Philadelphia establishment. But he also knew how to wield his pen to improve sales. One of Lippard's essays in particular, The Fourth of July, 1776, fed the American appetite for a tidy myth. Had he lived long enough to enjoy its profound success, the often-contrary Lippard would have found this tale particularly ironic.

Time and place: Independence Hall, July 4, 1776. Patrick Henry gives his speech, "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" and fifty-six Founding Fathers are inspired to sign the Declaration of Independence. As the signing ceremony comes to a conclusion, a fragile, elderly man climbs the stairs of the bell tower. At the final flourish of a John Hancock's quill, a little blue-eyed boy swells his chest and runs to inform the elderly bell ringer. "Ring," he shouts in youthful infectious exuberance.

The news makes the elderly fellow "young again; his veins are filled with new life... With sturdy strokes, he swings...as though an earthquake has spoken...the Bell speaks to the city and the world."

Problem is, this is simply not true.

Patrick Henry was not present. The signing of the Declaration did not begin until August 2, 1776. And the last signer did not ink his name until January 18th the following year. But Lippard's legend lived on in guidebooks, histories and is still taken as fact today, more than 225 years later.

Stories like this make us wonder about the manipulation of historical memory. Are we just plain averse to the whole truth? Why do we sometimes prefer our history cleansed of complexity and contradiction and packaged, whether by Lippard or Disney?

But tastes and times change, and the lens on the past gets re-focused. This can amount to a balancing of the books of history. A story once ignored, a hero once forgotten, becomes compelling. And so, in recent years, Quakers, Native Americans, African Americans, Women and other longtime outsiders are finally ushered into the narrative. And finally, the story becomes more believable, and more complete. Listen to the story of Ed Hector and see if you don't agree.

- Kenneth FInkel, Executive Director of WHYY's Arts & Culture Service

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