USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > An historical account of the old State house of Pennsylvania now known as the Hall of Independence > Part 14
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133
THE LEGAL TITLE.
ince, having also reported favorably as to inclination of owners, etc., that they would sell, at such price as the lots might be valued by in- different persons, an act was procured on fourteenth of May following. It made an appropriation of five thousand pounds, and required the trustees to purchase the residue of the Square on Walnut Street " to and for the same uses, intents, and purposes to which the said House and its appurtenances are appropriated." These final pur- chases were perfected by the spring of 1769 and deeds duly executed to the trustees, and thus the Province became possessed of the whole Square. A brick wall, seven feet high, was at once (in 1770) con- structed around the whole premises, with an immense gateway and wooden door on Walnut Street, in the middle of that front. It is believed that there was no other entrance save from the buildings themselves.
After the Province of Pennsylvania became a free State, under the new Constitution, it was considered expedient to vest the title to all the real estate of the former in the Commonwealth by statute. This was accordingly done by act of the 28th February, 1780. Samuel Rhoads and Edward Penington were then the only surviving trustees, except Joseph Galloway, who had forfeited his trusts by treason, and whose title to his own former residence on " High, Minor and Sixth Streets " 1 was included in the same act. This latter provided that the State House with its adjoining lot, etc., etc., with all the other real estate belonging to "the good people of this Commonwealth or of any county thereof in their public and collective capacity belonging or to their use or interest vested and conveyed, shall be, and hereby are, vested in the Commonwealth, freed and discharged and absolutely acquitted, exempted and exonerated of, from, and against, all claims and demands of the said Feoffees or Trustees. . . . . subject, how- ever, to the several uses, intents, trusts, dispositions, and direction for which the same have been heretofore respectively appointed and lim- ited, and to none other."
Just before the troubles with Great Britain commenced it had been ordered that the Superintendents " prepare a plan for laying out the Square, behind the State House, in proper walks, and to be planted with suitable trees, etc., and that the plan should be submitted to the Assembly, but, apparently. no further steps were then taken to this end, and, indeed, no practical measures, before or during the Revolu-
1 See page 82 for representation of the State House Yard at this time and as it continued till 1873.
2 This residence had been appropriated by statute and "appointed for the use of the President of the Supreme Executive Council" of the State.
134
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
tion, seem to have been taken. Had any been attempted, they would have been rendered abortive, by the immense public meetings for patriotic purposes which, as we have seen, were so frequent during the early days of the Revolutionary War.
The peace of 1783 afforded the citizens leisure for internal improve- ment as well as for the encouragement of scientific research. The State House Square presented scope for both. In September of this year President John Dickinson invites the attention of the Assembly to the condition of the State House lot, and urges the execution of the law, as " the laying out the ground according to the original design would be reputable to the State, particularly useful to the inhabitants of this city and agreeable to strangers."
No evidences of any active measures to effect this appear till Feb- ruary 28, 1785, when a few trees were planted. Mr. Samuel Vaughan, a public-spirited citizen of the day, is said to have taken much interest in the improvement of the Square. Through him Mr. George Morgan, of Princeton, N. Y., presented one hundred elm trees in April, 1785 ; these, with possibly one exception, are the oldest trees upon the square.
" Public walks " were now laid out, and it commenced to be called " the State House Garden " and was a place of fashionable resort. In 1791 it was thought that it would contribute to its embellishment as well as " conduce to the health of the citizens, by admitting a freer circulation of air, if the east and west walls were lowered, and palisadoes placed thereon." The city of Philadelphia was therefore allowed by the State, at its own expense, to reduce the brick wall to three feet, and to place upon it " an iron railing fixed into a stone capping along the length of Fifth and Sixth streets." The wall on Walnut Street, however, still remained as originally built, till 1813, when that also was lowered to correspond. A very handsome iron gate flanked by substantial marble posts, the latter surmounted by lamps, now replaced the cumbersome folding doors.1
1 The cost of removing the wall of the State House Yard, and erecting the iron railing, has been preserved by Mr. Hazard.
EAST AND WEST WALLS.
Taking down the wall, preparing foundation and materials
$310.36
Bar iron and castings 1,447.03
Lead 147.50
Connecting plates, rivets, and smith work . 462.70
Marble coping 1,671.01
Gates . 132.15
Painting two coats
88.00
$4,258.75
135
CONGRESS HALL.
In giving its sanction to these changes, the State was careful to express a reservation of all right, title, and interest in, and to, the Square.
Permission was also granted in this year, 1812, to the County Commissioners to alter the wings of the State House, for the current needs of the city. This was accordingly done in 1813. The arcades and staircases were then removed and two-story structures replaced them, while the buildings next adjacent on both sides were also changed. The base of the old clock at this time was removed, though the clock itself was permitted to remain till 1828.
CONGRESS HALL.
The next portion of the buildings upon " the Square," which claims our attention, is that at the southeast corner of Chestnut and Sixth streets.
The funds to defray these expenses were derived from the following sources: -
Old materials sold .
$411.21
Appropriated by the City Council 1,500.00
Subscriptions by individuals . 2,347.54
$4,258.75
SOUTH WALL.
Taking down the wall and preparing foundation and materials $184.66
Marble coping
914.30
Castings and bar iron 786.63
Smith work, connecting plates, putting up, etc. 271.58
Lead
52 50
Painting
37.75
$2,247.42
The funds for which were derived from the following sources: -
Bridge Co.'s debt appropriated by councils $500.00
Fines for breach of ordinances by councils 383.94
Appropriated in 1813, by councils 600.00
Subscriptions by individuals
765.48
$2,247.42
Total cost exclusive of the southern gate : -
East and West sides
$4,258.76
South side 2,247.42
$6,506.18
FEET.
Length of railing on the west side exclusive of gateways
397
East side
337.9
South end
391.4
1126.1
136
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
Though actually erected after the Revolution, its plan was almost coeval with that of the State House itself.
In his scheme of public utility, Mr. Hamilton did not restrict him- self to the needs of the State alone. In conjunction with his friend, William Allen, he purchased both corner lots on Chestnut Street, ad- joining what was appropriated by him to the State House proper, and its appurtenant offices, and in February, 1736, procured the passage of a Resolution of Assembly, resulting in an Act, which authorized and directed him to convey certain lots to designated Trustees, who should hold them in trust for the use of the City and the County of Philadelphia. These lots were each fifty feet on Chestnut, running back seventy-three feet, one at southeast corner of Chestnut and Sixth streets, and the other at southwest corner of Fifth. It was provided in the Resolution referred to, that the buildings to be erected there- upon should be " of the like outward form, structure and dimensions, the one for the use of the County and the other for the use of the City, and to be used for the holding of courts or common halls and not for private buildings." The two corporations were required to refund to the State the proportionate value of these lots, and the buildings were to be erected within twenty years.
When the Act of February 17, 1762, already cited, was passed to perfect the title, these requirements were duly incorporated in its body.
It was not till July, 1764, that an actual conveyance of this prop- perty 1 was made to the City and to the County respectively, for the erection of their Public Buildings. Ten years yet elapsed before any action was taken. In February, 1775, a committee was appointed by the Common Council to draw a plan of the building for city uses and to make an estimate of the cost. In order to meet the latter in part, the corporation fund, arising from donations made by former Mayors to the city, was deemed available. A custom had existed down to the year 1741, for the Mayor, on expiration of his term of office, to entertain his constituents at a public banquet. Mr. James Hamilton (the son of Andrew Hamilton), however, disapproving this practice and at the same time desirous of showing his appreciation of the honor paid him by his fellow-citizens, presented for municipal use for the erection of an Exchange, or other public edifice, one hundred and fifty pounds, an example that was followed for many years by his successors. This fund, however, was not yet adequate, nor do the demands for accommodations, for the municipal authorities, seem to have been pressing.
1 Under the Act of Assembly of February 17, 1762.
137
CONGRESS HALL.
No active efforts were made to carry out the design till after the close of the Revolutionary War.
On 18th March, 1785, the Assembly took into consideration, and on 8th April following, finally passed an Act, by which an appropria- tion of £3,000 was made out of the proceeds of the sale of the " old gaol and work-house " of the County, then ordered to be disposed of, towards the erection of the County Building on the State House Square, and a similar amount to be taken out of the Treasury of the City for the erection of the City or " Common Hall," at the corres- ponding corner of Fifth and Chestnut. The Act also, required the submission of the plans to the President and Council of State, who had recommended the consideration of the subject in December, 1784, " in order that their outward appearance may be alike and uniform."
The seventy-three feet in depth already conveyed proving " insuffi- cient," an additional grant was made by the Legislature on 29th March, 1787, of fifteen feet; it would, however, appear that the "in sufficiency " had arisen from placing the Halls further from the curb than was originally intended, in order to widen the side-walk.
In the spring following the County Building was promptly com menced, and apparently finished in February, 1789. We find that on 4th March of that year - the very day upon which the new government of the United States was to go into operation in New York City -a motion was made in the House of Assembly of Pennsylvania by the Representatives of the City and County of Philadelphia, who at the same time stated they were so authorized by their constituents : de- ferred to the next day, it was then unanimously Resolved, -
" That the members of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, from this State, be authorized to make a respectful offer to Congress of the use of any or all the public buildings in Philadelphia, the property of the State and of the building lately erected on the State House Square belonging to the City and County of Philadelphia, in case Congress should at any time incline to make choice of that city for the temporary res- idence of the federal government."
In Congress, as early in the session as 15th May, 1789, efforts were made to establish the permanent seat of Government of the United States. Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, as well as Pennsylvania, competed. The House passed a Resolution in favor of the last mentioned State.
Simultaneously with the passage of a bill to this effect in the House, Robert Morris in the Senate, on 21st September, presented the Resolves
138
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
of the Pennsylvania Assembly as already given, tendering the use of the public buildings in Philadelphia. The Senate, however, made some amendments to the House Bill, and on its return to the House, for concurrence, it was postponed till the next session ; the subject was then again brought up, at the same time, in the House and in the Sen- ate. In the former, it was determined that " Congress should meet and hold their next session in Philadelphia," but the Senate again re- fused to concur in the Resolution, and debated, without result, the question of a permanent seat of government
The House then made another effort for a temporary Capitol, sub- stituting Baltimore for Philadelphia ; and to this, also, the Senate re- fused its concurrence, and insisted upon considering the question of a permanent Capitol, which they now did by naming the banks of the River Potomac, and fixing the year 1800 as the time for transfer thereto. After considerable debate and discussion of resolutions in every variety of form over Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore, the Senate finally agreed to establish their temporary residence in Phil- adelphia. The Bill, received by the House on 20th July, 1790, was attacked by attempted amendments, but was finally passed by a very close vote.
In a letter to his wife, dated New York, July 2, 1790, Mr. Morris himself says : -
" I congratulate you my Dearest Friend upon our success, for at length the Senate has passed a Bill fixing the temporary seat of Congress at Philadel- phia for ten years, after which it is to be permanently fixed on the banks of the Potomack (provided the buildings, etc., are ready). The next Session of Congress is to commence on the first day of December next, in Philadelphia.
"This Bill had the third reading and passed in the Senate yesterday fourteen to twelve. This morning it will be sent to the House of Representatives, where it must have three readings and will undergo a fiery trial, but our Peo- ple are confident that they have a majority which will carry it through, and there is no room to fear the President's consent, so that we have a much better prospect of perfecting this momentous affair to our satisfaction now, than we have had at any time this Session, but I cannot help remembering what hap- pened the last year ; we were nearer to our object then, than we are now, and yet we lost it, at the moment when we were most sure.
"The majority in the House of Representatives is so small, that many con- tingencies may happen to dash the 'Cup from the Lip;' therefore, it is best not to be too sanguine. The Yorkers are cunning and intrigueing. They spare no pains to coax and cajole those with whom they think there is the least chance of success. They lay all the blame of this measure on me, and abuse me most unmercifully, both in the Public Prints, private conversations, and
THE OLD STATE HOUSE, 1781-1813. (FRONT VIEW.)
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my Black, Friend will sang you safe to Stelurl __
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139
of the Seat of Government through his instrumentality from their City to the city of
Philadelphia.
Limit Huntle,
Caricature of Robert Morris by the new Yorkers in consequence of the remont
-
140
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
even in the streets ; and yesterday I was nearly engaged in a serious quarrel with one of them. - However. I don't mind all they can do, and if I carry the point, I will, like a good Christian, forgive them all." 1
The Bill received the assent of the President (communicated to the Senate on 16th July), but even then its repeal was attempted. This proved unsuccessful.
The third session of the First Congress met, accordingly, on 6th December, 1790, in the building which was henceforward known as "Congress Hall."
Shortly after they assembled (on 8th December), the Commission- ers of the City and County confirmed the offering that had already been made of the County Court House for the accommodation of the Rep- resentatives of the Union during their residence in the city of Phila- delphia ; and on the next day the Senate ordered the following reply to be addressed to the Commissioners : -
GENTLEMEN : -
The Senate have considered the letter that you were pleased to address to the Senate and House of Representatives on the 6th inst., and they entertain a proper sense of the respect shown to the General Government of the United States by providing so commodious a building as the Commissioners of the City and County of Philadelphia have appropriated for the accommodation of the representatives of the Union, during their residence in this city.
I have the honor to be
Your most humble servant, JOHN ADAMS, Vice-president of the United States and President of the Senate.2
A communication from the Commissioners, similar to that to the Senate, was made to the House of Representatives on the 11th De- cember.
1 In Manuscript from the forthcoming Life of Robert Morris, by Charles Henry Hart.
2 On 6th December, the State House might, possibly, as some have suggested, have been used by Congress; but as the Pennsylvania Assembly met the next day, the former must have immediately adjourned to take possession of the chambers which had been prepared for them. The only ground for doubt as to their meeting even at the first, in the County Building, proceeds from the letter of the Commis- sioners given in the text: but this seems to have been a mere formality to guarantee to government the continuous use of the building, and this view is confirmed by the language of Mr. Adams's letter, not accepting (which the actual occupancy would render unnecessary), but simply thanking the constituted authorities for the com- modious building appropriated to the representatives, etc., " during their residence in this city."
CONGRESS HALL, 1790-1800. (FROM "ELECTION DAY," BY KRIMMEL.)
141
CONGRESS HALL.
Comparatively little had been done while Congress still sat in New York and as they continued to sit in this building till the year 1800, it was here that the essential features of the new government were adopted and the Constitution of the United States practically put in running order.
The Army and Navy were placed upon a creditable footing.
The United States Mint was established.
The celebrated Treaty of Commerce with England, known as " Jay's Treaty," was debated and ratified.
The United States Bank was instituted.
The States of Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee were all admitted into the Union.
While still in Philadelphia, the Government successfully withstood the first insurrection that threatened its overthrow, "The Whisky In- surrection" in Pennsylvania ; it conducted an Indian war, in which "St. Clair's Defeat" and " Wayne's Success" were crystallized into history ; the severest of all the tests to which it was subjected was probably the encountering the hostilities of the staunch friend and ally of America in the Revolution - France, and thus creating the most bitter animosi- ties at home.
It was in this building that the second inauguration 1 of the First President took place, March 4, 1793.
The announcement of the event in the papers of the 5th is thus chronicled : --
" Yesterday, our beloved and venerable George Washington came to the Senate Chamber of Congress, and took the usual oath of office, which was ad- ministered to him by Judge Cushing, at noon, in presence of an immense con- course of his fellow citizens, members of both Houses of the Congress of the United States Legislature, and several foreign ministers, consuls, etc. There was likewise an assemblage of ladies attending on this solemn occasion, and the day was extremely serene, for Providence has always smiled on the day of this man and on the glorious cause which he has espoused, of Liberty and Equality.
" After taking the oath, the President retired as he had come, without pomp or ceremony. but on his departure from the House. the people could no longer restrain obeying the genuine dictates of their hearts, they saluted him with three cheers."
In the self-same building, though this time, in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, the Second President of the United States,
1 The first inauguration, April 30th, 1789, Congress had met and was in session . a New York City.
142
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
John Adams, assumed his official duties, March 4, 1797. The re- tiring President, General Washington, greater, if possible, than at any other period of his life, was seated on the right of Mr. Adams, and the Vice President elect. Mr. Jefferson, on his left. Jonathan Dayton . was the Speaker of the House at this time, and he occupied the seat of the Clerk, immediately in front of the Speaker's chair. The Chief Justice and the Associate Justices occupied a table in the centre ; General Wilkinson, Commander-in-chief of the Army, the Heads of Departments, and many of the principal inhabitants were in attend- ance.
Previous to taking the oath, Mr. Adams delivered a speech from the Speaker's chair, which probably, for the first time, was issued the same afternoon in a postscript to the daily papers. Upon its conclu- sion, the President descended and took the oath of office ; the Chief Justice, Oliver Ellsworth, pronounced the Constitutional Oath with much solemnity, which was repeated in an equally audible and solemn manner. The President then resumed his seat for a moment, rose, bowed to the audience, and retired. He was followed by the Vice President, though not without a contest between him and the out- going President, with respect to precedence, the latter insisting upon the Vice President taking it, and he with great reluctance receiving it.
The papers of the day comment upon the ceremony as " affording high satisfaction and delight to every genuine republican, to behold a fellow citizen, raised by the voice of the people, to be the first Magis- trate of a free nation, and to see at the same time him, who lately filled the Presidential chair, retiring by ' voluntary choice.' and, as a private citizen, attending the inauguration of his successor in office. Thus was beautifully exemplified the simplicity and excellence of the Re- publican system, in opposition to hereditary monarchical governments, where all is conducted by a few powerful individuals, amidst all the pomp, splendor, and magnificence of courts."
Within a year a scene occurred in the House of a very different character and which caused much scandal at the time. It induced the issue of a caricature, " the First Battle in Congress," and a burlesque, styled " The House of Wisdom in a Bustle - a poem descriptive of the noted battle lately fought in C-ng-ss." This was in 1798, January 30. The facts were these : during the sitting of the House of Repre- sentatives, though while the Speaker was not actually in the chair, (the tellers being engaged in counting the votes in an impeachment case) but occupying a member's seat on the floor and in conversation with Matthew Lyon of Vermont, - Roger Griswold of Connecticut
1
LÆR
JOHN ADAMS. FROM THE PORTRAIT BY PEALE IN INDEPENDENCE HALL.
THE FIRST BATTLE IN CONGRESS.
144
HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
On the nineteenth of December, upon the report of his death, both Houses adjourned. Upon the next day, John Marshall, then a mem- ber of the House (afterwards Chief Justice), rose in his place, and after confirming the melancholy event which the day before had been announced with doubt, "our Washington is no more, he lives only in his own great actions and in the hearts of an affectionate and afflicted people," he paid a tribute to his character and service, that has never been surpassed. " More than any other individual, and as much as to one individual was possible, has he contributed to found this our wide-spreading empire, and to give to the Western World its indepen- dence and its freedom." He concluded with offering resolutions that the House should wait upon the President in condolence ; that the Speaker's chair should be shrouded with black, and that the members wear mourning.
" That a Committee, in conjunction with one from the Senate, be appointed to consider on the most suitable manner of paying honor to the memory of the man, FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE, AND FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRY." 1
The Senate concurred, and on the Monday following, to which time the House adjourned, Mr. Marshall, as chairman of the joint com- mittee, reported among other resolves ; that the United States should erect a monument in the city of Washington ; that there be a funeral procession from Congress Hall to the German Lutheran Church, in honor of the memory of General George Washington, on the twenty- sixth of December, and that an oration be prepared at the request of Congress, to be delivered before both Houses on that day. These Resolutions were unanimously agreed to.
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