The Independence Hall Association (IHA) was founded in 1942 to spearhead the creation of Independence National Historical Park, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1994, it created the website that today is called ushistory.org, with over 3 million page views monthly. The IHA is a nonprofit, independent facilitating organization. Its mission today is to educate the public about the Revolutionary and Colonial eras of American history, as well as Philadelphia generally.
The association was organized by Edwin O. Lewis, formerly a judge in the Common pleas court and at the time president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, to advocate and coordinate preservation of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Carpenters' Hall, Christ Church and related colonial era buildings in downtown Philadelphia. Lewis was especially motivated by concerns (following the attack on Pearl Harbor) that the historic district was at risk in the event of an air raid or other such attack.
Famous quotes containing the words independence hall, independence, hall and/or association:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)
“The subject of the novel is reality liberated from soul. The reader in complete independence presented with a structured process: let him evaluate it, not the author. The façade of the novel cannot be other than stone or steel, flashing electrically or dark, but silent.”
—Alfred Döblin (1878–1957)
“Having children can smooth the relationship, too. Mother and daughter are now equals. That is hard to imagine, even harder to accept, for among other things, it means realizing that your own mother felt this way, too—unsure of herself, weak in the knees, terrified about what in the world to do with you. It means accepting that she was tired, inept, sometimes stupid; that she, too, sat in the dark at 2:00 A.M. with a child shrieking across the hall and no clue to the child’s trouble.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)
“They that have grown old in a single state are generally found to be morose, fretful and captious; tenacious of their own practices and maxims; soon offended by contradiction or negligence; and impatient of any association but with those that will watch their nod, and submit themselves to unlimited authority.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)