Editing Independence Hall (section)

==Historical events==
The history of the Independence Hall can be divided into four periods: first construction and function as the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives|Pennsylvania State House]] from 1732 to 1799, used as a museum from 1802 to 1828, became a municipal building from 1818 to 1895, and turned into an important historical landmark from 1898 to present.

===Declaration of Independence and Second Continental Congress===
{{Main|Second Continental Congress}}
{{See also|American Revolutionary War|United States Declaration of Independence}}
[[File:Edward_Savage_-_Congress_Voting_Independence_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Congress Voting Independence]]'', a 1795 portrait by [[Robert Edge Pine]] depicting the Assembly Room in present-day Independence Hall during the [[American Revolution]]<ref>{{Cite web|title="Congress Voting Independence"|url=https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/revwar/image_gal/indeimg/congress.html|access-date=2021-05-29|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref>]]
From May 10, 1775,<ref name=capital>{{cite web |url = https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm |title = The Nine Capitals of the United States |publisher = United States Senate Historical Office |access-date = June 9, 2005 }} Based on {{cite book |last = Fortenbaugh |first = Robert |title = The Nine Capitals of the United States |location = York, Pennsylvania |publisher = Maple Press |year = 1948 }}</ref> to 1783, the Pennsylvania State House served as the principal meeting place of the [[Second Continental Congress]], a body of representatives from each of the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen British North American colonies]].

On June 14, 1775, delegates of the Continental Congress, gathered in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, established the [[Continental Army]] and appointed [[George Washington]]. The Congress appointed [[Benjamin Franklin]] as the first [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] of what later became the [[United States Post Office Department]] slightly over a month later, on July 26.

On July 4, 1776, the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] was unanimously approved in present-day Independence Hall. The Declaration was read aloud to the public in the area now known as Independence Square. This document unified the colonies in North America who declared themselves independent of the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] and explained their justifications for doing so. These historic events are celebrated annually with a national holiday for [[Independence Day (United States)|U.S. Independence Day]]. There are 56 signatures on the Declaration of Independence, including [[John Hancock]] who signed first, writing his name in very large letters.<ref>https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/education/classrooms/resources-declarationoverview.htm, Retrieved 2023-01-03.</ref> The prominence of this signature led to the term "John Hancock" or "Hancock" becoming a colloquial term in the United States for one's signature.<ref>https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/John%20Hancock, Retrieved 2023-01-03.</ref>

The Congress continued to meet in the Pennsylvania State House until December 12, 1776,<ref name=capital /> when Congress was forced to evacuate [[Philadelphia]] during the [[Philadelphia campaign#Capture of Philadelphia|British occupation]] of Philadelphia. During the British occupation of Philadelphia, the Continental Congress met in [[Baltimore]], Maryland from December 20, 1776, to February 27, 1777. The Congress returned to Philadelphia from March 4, 1777, to September 18, 1777.<ref name=capital />

In September 1777, the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British Army]] again sought to occupy Philadelphia, once again forcing the Continental Congress to abandon Philadelphia. The Congress then met in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], for a day on September 27, 1777, and then in [[York, Pennsylvania]], for nine months from September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778, where the [[Articles of Confederation]] were approved in November 1777. The Second Continental Congress then returned to Independence Hall, for its final meetings, from July 2, 1778, to March 1, 1781.<ref name=capital />

Under the [[Articles of Confederation]], the [[Congress of the Confederation]] initially met in Independence Hall, from March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1783.<ref group=lower-alpha>During this time period, American diplomats were negotiating the terms of peace with the [[Great Britain]]. See: [[Peace of Paris (1783)#Treaty with the United States of America]]. Based on preliminary articles made on November 30, 1782, and approved by the [[Congress of the Confederation]] on April 15, 1783, the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] was signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by Congress on January 14, 1784, formally ending the [[American Revolutionary War]] between the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] and the [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen former colonies]] which on [[United States Declaration of Independence|July 4, 1776]], formed the [[United States|United States of America]].</ref> Following the [[Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783]], Congress moved from Philadelphia again in June 1783, convening in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], and eventually in several other cities prior to completion of the national capital of [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1800.<ref name=capital />

===U.S. Constitutional Convention===
{{Main|Constitutional Convention (United States)}}

In September 1786, commissioners from five states met in the [[Annapolis Convention (1786)|Annapolis Convention]] to discuss adjustments to the [[Articles of Confederation]] that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the [[Congress of the Confederation]] endorsed the plan to revise the [[Articles of Confederation]] on February 21, 1787. Twelve states, [[Rhode Island]] being the exception, accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in June 1787 at Independence Hall.

The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose as proposing amendments to the Articles, but the Convention decided to propose a rewritten [[United States Constitution|Constitution]]. The [[Philadelphia Convention]] voted to keep deliberations secret, and to keep the Hall's windows shut throughout the hot summer. The result was the drafting of a new fundamental government design. <!-- {main} which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect (for the participating states). Congress, noting dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation government, unanimously agreed to submit the proposal to the states despite what some perceived as the exceeded terms of reference.--> On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed, and took effect on March 4, 1789, when the new Congress met for the first time in New York's [[Federal Hall]].

[[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article One, Section Eight, of the United States Constitution]] granted Congress the authority to create a federal district to serve as the national capital. Following the ratification of the Constitution, the Congress, while meeting in New York, passed the [[Residence Act]] of 1790, which established the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] as the new federal capital. However, a representative from Pennsylvania, [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]], did manage to convince Congress to return to Philadelphia while the new permanent capital was being built. As a result, the Residence Act also declared Philadelphia to be the temporary capital for a period of ten years. The Congress moved back into Philadelphia on December 6, 1790, and met at [[Congress Hall]], adjacent to Independence Hall, until moving to Washington, D.C., in 1800.

===Funerary procession of Abraham Lincoln===
{{Further|Funeral and burial of Abraham Lincoln}}
Following the [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|assassination]] of [[Abraham Lincoln]], the nation's 16th [[President of the United States|president]], Lincoln's body and the disinterred coffin of his son Willie, who predeceased him in 1862, were taken by train from [[Washington, D.C.]], to [[Springfield, Illinois]], for burial. The train route  essentially retraced the {{convert|1,654|mi|km|adj=on}} route Lincoln traveled en route to the nation's capital as president-elect in 1861 with the removal of stops in [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Cincinnati]] and the addition of [[Chicago]]. The train left Washington, D.C. for [[Baltimore]] at 8:00&nbsp;am on April 21, 1865.<ref name="rogerjnorton.com">{{cite web |title = The Route of Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train |url = http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln51.html |publisher = Abraham Lincoln Research Site |access-date = December 29, 2012 }}</ref>

Lincoln's funeral train, known as the "Lincoln Special", left [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]], on Saturday, April 22, 1865, at 11:15&nbsp;am and arrived at [[Philadelphia]] at [[Broad Street Station (Philadelphia)|Broad Street Station]] that afternoon at 4:30&nbsp;pm. It was carried by hearse past a crowd of 85,000 people and was held in state in the Assembly Room in the east wing of Independence Hall. While there, it was escorted and guarded by a detail of 27 naval and military officers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Enon M. Harris, Sr.|url=https://www.remembermyjourney.com/Memorial/137721|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=May 17, 2021|work=Remember My Journey}}</ref> That evening, a private viewing was arranged for honored guests of the mourners. The next day, (Sunday, April 23, 1865) lines began forming at 5:00&nbsp;am. Over 300,000 mourners viewed the body – some waiting 5 hours just to see him. The Lincoln Special left Philadelphia's [[Kensington, Philadelphia|Kensington Station]] for New York City the next morning, on Monday, April 24, 1865, at 4:00&nbsp;am.<ref name="rogerjnorton.com"/><ref>{{cite web |title = Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train |url = http://www.history.com/topics/president-lincolns-funeral-train |publisher = History Channel |access-date = December 29, 2012 }}</ref>

===League to Enforce Peace===
{{Main|League to Enforce Peace}}
The symbolic use of the hall was illustrated on June 17, 1915, where the [[League to Enforce Peace]] was formed here with former President [[William Howard Taft]] presiding. They proposed an international governing body under which participating nations would commit to "jointly...use...their economic and military forces against any one of their number making war against another" and "to formulate and codify rules of international law".<ref>{{cite journal |first = Hamilton |last = Holt |title = The League to Enforce Peace |journal = Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York |volume = 7 |issue = 2 |year = 1917 |pages = 65–69 |doi = 10.2307/1172226 |jstor = 1172226 }}</ref>