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Independence National Historical Park

1956 establishments in PennsylvaniaAmerican Revolution on the National Register of Historic PlacesAmerican Revolutionary War museums in PennsylvaniaAmerican Revolutionary War sitesArchaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Historic districts in PhiladelphiaHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in PennsylvaniaHistory museums in PennsylvaniaIndependence National Historical ParkMuseums in PhiladelphiaNational Historical Parks of the United StatesNational Park Service areas in PennsylvaniaNational Register of Historic Places in PhiladelphiaOld City, PhiladelphiaParks in PhiladelphiaParks on the National Register of Historic Places in PennsylvaniaProtected areas established in 1956Protected areas of PhiladelphiaSchuylkill River National and State Heritage Area
Liberty Bell, 2016
Liberty Bell, 2016

Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the National Park Service, the 55-acre (22 ha) park comprises many of Philadelphia's most-visited historic sites within the Old City and Society Hill neighborhoods. The park has been nicknamed "America's most historic square mile" because of its abundance of historic landmarks. The centerpiece of the park is Independence Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers in the late 18th century. Independence Hall was the principal meetinghouse of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783 and the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787. Next to Independence Hall is Carpenters' Hall, the 1774 meeting site for the First Continental Congress, and Congress Hall the meeting place of the United States Congress in the 1790s. Across the street from Independence Hall is the Liberty Bell, an iconic symbol of American independence, displayed in the Liberty Bell Center. The park contains other historic buildings, such as the First Bank of the United States, the first bank chartered by the United States Congress, and the Second Bank of the United States, which had its charter renewal vetoed by President Andrew Jackson as part of the Bank War. The Park also contains City Tavern, a recreated colonial tavern, which was a favorite of the delegates and which John Adams felt was the finest tavern in all America.Most of the park's historic structures are located in the vicinity of the four landscaped blocks between Chestnut, Walnut, 2nd, and 6th streets. The park also contains Franklin Court, the site where Benjamin Franklin's home once stood and the present-day location of a Franklin museum and the United States Postal Service Museum. An additional three blocks directly north of Independence Hall, collectively known as Independence Mall, contain the Liberty Bell Center, National Constitution Center, Independence Visitor Center, and the former site of the President's House. The park also contains other historical artifacts, such as the Syng inkstand which was used during the signings of both the Declaration and the Constitution.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Independence National Historical Park (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Independence National Historical Park
South 4th Street, Philadelphia Center City

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Latitude Longitude
N 39.947778 ° E -75.148056 °
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57 To Whitman Plaza

South 4th Street
19147 Philadelphia, Center City
Pennsylvania, United States
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Liberty Bell, 2016
Liberty Bell, 2016
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Second Bank of the United States
Second Bank of the United States

The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836. The bank's formal name, according to section 9 of its charter as passed by Congress, was "The President Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States". While other banks in the US were chartered by and only allowed to have branches in a single state, it was authorized to have branches in multiple states and lend money to the US government. A private corporation with public duties, the bank handled all fiscal transactions for the U.S. government, and was accountable to Congress and the U.S. Treasury. Twenty percent of its capital was owned by the federal government, the bank's single largest stockholder. Four thousand private investors held 80 percent of the bank's capital, including three thousand Europeans. The bulk of the stocks were held by a few hundred wealthy Americans. In its time, the institution was the largest monied corporation in the world.The essential function of the bank was to regulate the public credit issued by private banking institutions through the fiscal duties it performed for the U.S. Treasury, and to establish a sound and stable national currency. The federal deposits endowed the bank with its regulatory capacity.Modeled on Alexander Hamilton's First Bank of the United States, the Second Bank was chartered by President James Madison, who in 1791 had attacked the First Bank as unconstitutional, in 1816 and began operations at its main branch in Philadelphia on January 7, 1817, managing 25 branch offices nationwide by 1832.The efforts to renew the bank's charter put the institution at the center of the general election of 1832, in which the bank's president Nicholas Biddle and pro-bank National Republicans led by Henry Clay clashed with the "hard-money" Andrew Jackson administration and eastern banking interests in the Bank War. Failing to secure recharter, the Second Bank became a private corporation in 1836, and underwent liquidation in 1841.