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Taking you to Philadelphia, visiting the National Historical Park, most famous for Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. We will see history come alive because this is where America began. It was here that it was first declared that America should be free and independent from Great Britain. This was the intellectual political, economic center of the country at that time.
It's also where the Continental Congress met and all of those great luminaries came together: Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Adams. It's where we first formed our government with the creation of the Constitution, and the buildings are still standing. It's all free because it's a national park and you can hear the park rangers tell you all about it with their historical descriptions of what happened here back in the late 18th century, the birth of our nation.
The park rangers really put on quite a free show, with many different talks offered all day telling the dramatic stories in the actual locations where these rebellious actions happened. This is the best free history show in America. The rangers are walking encyclopedias and they love to get you all excited about our Founding Fathers.
The centerpiece is Independence Hall, where the great debates leading up to our Revolutionary War took place. The rooms have been brilliantly restored to their original style in a mix of Georgian and Colonial architecture. This is where the two founding documents of our nation were adopted, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Then you want to go next door to Congress Hall, which was the capital of our country from 1790-1800. Congress met here for the first time and created the Bill of Rights, in the original House and Senate Chambers, which are preserved exactly as they were 200 years ago. It is also where Washington and John Adams were sworn in as president. Amazing to think that these few small buildings contained the totality of our national government offices -- quite a difference from today’s vast bureaucratic expansion across the land.
This park offers one of the greatest travel bargains and experiences in the world for you get to walk through these historic buildings beautifully preserved from 200 years ago and listen to the knowledgeable park rangers and it's all for free.