The Messy History of the Revolution: Philadelphia Walking Tour

"To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse." - John Adams We all know George Washington didn't really chop down a cherry tree, so why do we keep telling that story? Americans love telling stories about the Founding Fathers that make us feel proud to be a part of their legacies. Behind the grand stories of brilliance and triumph though, we find imperfect people who were only human. They were kind, cruel, funny, and very rarely chopping down trees. Here's what makes this tour different: We talk about what's being quietly removed from National Park Service displays. The stories that complicate the narrative. This is history before it gets sanitized for mass consumption. This walking tour doesn't just show you America's Most Historic Square Mile (though it does that too)—it's a journey through who the Founding Fathers were, who they were not, and who we wish they would have been. No axe wielding required.

Our first stop will be Benjamin Franklin's grave before seeing the exteriors of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Then we'll head to Washington Square Park, one of William Penn's five original parks, which contains both serene memorials and far less serene stories—the kind that don't always make it into the official tour scripts anymore. We'll continue through the colonial days with Carpenters Hall, Benjamin Franklin's print shop, Betsy Ross' house, and plenty of revealing stops in between. Small group. Big conversations. The history they're editing out of the placards.