Episode Details

In this episode, we explore pennsylvania is the blueprint of america. Imagine trying to hide a massive like 2000 pound bronze bell in the back of a bumpy farm wagon. Oh, man. Right. And meanwhile, the greatest army on earth is literally marching into your city. It's such a crazy image. It really is. It's 1777 and the British are closing in on Philadelphia. The city's defenders know that if the British get their hands on those bells, they are going to melt them down into musket balls. Right. For artillery and ammo. Exactly. So two local farmers are tasked with hauling 11 bells, including the one we now call the Liberty Bell out of the city. Just dragging them away. Dragging them north to Allentown and literally burying them under the floorboards of a church basement. Welcome to today's deep dive. It is such a visceral story. I mean, we tend to view history in these grand sweeping strokes, but of a country? It sounds absurd today. Did he buy it? He didn't have to. The king was actually settling a massive debt. King Charles II owed Penn's father £16 ,000. Which was a lot back then. Oh, to put that into modern terms. Adjusting for inflation to roughly 2008 numbers, we are talking about well over £2 million. £2 million, wow. Yeah. So for the king, carving out a massive chunk of North American wilderness and handing it over was far easier than liquidating his own royal treasury. Hence the name Pennsylvania, which means Penn's Woods in Latin. Though apparently Penn was incredibly embarrassed by the name because he thought people would assume he named it after himself in a fit of ego. Which is pretty funny. But this wasn't just a standard royal colony, it was a proprietary colony. What did that actually mean for the people living