The Independence Hall Association (IHA) was founded in 1942 to be the driving force behind the creation of

Independence National Historical Park 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 P ...

, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In 1995, it created the website that today is called UShistory.org, with over 3 million page views monthly. The IHA is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, independent facilitating organization. Its mission today is to educate the public about the Revolutionary and Colonial eras of American history, as well as Philadelphia generally. The association was organized by Edwin O. Lewis, formerly a judge in the

common pleas court A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against o ...

and at the time president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

, to advocate and coordinate preservation of

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpi ...

, the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independen ...

, Carpenters' Hall, Christ Church and related colonial era buildings in downtown Philadelphia. Lewis was especially motivated by concerns (following the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

) that the historic district was at risk in the event of an air raid or other such attack.

References

{{reflist

External links

UShistory.org
1942 establishments in Pennsylvania Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania Organizations based in Philadelphia Organizations established in 1942