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William Penn Meant Well … Or Blame It on the Irish

Name: William Penn Meant Well … Or Blame It on the Irish
Start: 2020-01-22T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2020-01-22T20:30:00-05:00
Location: Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church

January 22, 2020 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

When the Civil War began on April 12, 1861 Philadelphia should have been a pro-Union, pro-Lincoln city. It wasn’t. What happened to William Penn’s City of Brotherly Love? By 1805, Irish-born Pierce Butler was living in Philadelphia. He was one of the largest and wealthiest plantation and slave owners in the country. He introduced the Fugitive Slave Clause at the Constitution Convention in 1787 which protected slavery. How could this be? Philadelphia is north of the Mason-Dixon, and was a center of abolitionism…or was it? Join us to hear Jim Mundy, Historian of The Union League Legacy Foundation, as he explores the political and social history of the city before the war, and the creation of the Union League as a patriotic social society during the war.

This free program will take place inside the church sanctuary, followed by a reception in Riverside Hall with live piano music performed by Maria Dell’Orefice of The Jazz Sanctuary. For a modest donation, enjoy gourmet cheesecake by a local pastry chef, paired with moscato wine, coffee or tea.