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• Philadelphia is home to the nation's first public library - the Free Library of Philadelphia - founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731.
There are actually several cities which claim to have the first public library. Boston apparently had a library in 1636, though the BPL as we know it today didn't open until 1852. If you look here, it shows the timeline of libraries in the United States.
Apparently the library in Franklin, Massachusetts is often regarded as the oldest public library. It was the first town/city to name itself in honor of Ben Franklin, and as a thank you, he sent books to them, which they used to create the first truly public library. Pretty cool stuff.
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• The first university in America, the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1779, traces its roots to a tuition-free school founded in 1740.
Harvard had been standing for nearly 150 years before this. Founded in 1636.
Yes, the Puritans came to this country to escape prosecution for their religous views.However, they were not violent people and did not partake in overthrowing the British.
They were non-violent? You're absolutely right. They definitely didn't burn women at the stake when they were believed to be witches.
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So their significance towards Americas history is very little. Their significance towards establishing city-state-government in our history is obsolete.This is why I tend to discount them.
The Puritans set the basis of Boston and Massachusetts' laws. Massachusetts' Consitution was used as a reference for the American Constitution. Also, the Puritans themselves settled in the area in 1636. The American Revolution started around 140 years later...obviously those first settlers didn't fight in the war (reminds me of a Chief Wiggum quote: "Oh and how are ya gonna get em? Skeleton power?"). As it was mentioned before, the descendants of the Puritans did fight in the war.
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Now I know you'll come back with some of their contributions. I don't want to hear it. I already know what they are. Please don't try to play me like I am stupid. I am far from that..
You claim not to be stupid, but you say you won't listen to what anyone has to say about the Puritans. I don't know many smart people who end arguments by sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling "LA LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU! LA LA LA".
There are actually several cities which claim to have the first public library. Boston apparently had a library in 1636, though the BPL as we know it today didn't open until 1852. If you look here, it shows the timeline of libraries in the United States.
Apparently the library in Franklin, Massachusetts is often regarded as the oldest public library. It was the first town/city to name itself in honor of Ben Franklin, and as a thank you, he sent books to them, which they used to create the first truly public library. Pretty cool stuff.
Interesting. I didn't mean to imply that everything on the list I provided is not debatable, but this appears to be rooted in semantics. The "Library Company of Philadelphia" was America's first circulating library -- est. in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin.
This article explains this debate in pretty good detail:
"According to History Magazine, "the oldest library in America began with a 400-book donation by a Massachusetts clergyman, John Harvard, to a new university that eventually honored him by adopting his name. Another clergyman, Thomas Bray from England, established the first free lending libraries in the American Colonie s in the late 1600s. Subscription libraries - where member dues paid for book purchases and borrowing privileges were free - debuted in the 1700s. In 1731, Ben Franklin and others founded the first such library, the Library Company of Philadelphia. The initial collection of the Library of Congress was in ashes after the British burned it during the War of 1812. The library bought Thomas Jefferson's vast collection in 1815 and used that as a foundation to rebuild. It wasn't until waves of immigration and the philosophy of free public education for children that public libraries spread in the US. The first public library in the country opened in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1833. Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie helped build more than 1,700 public libraries in the US between 1881 and 1919."
Harvard had been standing for nearly 150 years before this. Founded in 1636.
Again, this debate is based on conflicting claims that are rooted in semantics. Harvard can perhaps lay claim to being the "first institution of higher learning" in the American, but even Georgetown University makes the claim to have begun Jesuit teaching in 1632 in Colonial Maryland -- which predates Harvard. Neither, however, make them the nation's first university.
It all comes down to your interpretation of history.
One city not mentioned on this poll is Santa Fe. It was originally a Pueblo village from 1050 to 1150AD. It is the oldest established European settlement in the USA, and oldest continuously occupied settlement in the USA.
One city not mentioned on this poll is Santa Fe. It was originally a Pueblo village from 1050 to 1150AD. It is the oldest established European settlement in the USA, and oldest continuously occupied settlement in the USA.
How was it a European settlement in 1050AD? Or am I merging two seperate claims there?
How was it a European settlement in 1050AD? Or am I merging two seperate claims there?
It wasn't. It was a Pueblo settlement at first. Then it was made into a European settlement by the Spanish in the 1500's.
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By the time Philly arrived at the party..
