Saturday, April 20, 2002

Slave Site for a Symbol of Freedom
…plans to showcase the Liberty Bell next year in a new $9 million pavilion in Philadelphia have come under attack from historians and local residents, who have accused the Park Service of trying to cover up a less noble element of American history on the same spot: the existence of slave quarters.

The pavilion, to be called the Liberty Bell Center, is part of an ambitious $300 million redesign of Independence National Historic Park. It will be located partly on the former site of the Robert Morris house, where George Washington lived during his presidency and where his slaves slept, ate and worked.

The loose-knit coalition of historians, led by Gary B. Nash, an expert on the American Revolution and Philadelphia history, and the Independence Hall Association, a citizens' group, have asked the Park Service to present a complete explanation of the Morris house's history in the area outside the new center, including a full-size floor plan outlined in stone, a description of the mansion and first-person accounts from the 18th century. They are also asking that the exhibition inside depict slavery more extensively.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/20/arts/20BELL.html

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