The City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania - Essay Example

Full The of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania 06 October Introduction Philadelphia in Greek literally means “brotherly love” hence it is oftentimes called as the “City of Brotherly Love’ while its other favorite nickname is just “Philly” to its residents. Philadelphia is located in the northeastern seaboard of the United States of America at the junction of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers and the largest city within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (latest 2012 census showed about 1.548 million inhabitants) while it is the second largest city in the East Coast (after New York City) and is the center of economic and cultural activities of the Delaware Valley cosmopolitan area. It has an art and culinary mix that is reflective of its ethnic mix of Irish, Scottish, and German immigrants in the seventeenth century, then followed later mostly by immigrants from southern and eastern Europe such as Poles, Italians, Hungarians, etc. and followed again by another immigrant wave of African-Americans during a period called as their Great Migration in the early twentieth century. Before the European settlers and colonizers came to Pennsylvania, this state is the home of the Delaware native-American tribe as well as other Indian tribes like the Iroquois, Shawnee, Erie, and Susquehannock. Pennsylvania is one of the original thirteen states which declared independence from Great Britain. Although its state capital today is Harrisburg, it is Philadelphia which has a rich historic legacy in most important events of American history, like the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the signing of the Constitution (1787), as it was the preferred meeting place of the Founding Fathers. Philadelphia once surpassed Boston as a chief seaport in the mid-Atlantic seaboard. This paper examines the success factors of Philadelphia from an anthropological, economic, and political viewpoint during its heyday. Discussion Philadelphia had always been the center of most human activities since its early time as a European settlement. As such, its success can be viewed from an anthropological angle or perspective because it was, and still is today, a melting pot (or salad bowl) on the East Coast. The original settlers of Philadelphia were the Indians and a first wave of European colonizers was the Dutch, followed by the British, and then a bit later, by the Swedes. The resulting mix of various European settlers intermarried with the natives. This mixture of peoples produced a tolerant attitude towards other cultures and got the best aspects of each culture to make the present culture of Philadelphia today which is progressive, flexible, and open to new ideas. The people of Philadelphia are composed mostly of white Europeans (almost 82%) who are non-Hispanic with the next big majority being either black Americans or African- Americans (non-Hispanic origin). Besides these two, there are also many ethnic groups in the city’s population such as Native Americans (descendants of the remnants of original tribes) and Asians such as Pakistanis, Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Cambodians. The composition of Philadelphia’s population is truly cosmopolitan hence it is similar to New York City in terms of ethnic diversity. The different groups learned to live with each other in peace due to close proximity and tolerance for their differences. Philadelphians have learned to accommodate, cooperate and collaborate in the racial politics of culture (Baker 130). Although anthropology has four main areas of concentration in terms of study (the sociocultural, biological-physical, archaeological, and lastly, linguistics anthropology) it is the sociocultural aspects of Philadelphia’s anthropology which can best explain its success as a big, modern city. This is to examine the city in terms of its sociocultural features such as in social patterns, religious beliefs, and cultural practices, as defined (American Anthropological Association, para. 2) because it determines justice, balance of power, and social changes. Social patterns – the fabric of Philadelphia is woven from its successive immigrant populations. This city has been transformed by these waves of immigrants who bring with them their cultural and social practices and merge these with the existing native culture to produce a culture that is today uniquely Philadelphian in outlook, which is a global outlook. This means residents of Philadelphia see different cultures and ethnicities as something that is a natural consequence of progress and do not feel threatened by these cultural influences but instead view these influences as something positive that contributes to the city’s progress. It is characterized by an attitude of tolerance towards other peoples and further enhanced by the successful melding of the old and new immigrant communities within the city's confines. Unlike other metropolitan centers in America, the city of Philadelphia has already gotten accustomed to seeing and living with people from diverse ethnic backgrounds and so there is greater harmony because of a more open attitude which in turn provides affinity and mutual trust, which to a certain extent avoids the racial discrimination prevalent in the other large urban areas of modern America. Because of its large immigrant population, the city of Philadelphia has informal networks where new arrivals get help from those who had arrived earlier, seek employment and educational opportunities, to feel at home already, to hopefully rise in the economic ladder, and attain the American Dream (Takenaka & Osirim 286). This tolerant attitude and welcoming atmosphere is exemplified in the early twentieth century when many black Americans migrated to Pennsylvania, and in particular to the city of Philadelphia, to escape the Jim Crow laws of the South, because of its let-things-be attitude. People mind only their own business and do not poke their noses in the lives of other people. The black American population of Philadelphia is a high percentage of its total population and is one of the highest urban concentrations of black Americans (the fourth largest) in the whole of America today. Philadelphia is regaining its reputation as a favorite immigrant city. Religious beliefs – since a majority of Philadelphia residents are mostly of European lineage, many of them are Protestants and bring with them a work ethic that is cognizant of religion but emphasizes the human aspect of economic achievement through honest efforts. It simply means people work very hard to attain what they want and do not rely solely on their religious beliefs to bring them financial or economic relief from hardships. This philosophy seeks to balance the demands of religious faith and economic realities, exemplified by the great work of Max Weber entitled “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” where he argued the values and ideas of a group of people, in particular their religious set of beliefs, led to a certain group being more economically advanced and leads to social stratification. It divides the world into haves and have-nots, because material success (in the modern, urban, industrial and secular contexts) derives not from constantly praying but also due to business astuteness and other practical or utilitarian concerns (Weber 3). Philadelphia achieved a lot of progress due to the presence of many Protestant sects (denominations) such as Calvinists, the Puritans, Quakers, Baptists, Methodists, Mennonites, and Congregationalists. Cultural practices – the city inhabitants are acutely aware of the importance of their city of Philadelphia in terms of its historic legacy in the American annals of its nationhood. Its iconic city architecture dates back to the colonial times and the people have taken efforts to preserve its historical buildings and structures to enhance the spirit of its history. Philadelphia has many outdoor public parks to improve its livability and walkability as a major city. This is further enhanced by various museums and other cultural arts practices such as public murals to beautify it. In other words, Philadelphia seeks to achieve modernity but preserve its historic landmarks to balance the old and the new. For the first time since 1950, the city has gained in population but mainly from new immigrants. Another reason for revival is a gentrification of this wonderful city, where rising property values encourage wealthy residents to move in. Economic analysis – several factors which are favorable can contribute to a positive economic development of a particular place or area. For example, the location or geography plays a big part in its eventual success because the area may contain natural resources needed for economic progress, the presence of waterways, a fertile land or due to a strategic location. This portion of the paper examines those factors which contributed to the preeminence of Philadelphia deriving from its economic strengths which make it a major American city. Its days as an early European settlement was due to its proximity to the sea and also the Delaware River, making Philadelphia a natural and logical seaport for major trading and other commercial activities. Exports of prime agricultural products cotton, sugar, and tobacco passed through Philadelphia while European imports into British America also passed through it such as tea. The economy of Philadelphia progressed rapidly after Independence. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, Philadelphia somewhat shifted its economy into an industrial one from being mainly agricultural just a few decades earlier. The city underwent on a massive construction spree of roads and railroads, making it the first major industrial city in the United States of America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This industrial part of its history still exists today in the form of big corporations that belong to the Fortune 500. Later periods saw the rise of other big companies like Comcast (cable television and Internet provider), insurance firms like Lincoln Financial and Colonial Penn, an energy firm such as Sunoco, giant pharmaceutical firms like GlaxoSmithKline (actually a result of merger of three smaller firms) and Wyeth, and chemical manufacturers like FMC Corporation and Rohm & Haas Company. Philadelphia had a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$ 388 billion, the fourth largest in America and the ninth largest among global cities. The economic vibrancy of Philadelphia derives from many other sectors such as food processing, oil refining, financial services, tourism, biotechnology, and healthcare providers. Philadelphia attained its peak of economic growth with the establishment of the new Philadelphia Stock Exchange in 1746 by its mayor back then, Mr. James Hamilton who made an initial contribution of 150 British pounds for its establishment. The idea was to promote the city of Philadelphia as the premier city in the Western Hemisphere and the new exchange is intended to rival the influence of the Royal Exchange in London (Vitiello & Thomas 1). The city's leading figures in both business and politics knew the very crucial importance of financial institutions to revitalize and sustain the economic growth of their place, hence they decided to put it up to promote Philadelphia as an investment destination of choice. The emerging imperial powers of old Europe had by this time established a new kind of world economy based on their colonies providing the necessary raw materials needed for production while these same colonies created new markets for their manufactured goods. The city of Philadelphia envisioned itself to be at the center of this new capitalism, to position this great city as the crossroads of the new commerce and of a nascent global economy. In other words, the leaders of Philadelphia wanted their city to be the new center of trade, commerce, and financial transactions in the New World here in the British colonies in America. This is a well-thought and prudent course because Philadelphia occupies a very strategic location. Philadelphia is on the edge of the imperial Atlantic (meaning, European) world and the city marketed itself as the logical choice to manage the flow of both funds and information that are of any commercial import or significance. This is because its waterfront is the first to receive any news coming from continental Europe, what cargoes are coming and going, news of incipient wars or armed conflicts, and stock exchange prices and information in Amsterdam that will either positively or negatively affect the prices of various traded commodities. Those coffee houses along the waterfront provided a good venue for businessmen to exchange vital information to promote the regional economy as well as integrate it into the new world order. Philadelphia emerged as a leading metropolitan city in the early twentieth century as major businesses established themselves in the city. The economic geography of Philadelphia is closely intertwined with the work ethic of Protestants, and it is often called alternatively as Quaker City. Its origins and establishment as a city was in reality a financial venture and it is signified by its rise and ebb as a financial center affected by other distant events. However, beginning in the 1950s, Philadelphia suffered annual population losses almost every year such that its entire city population declined to a certain extent. This was reversed only in the year 2001 and hopefully, this trend will continue to re-invigorate this historic city. The slow decline of Philadelphia from its zenith of economic prosperity started in the years after the Second World War; it stopped processing agricultural products and had shifted to manufactured goods but then prices of cheap imports undercut its competitive advantages. The city is now undergoing a wrenching and drastic but necessary transformation, to propel itself in the new economy dominated by information technology and consumer-driven service. In short, the nature of work has changed markedly, from being an industrial-based economy to a new economy in which available jobs are either in the low-wage sector or in the high-salary sector. Most of the stable but well-paid jobs in the moderate range of the pay scale had been either outsourced or relocated further away from the city center of industrial hubs to suburbs. This economic shift is not unique to Philadelphia nor something which had not been experienced in the past. Many older American cities suffered the same predicament on how to transition successfully to an altered economic environment (Adams et al. 30). Philadelphia is now busy re-inventing itself again to transform to a different economy based on information technology, as a premier academic and scientific research center, as the first choice for many medical schools, lots of vertical floor space, and of course, a central location in the Eastern seaboard. It is crafting a new fiscal policy to increase its tax revenues (Luce & Summer 98). Works Cited Adams, Carolyn, Bartelt, David, Elish, David, Goldstein, Ira, and William Yancey. Philadelphia: Neighborhoods, Division, and Conflict in a Post-industrial City. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press, 1993. Print. American Anthropological Association. What is anthropology? AAANet. 2013. Web. 05 Sept. 2013. . Baker, Lee. D. Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture. Durham, NC, USA: Duke University Press, 2010. Print. Luce, Thomas F., and Anita A. Summers. Local Fiscal Issues in Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Philadelphia, PA, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987. Print. Takenaka, Ayumi, and Mary Johnson Osirim. Global Philadelphia: Immigrant Communities Old and New. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Temple University Press, 2010. Print. Vitiello, Domenic, and George E. Thomas. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange and the City it Made. Philadelphia, PA, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. Print. Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2013. Print. (Note: a re-print) Read More