The Philadelphia Story won four Oscars, including Best Actor (Jimmy Stewart) and Best Screenplay (screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart, who said that the original play he adapted was so well written that writing the film was the easiest job he’d ever had).
Philly Fact: The name “Main Line” refers to the Pennsylvania Main Line railroad, which ran from Philadelphia through wealthy Chester County.
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
What It’s about: Two sailors in 1943 are on a navy ship in a Philadelphia shipyard, taking part in an experiment to render the boat invisible to radar, when something goes horribly wrong and they find themselves sent forward in time and space to 1984 Nevada. They spend the movie trying to get back to their own era and wondering what will be there when they do.
Uncle John’s Ranking: One cheesesteak out of four. Philadel-phia makes a very minor appearance in the film. Shipyards in South Carolina stand in for the Philadelphia shipyards, and the rest of the movie was filmed in Nevada. Plus the movie’s stars (Michael Paré and Nancy Allen) aren’t well known, and the most prestigious accolade this film garnered was a science fiction–oriented “Saturn Award” Best Actress nomination for Allen (who lost to Daryl Hannah for Splash). But as far as ’80s B-movie science fiction goes, it’s not bad.
Philly Fact: The film is based on the “Philadelphia Experiment” urban legend. The story goes like this: In 1943, a destroyer named the USS Eldridge allegedly disappeared from a Phila delphia shipyard after the crew conducted a science experiment on it. The ship appeared in Virginia waters, disappeared, and reappeared in Philadelphia . . . minus a few sailors, who were never found. (The U.S. Navy, of course, claims that it’s all fiction.)
Did You Know?
There’s a statue of a kneeling Lenni Lanape warrior hidden in Philadelphia's Fairmont Park. American sculptor John Massey Rhind carved the marble statue in 1902 as a memorial to the Indians who used to live and fish in the area—legend even says that the spot where the warrior sits was a place where the Lenni Lanape once held tribal councils. Finding the statue has become a rite of passage in Philadelphia. To track it down, look on Rex Drive near the stone bridge over Wissahickon Creek.
U.S. Steel: Then and Now
In The Godfather, Part II, gangster Hyman Roth says, “We’re bigger than U.S. Steel.” Well, maybe . . . but not many things are. This Pittsburgh-based company started strong and hasn’t faltered.
Then: The United States Steel Corporation officially got its start in February 1901 when 10 smaller companies (including Carnegie Steel, the American Steel and Wire Company, and the American Bridge Company) merged. The combined assets were more than $1.4 billion, making U.S. Steel the country’s first billion-dollar company and its largest steel producer.
Now: In 2008, U.S. Steel posted profits of $919 million and is still the United States’ largest steel producer.
Then: The company’s founders named it United States (or U.S.) Steel because it was a combination of those 10 major American companies.
Now: U.S. Steel became the USX Corporation in 1986 because its shareholders decided there was more to the company than just steel. (It had also become an energy producer after buying the Marathon Oil Company.) But in 2001, it went back to its original name when the steel side of the business spun off from the larger corporation and became its own publicly traded company. The energy side did the same and once again became the Marathon Oil Corporation.
Then: The peak of U.S. Steel’s employment was during World War II—in 1943, the company had more than 300,000 people on its payroll.
Now: U.S. Steel employs about 49,000 people worldwide.
Then: When U.S. Steel first consolidated in 1901, business powerhouses Elbert H. Gary (for whom the steel town of Gary, Indiana, is named) and Charles M. Schwab shared control: Schwab was president, and Gary was chairman of the board.
By 1903, however, the two proved that they couldn’t work together. Schwab resigned and went on to open Bethlehem Steel (more about that on page 122), and Gary continued at his post until he died in 1927.
Now: The company’s chairman and CEO is John P. Surma Jr., a Pittsburgh native and Penn State graduate.
Did You Know?
Today, Penn State’s athletic teams are known for their blue and white uniforms, but in 1887, students actually voted for black and pink to be the school’s colors. After a few weeks of wearing black and pink uniforms, the athletes started noticing that the colors faded in the sun and had become blue and white. Rather than fight a losing battle with nature, the school officially changed its colors in 1890.
The Little Team that Could
Villanova’s victory over seemingly unbeatable Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. How did the unheralded Wildcats sneak into the Hoyas’ den and come away with a trophy?
Try, Try Again
Over the course of the 1984–85 basketball season, the Villanova Wildcats encountered Big East Conference foe and defending national champions Georgetown Hoyas twice. The Hoyas, led by all-American Patrick Ewing and coached by the equally imposing John Thompson, defeated the Wildcats 52–50 in overtime on January 11, 1985, and again by a score of 57–50 on February 11. After being ousted in the Big East Conference Tournament by St. John’s, the Wildcats (with their 19–10 record) could only wait and hope until the NCAA announced which teams would be playing in that year’s tournament.
Fortunately for the Philadelphia school, the tournament had been expanded from 48 to 64 teams that year, and this meant that more of the “bubble teams”—those that were unsure if they would be selected—made it. Villanova barely squeezed into the tournament as an eighth seed largely on the basis of its tough regular-season schedule and the fact that it was one of the few teams to lose to Georgetown by a slim margin.
Before the Wildcats could even think about defeating the Hoyas, though, they would need to improve the consistency of their play. In particular, the Wildcats’ top players—center Ed Pinckney, forward Dwayne McClain, and guard Gary McLain—would need to embrace Coach Rollie Massimino’s philosophy of being patient and focusing on one game at a time. The team didn’t have superstars or a dominating center like Patrick Ewing, but it did have a lot of smart players. If they could become a cohesive team like Massimino wanted them to, they’d have a chance.
The Long Road to the Top
During the tournament, Villanova’s players put their mediocre regular season behind them and produced victories over Dayton, Michigan, Maryland, and North Carolina. Suddenly, Dwayne McClain was on the cover of Sports Illustrated along with Georgetown’s Ewing and St. John’s Chris Mullin. At the time, most sports fans and journalists viewed the Wildcats as an anomaly, a team that had put together a great run but whose time was almost up. Villanova, though, remained undaunted.
Next came the semifinal. Villanova played Memphis State, which was considered a superior offensive team. In the end, though, Villanova came out ahead; the Wildcats’ defense shut down the Tigers, 52–45. There was just one game left: on April 1, Villanova would play top-ranked Georgetown for the national championship.
Big and Nasty
Many fans of college basketball consider the Georgetown teams of that era to be among the most dominant in history. They had reached the NCAA championship game twice, and won in 1984. The 1984–85 team spent most of the season ranked #1, and entered the tournament as the favorite to win it all again. Ewing, a seven-foot center who worked tirelessly on both offense and defense led the team. The Hoyas’ opponents that season had shot less than 40 percent from the field (not including free throws) and were held to under 60 points in 21 of 38 games. The Hoyas employed a full-court press—aggressively defending the other team’s ball handler over the entire length of the floor—for almost the entire game. They were not afraid to deliver hard fouls and played with an intimidating demeanor. Few thought the Wildcats had a chance.
The (Shot) Clock Strikes Midnight
A 45-second shot clock had been used throughout the 1984–85 regular season on an experimental basis, but for the tournament, the NCAA ruled that teams would play under the old rules, without a shot clock. (Today, the shot clock is standard.) For Villanova, this was a boon: they could milk the clock, holding and passing the ball patiently while waiting for high-percentage shot opportunities to open up. Against Georgetown in the first half, they did just that, making 13 of 18 shots from the field and 11 of 13 free throws. When forward Harold Pressley converted a basket just before halftime to give Villanova a 29–28 lead, fans across the country were stunned. There were 20 minutes left to play, though. Surely Georgetown would come out of its funk.
After falling behind by six points early in the second half, Georgetown slowly chipped away at Villanova’s lead and was ahead 54–53 with just under five minutes to play. With the pressure mounting, the Wildcats refused to deviate from their plan. After lulling the Georgetown defenders by passing the ball around the perimeter, the Wildcats put the ball in the hands of backup guard Harold Jensen, who sank a wide-open jumper to reclaim the lead for Villanova, 55–54.
In the last two minutes, the Wildcats converted 11 of 14 free throws to keep the title just out of the Hoyas’ reach. As a team, Villanova made 9 out of 10 second-half shots to finish with a shooting percentage of 79 percent for the game, a tournament record that stands to this day. When McClain dove after a loose ball in the closing seconds and held it tight to his chest with one fist in the air, the once-mighty Hoyas’ season ticked away.
The Sweet Smell of Victory
On the podium, Gary McLain held the trophy above his head and Ed Pinckney shouted, “Look at the scoreboard . . . Every-body said Georgetown would win. Everybody! But it’s us!”
And what of the Hoyas? After a season spent tormenting opponents with their physical play, they watched the Wildcats receive their commemorative gold watches in the postgame ceremony.
Did You Know?
In 1885, York doctor George Holtzapple used oxygen to treat a patient suffering from pneumonia and then published his findings. He wasn’t the first doctor to administer an oxygen treatment, but he was the first to write about it so that others could follow the example.
A Penn-y for Your Thoughts
The words below all have a special association with Pennsylvania. See how many you can find. (Answer on page 304.)
ALCOA
AMISH
BEN FRANKLIN
BUBBLE GUM
CHEESESTEAK
CHRISTMAS TREES
COAL
CONSTITUTION
EAGLES
GETTYSBURG
GROUNDHOG
HEINZ
HERSHEY
HEX SIGNS
KEYSTONE STATE
KOBE BRYANT
LIBERTY BELL
MACK TRUCKS
MUSHROOMS
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH
PHILLIES
PINK
POTATO CHIPS
PRETZELS
QUAKER STATE
ROCKY
ROLLING ROCK
ROOT BEER
SAUSAGE
SCRAPPLE
SHOOFLY
SLINKY
TURNPIKE
VALLEY FORGE
ZIPPO
ZOO
Revolutionary Documents: The Declaration of Independence
The piece of paper that started it all was written, approved, and even printed in Philadelphia.
Life in Philadelphia in 1776 was chaotic. The Revolutionary War had begun the year before, but even in 1776, many people still hoped for reconciliation with England. By May, though, rebels who wanted a complete break from King George had ousted the loyalists and moderates from Pennsylvania’s government. Not everyone agreed, but most of the other colonies had followed suit. When delegates from each state gathered at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, their collective goal had turned from reconciliation to complete independence from England.
Many of the delegates—men like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson—had read Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense (see page 38), which presented a strong case for independence. Adams urged the Continental Congress to draw up a formal declaration of independence. The purpose: to make their goals known, let the English government (and the colonists) know what their grievances were, and explain why the colonies needed to be their own nation.
When in Doubt, Appoint a Committee
On June 10, the Continental Congress appointed five men—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston—to draft the Declaration of Independence. Adams and Jefferson were expected to write the document; Franklin, who was 71 years old and in poor health, lent respectability to the committee; and Sherman was a respected New England politician who supported Adams. Only Livingston seemed an odd choice. He represented New York, a colony still against independence, but he might have been included to appease the colonists who feared a break with England.
Ultimately, the committee chose Jefferson to do the actual writing, though others could have done the job. John Adams was qualified, but most people thought his writing was dull. Even Adams himself told Jefferson, “You can write ten times better than I can.” As for Franklin, a proven author, many were concerned that if the wry and witty Franklin wrote the declaration, he’d hide a joke in it.
In the end, Jefferson was chosen because he was an eloquent author and had already put his thoughts about the colonies’ rights on paper. Before the meeting in Philadelphia, Jefferson had drafted an article called “A Summary View of the Rights of British America,” which laid out his ideas about self-governance and offered justification for the Revolution. The article had made its way to Philadelphia ahead of him, and the other delegates had read and admired it.
Make Haste!
From the day the committee formed to the day Jefferson finished the declaration’s first draft took just 17 days. Jefferson wrote mostly in the suite of rooms he’d rented in a Philadelphia home. No diaries or minutes exist to describe his composition process, but scholars are certain that Jefferson drew many of his ideas from a constitution he’d written for Virginia, listing his grievances against the king of England. He also borrowed from John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, which theorized that the people had rights and should rebel if their government didn’t uphold them. Finally, he took ideas from other writers of the Enlightenment Era, who proposed that freedom and equality were mankind’s inherent entitlements.
Jefferson gave Franklin and Adams a rough version on June 28, and they made some editorial suggestions. (When describing King George’s attitude toward the colonies, for example, Franklin changed Jefferson’s phrase “arbitrary power” to the more severe “absolute despotism.”) Jefferson incorporated their changes into a new copy and presented it to the Continental Congress on July 2.
Getting It Passed
For the most part, the delegates made few changes to the Declaration of Independence. They condensed some long paragraphs (like the one explaining why the king was a tyrant) into one or two sentences. But one passage led to debate: Jefferson’s original version condemned the slave trade. Even though he owned slaves himself, Jefferson blamed England and King George for the practice, which he called a “cruel war against human nature.” But many of the colonies were slaveholding states, and other free states were sympathetic to the practice. The delegates refused to allow the condemnation of the slave trade to stand. Led by Georgia and South Carolina, a group of attendees voted out the paragraph.
Even with that argument settled, a unanimous vote eluded the Congress because New York refused to approve the declaration. New York was still divided on the issue of independence, so the New York delegates abstained from the vote on July 4. All the other colonies voted in favor, though, and the declaration passed. The United States had asserted itself as a separate, independent country.
Hot Off the Press
That same day, the Continen
tal Congress sent the document to a printer so that copies could be rushed to all of the colonies and to General George Washington on the battlefield. On July 8, Colonel John Nixon of the Pennsylvania militia read the declaration to a crowd gathered in front of the State House in Philadelphia.
On July 19, Congress ordered an engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence. Engrossed documents were written on parchment in a very large script, so they could be posted and read easily, and partly so they could be preserved for the ages. On August 2, John Hancock, the secretary of the Continental Congress, signed the engrossed copy with a grand flourish—followed by most of the other delegates. Even the New Yorkers who had been absent from the vote put their names to it. That engrossed, signed copy is now kept in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
To read about the U.S. Constitution, turn to page 258.
Pretzel-vania
We always knew Pennsylvanians loved their pretzels. Now we know why.
A Helpful Hobo
According to legend, a hobo approached Lititz, Pennsylvania, baker Julius Sturgis in 1850 looking for work and something to eat. Sturgis didn’t have a job to offer, but he did invite the man to dinner with his family. After the meal, the hobo gave the baker a pretzel recipe as a thank-you. Sturgis had never baked pretzels before, but he tried out the recipe on his family, who liked them so much that the baker started selling the new snack around town.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into Pennsylvania Page 15