MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- Penn State Harrisburg Associate Professor of History and Humanities George Boudreau has written a book that explores the history of Philadelphia, from its founding as a colony and haven for English Quakers in 1681, to its role as the first U.S. capital.

Based on Boudreau’s extensive research and published by Westholme Publishing, “Independence: A Guide to Historic Philadelphia” tells the stories of people who helped shape the city – Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, and less famous founders including enslaved and free, women and men. The guide also features buildings and streets that existed during the city’s developing years. New photography and early American art drawn from the collections of some of America’s leading museums and archives help bring Boudreau’s research to life.

“I wanted to show the incredibly rich historical dramas that took place in the blocks of historic Philadelphia… that there was more to Philadelphia’s story than you can learn during a brief stop at the [Independence] Hall and the Liberty Bell Center,” said Boudreau.

Boudreau is a cultural historian of 18th-century America, specializing in the history of early Pennsylvania, the life of Benjamin Franklin, and material culture. He has worked with historical sites in the Philadelphia region and served as founding editor of Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.