The Pennsylvania Provincial Conference was held June 18–25, 1776, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. Delegates from the 10 Pennsylvania counties then in existence (Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Lancaster, Northampton, Philadelphia, Westmoreland, York) and the City of Philadelphia agreed to:

●      Declare Pennsylvania's independence from the British Empire, thus establishing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

●      Mobilize the Pennsylvania militia for the American Revolutionary War,

●      Organize elections to select delegates to a constitutional convention, which framed the influential Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776.

The Conference had a profound impact on American public opinion and facilitated the passing of the Declaration of Independence, which the Second Continental Congress began debating two blocks away from Carpenters’ Hall at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) just days after the Conference ended. The 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution was radically innovative for its time, including a Declaration of Rights that predated the Bill of Rights and a provision that voters did not need to own property.

For more reading on the Conference, click here.

In 1982 the Pennsylvania General Assembly officially designated Carpenters’ Hall as the Birthplace of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in recognition of its role in hosting the Provincial Conference. 

In 2026 Carpenters’ Hall, in partnership with PA Humanities, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, America250PA, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, theHistorical Society of Pennsylvania, the Public Interest Law Center, the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University, and others, will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Provincial Conference. The commemoration will educate and inform Pennsylvanians about this significant but overlooked historical event and engage them in a dialogue about current issues related to the Pennsylvania constitution and the importance of state constitutions in our democracy today.

This project will be announced at a press briefing on Feb. 4 at 11:00 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, attended by Senator Saval and Representative Isaacson. Planned activities include: 

●      A series of four town halls with panel discussions in Philadelphia (April 2 at WHYY), Harrisburg (April 15 at the State Museum), Pittsburgh (April 29 in the Supreme Court Courtroom) and Erie (April 30 at the Jefferson Educational Society) that will deepen understanding of the Provincial Conference and our current state constitution;

●      A public program at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, featuring a pop-up display of relevant original documents and a lecture by Christopher Pearl, Associate Professor of History at Lycoming College and author of Conceived in Crisis: The Revolutionary Creation of an American State (June 18 at 5:30 p.m.);

●      Installation and dedication of a PHMC historical marker highlighting the Provincial Conference at Carpenters’ Hall (June 18 at 11:00 a.m.);

●    A three-part virtual lecture series by historians and legal experts: 1) March 18 at 5:30 p.m.: The Pennsylvania Provincial Conference: Its Context in Colonial Pennsylvania Politics and Its Impact on the Continental Congress (Christopher Pearl); 2) March 25 at 4:00 p.m.: Exploring Pennsylvania’s Governing Documents from 1682 Until Now (Joel Fishman, Adjunct Instructor and Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Constitution website at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Duquesne University); 3) May 13 at 6:00 p.m.: The Increasing Importance of State Constitutions in American Political and Legal Life (Marie Miller, Attorney, Institute for Justice);

●      Polling via mobile phones at these programs and events, online and at the Wawa Welcome America concert in Philadelphia on July 4 to gather resident input on proposed reforms to the state constitution.

●      A concluding event on September 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Carpenters’ Hall featuring a presentation by state-constitutional expert Robert Williams on the impact of the 1776 Pennsylvania constitution on the U.S. Constitution and the release of citizen polling data and recommendations for strengthening Pennsylvania’s current constitution.

This project has been generously funded by America250PA 

and the Landenberger Family Foundation.

To support or get involved in this initiative, please contact Michael Norris, Executive Director of Carpenters’ Hall, at michaelnorris@carpentershall.org.