Development of the West

In the summer of 1876, two dramatically different places captured the American nation’s attention. As the summer began, fairgoers in Philadelphia teemed into the Centennial Exhibition held to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of independence. Millions marveled at the majestic torch and metal hand that had just come from France, an initial gift to commemorate the two nations’ shared revolutionary spirits. Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and other technological wonders were unveiled at Machinery Hall, the centerpiece of the fair, while on opening night an orchestra and thousand-person choir performed the national anthems of the forty-nine nations invited to this first American world’s fair.More »