a fleet of Tall Ships will arrive in Boston Harbor<\/a> in mid-July after bypassing Philadelphia in the midst of its US tour.<\/p>\nFor many Massachusetts historians, Boston\u2019s crowning role in the revolutionary story surpasses that of a certain city of \u201cRocky\u201d fame on the Delaware River.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s absurd,\u201d said Jonathan Lane, executive director of Revolution 250, a Massachusetts nonprofit group. \u201cThe people of Massachusetts sent more men to the battlefield than any other colony. Obviously, we were leaders in the early Navy and privateering, too. And we were among the early thought leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t discredit Benjamin Franklin\u2019s contribution,\u201d Lane added. \u201cBut at the beginning of the war, he\u2019s a bit wishy-washy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SMAMJLY3HJN2SFIX7NFZMN465Y.JPG\")
A fragment of Washington’s tent is displayed Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno\/Philadelphia Inquirer<\/p>\n
Boston\u2019s role in fomenting the Revolution through ideas and force of arms is well documented in Philadelphia, most notably at the Museum of the American Revolution and the National Constitution Center. From Stamp Act protests in 1765, to the Tea Party in 1773, and the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the story of the run-up to the Revolution is nearly all Boston, all the time, at those museums.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Boston, it\u2019s impossible to ignore the chain of events that led to the birth of the United States,\u201d said R. Scott Stephenson, president of the Revolution museum, which attracted 190,000 visitors in fiscal 2025 and is expecting to surge by 20 to 30 percent this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two cities feel so connected,\u201d Stephenson said of the historical ties between Boston and Philadelphia. \u201cI don\u2019t know two other East Coast cities that should be more bosom buddies in a way that New York can\u2019t even touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another reason to high-five: The colony of New York, a Loyalist stronghold, initially abstained from voting for independence because its delegates hadn\u2019t received the go-ahead from the home office. That wouldn\u2019t occur until July 9, 1776.<\/p>\n
Still, there\u2019s a simmering sense of gritty urban rivalry between Philadelphia and Boston, and it goes beyond sports grudges. <\/p>\n
Sarah Baldauf, a Suffolk University graduate who tends bar at the Founding Fathers sports pub in Philadelphia, thinks that city takes better care of its past.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhilly honors the history more. The entire Independence Hall area is still intact,\u201d she said. \u201cIn Boston, you have to look for it because a lot of it has been paved over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u2019s civic cheerleading is led by Kathryn Ott Lovell, who holds two busy jobs as president of the Philadelphia Visitor Center and Philadelphia 250.<\/p>\n
![\"Kathryn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ODOLT44QE7DAVLT4ZUOBDME2LU.JPG\")
Kathryn Ott Lovell, president & CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation and Philadelphia250.Tom Gralish\/Philadelphia Inquirer<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, the only thing you need to hear in Philly is that someone wants to outdo you,\u201d Lovell said in an office facing Independence Mall. \u201cThere are a lot of people who talk smack about Philly, but not enough to spread the love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovett, a fourth-generation Philadelphian, is unequivocal in whether Boston or Philadelphia has greater claim to the Revolution\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the birthplace of democracy,\u201d she said of Philadelphia, repeating a mantra heard over and over from the 250th contingent here. \u201cWe have the documents, and we have the bell and the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those needing a primer, that would be the Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall, where the declaration was approved on July 4, 1776.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do they say? Possession is nine-tenths of the law,\u201d Lovett added with a smile.<\/p>\n
In terms of possession, Boston can point to the Freedom Trail, where the iconic Revolutionary sites of Faneuil Hall, the Old State House, the Old South Meeting House, and the Old North Church sit within easy walking distance of each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhiladelphia claims to have the most historical square mile in America, and I would certainly be delighted to argue that point with them,\u201d said Lane, the Revolution 250 director in Massachusetts. \u201cThe original Boston is only about one square mile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Physical landmarks aren\u2019t the only supporting evidence for Boston\u2019s claim to Revolutionary preeminence, Bay State historians say. <\/p>\n
They point to the long history of self-government in Colonial Massachusetts, its early resistance to British parliamentary overreach, and the early, critical organizing efforts of Samuel Adams and other Sons of Liberty.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the old saw goes, Boston did the hard work of making the Revolution, while Philadelphia did the paperwork,\u201d said Nathaniel Sheidley, president of Revolutionary Spaces, which stewards the Old State House and Old South Meeting House.<\/p>\n
![\"Students](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/A6267OOIW4EBBCOUZ22IT7OJEM.JPG\")
Students on a field trip from the Christian Academy in Brookhaven, Delaware County, pose for a group photo in front of the Liberty Bell in Independence National Historical Park.Tom Gralish\/Philadelphia Inquirer<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout question, Boston played the leading role in driving the impasse between the colonies and Britain,\u201d Sheidley said.<\/p>\n
Although Philadelphia \u201csometimes claims to be the birthplace of the union of the states, and it\u2019s true that it hosted the Continental Congress,\u201d he said, \u201cI think it\u2019s pretty clear that Boston birthed the idea of the union and created the communications infrastructure to support it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Historical competition aside, Lane said that Philadelphia deserves to be congratulated for its unrelenting promotion of the 250th.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody does it better. They have so tied their identity to the events of 1776,\u201d Lane added. \u201cWhat is the symbol of Boston, the one symbol that everyone looks at and says, that\u2019s Boston?<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Philadelphia, everybody says it\u2019s the bell. It\u2019s on signs, bumper stickers, and license plates. I\u2019m sure they put it on their pancakes. In Boston, not so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anne Ryan, Pennsylvania\u2019s deputy secretary of tourism, conceded that the cities share much of the credit. But she added a caveat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I suppose my competitive spirit comes in,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cBoston played an incredible role in the Revolution. But the moment they declared independence, the moment when they were sure they would be charged with treason, that moment happened here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, historians say, both Boston and Philadelphia obviously made outsize contributions to create the country \u2014 intellectually, philosophically, and militarily. <\/p>\n
But 250 years later, the sounds of sibling bickering remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy can\u2019t we all get along? Maybe it helps that I\u2019m from Pittsburgh,\u201d Stephenson said with a chuckle. \u201cWe ought to make up and be friends. It\u2019s us against the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Philadelphians, this rivalry is more than cheesesteaks versus chowder. \u201cThe Revolution might have been started in Boston,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[25589,69,71,70,25590,1822],"class_list":["post-208274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-inquirer","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-photographer","tag-staff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JV2OBPFWSC65H4ER6QCEU4BCVI.JPG\")
Matthew Skic (left) and Michael Hensinger dressed as Minute Men from the Massachusetts Militia for the opening of the new exhibit Banners of Liberty which showcases the original revolutionary war flags at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.Tyger Williams\/Philadelphia Inquirer<\/p>\n