I’d rather be in Philadelphia.
—W. C. Fields when asked what he wanted written on his tombstone
It took three or four days to get to Philadelphia from Boston. Depending on the traffic.
The rich owned 10 percent of the wealth. Not unlike today.
The rich could pay the poor to serve in the military for them. Not unlike today.
Slavery was legal. Philadelphia newspapers carried ads for slaves such as “Good deal on likely negro fellow.”
The population of Philadelphia was 40,000—including a large number of prostitutes. Some working out of the Betsy Ross house.
Hanging was prohibited on Sundays. As were other forms of entertainment.
Thieves were punished by branding their hands.I
Because of the high rate of infant mortality, some parents did not name their children until they were two years old.
The punishment for bigamy was thirty-nine lashes and life imprisonment.
People who couldn’t pay their bills went to debtors’ prisons.
Children—some as young as seven—worked sixty to eighty hours a week in mills and factories.II
The standard treatment for yellow fever was as follows: doctors bled and purged the patient by emptying his bowels four times with a mixture of potions and enemas before draining off twelve ounces of blood to lower the pulse. The process was finished off by inducing mild vomiting. This procedure was repeated twice daily.III
Since toilet paper hadn’t been invented, people used a sponge on a stick. Or if you were really rich, corn on the cob.
Women could not vote. Or own property. Except for some fabulously wealthy widows.
The Phillies were in last place.
I. Much cheaper than putting them in prison.
II. They were especially valuable in mines where they could crawl into spaces too small for grown-ups.
III. This was, of course, before Obamacare, when you still got to choose your own doctor.