Episode No. 21 – Election Day on the Streets of Philadelphia (Part 1 – The Colonial City)

Colonial Philadelphia’s government provided a striking contrast to the more egalitarian, consensus-driven leadership of the Native American Lenape. Election Day in colonial Philadelphia placed a spotlight on the social hierarchy with a highly orchestrated, political ritual where wealthy male voters took the stage. But maintaining the high ground wasn’t always easy.

Our guest for this series is Professor Mark Brewin, Associate Professor of Media Studies, at the University of Tulsa. This mini-series relies heavily on Professor Brewin’s 2008 book Celebrating Democracy: The Mass Mediated Ritual of Election Day.

If you want to learn more and see images of Election Day in Philadelphia throughout history, follow this link to read the Election Day in Philadelphia Companion Blog. You’ll find a full list of my sources there as well.

This episode was mixed by The Wave Podcasting. Guitar, bass and drums played by Kai Reuter.