Birthplace of American freedom

[Nic Name]

In these days when cheap displays of patriotism abound - flags slapped on sweatshirts and flapping from cars, politicians attempting to justify all manner of odious activity by asserting that it is in the "national interest" - it's worth remembering what true patriotism once entailed: The men who gathered in Independence Hall could have been hanged for debating the Declaration of Independence.

Few places in America pack as many historically evocative sites into as small an area as Philadelphia's waterfront district.