In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America

Episode 2 Overview: Land (1700–1763)

Episode 2 of In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America explores how land became both promise and pressure in colonial Pennsylvania. As religious freedom draws waves of immigrants to Philadelphia’s port, the colony’s growth depends on one critical condition: land must be sold to sustain settlement and repay mounting debts. Yet much of that land has not been formally acquired from Lenape sachems through treaty.

As economic strain intensifies, the episode examines how the Penn family—now led by William Penn’s sons—grapples with the moral and political consequences of expansion. Will they uphold their father’s vision of coexistence, or sacrifice principle for profit? Through film and conversation, Episode 2 invites audiences to consider how land, power, and broken promises shaped Philadelphia—and set enduring patterns in the making of America.

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