Corrupt and Contented

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable: In The Shame of the Cities (1904), journalist Lincoln Steffens famously dubbed Philadelphia “corrupt and contented.” How and why did Philadelphia gain this reputation, and how have scandals come to light? This program featured a discussion among panelists oward Gillette of Rutgers-Camden, David Thornburgh of the Fels Institute of Government, and Monica Yant Kinney of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Network hosted the program at its headquarters at 400 N. Broad Street with co-sponsors including the Fels Institute of Government.

The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable is a partnership of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, presented in cooperation with numerous civic partners. This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ We the People initiative on American history.

Series co-sponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia, the Friends of Independence, WHYY, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities.

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