Students posing at the Monument with Lenwood Sloan

When our students arrived at the State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, our first stop was at a monument outside the building called “A Gathering at the Crossroads.” It was here that Lenwood Sloan, one of the men who helped to create the monument, described the process of how the monument was created, and highlighted four figures represented in the statue: William Howard Day, Thomas Morris Chester, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, and Jacob T. Compton. This statue illustrates the reaction to the 15th Amendment in 1870,  However, the monument also highlights the work to be done as women did not have suffrage at this moment, as highlighted by Francis Ellen Watkins Harper’s decision to hand the amendment back William Howard Day .

Students meeting with Representative Webster

Our students then got to meet with Pennsylvania State Representative Joe Webster of Montgomery County, where they heard first-hand about the governmental process and about the state of political discourse in state governments. Additionally, the students learned about lobbying from Jordyn Ney, who works for a lobbying firm when she is not working for the Knowledge for Freedom seminar.

Students at the Capitol with Representative Gleim

After the meeting with Rep. Webster, the group got to tour the building itself, seeing the House of Representatives, Senate, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. We learned a lot about the artwork and the building’s history itself, which is especially interesting considering Pennsylvania has a beautiful capitol building. Additionally, the students also met State Representative Barbara Gleim from Cumberland County and got to take a photo with her on the main staircase. After the tour, we all drove back to Carlisle where we had dinner and a relaxing evening back at the dorms.