I haven't been paying enough attention to these Philadelphia demonstrations but there really are some interesting parallels to the public actions in Independence Square/the State House Yard in the run-up to 1776

So in thinking about politics and protest in Revolutionary Philadelphia, let me show you some images, used in my book, Rebels Rising: Cities and the American Revolution (2007) and in @EdJournAmHist's Clothed in Robes of Sovereignty (2011), both @OUPHistory

Here's Henry Dawkins's "The Paxton Expedition," a 1764 satire of Quakers arming themselves against the white western Paxton rioters; the image resembles what the 1742 election riot would have looked like, in front of the courthouse steps (where colonial Philadelphians voted)

And here's a September 1780 representation of a Philadelphia parade (inspired by Pope Day processions, for which today, Nov. 5, is an anniversary) shaming Benedict Arnold for his treason.

People expressed themselves politically out of doors, and they often had fun with it. There were always people who criticized this type of politicking, and of course it occurred against the backdrop of unrest and regime change.

There is a LOT more I could say: the entire fifth chapter of Rebels Rising is about out-of-doors politicking in Philadelphia, which was both crucial to the Revolutionary movement but also had its moments of ugliness.

This is a nice little encyclopedia piece on Philadelphia crowds, which cites me, Irvin, and several great scholars: https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/crowds-colonial-and-revolution-eras/

Here's John Lewis Krimmel's Election Day in Philadelphia, showing the State House (now Independence Hall) in 1815: it's held by @WinterthurMuse --early American elections were generally quite rowdy, rarely orderly.

That's not to say we should seek to emulate the violence of the Revolutionary period--most of us would rather have our political will expressed through free and fair elections. But street theater is an important part of democratic politics, too.