 The IHA is a nonprofit, independent facilitating organization.Its mission today is to educate the public about the Revolutionary and Colonial eras of American history, as well as Philadelphia generally.The association was organized by Edwin O. Lewis, formerly a judge in the Common pleas court and at the time president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, to advocate and coordinate preservation of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Carpenters' Hall, Christ Church and related colonial era buildings in downtown Philadelphia.