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The story of Bethlehem really is the story of America.
We don’t have cathedrals. We have Gothic industrial cathedrals.
The cities are very Democratic-heavy, Bethlehem and Allentown. But as you get outside, it’s rural Pennsylvania, baby. You’ve got cows. You’ve got farmers.
What can one city tell us about life in Trump’s America?
Essentially, I will liberate Pennsylvania and our entire nation from this mess.
DEREK BROWER: We’ve come to Bethlehem in Pennsylvania to find out. This is a crucial political battleground, a bellwether for a divided country. It’s a city with a prosperous industrial past. But what does it say about America’s present and future? The Bethlehem Steel Corporation once girded the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Hoover Dam. Museum guide Mike Piersa says that proud history reverberates into the present.
Bethlehem Steel saw tremendous growth in the 19th century and, of course, World War I and World War II with government contracts. This place was humming with over 30,000 people working here during those wars. And then by the 1990s they realised that no matter what they did, there was just no way of keeping this plant going.
When the steelworks closed, Bethlehem reinvented itself. Democratic Mayor Willie Reynolds says newcomers still arrived, sensing opportunity, chasing the American Dream.
Over the past 25 years or so, we’ve continued to see revitalisation and redevelopment, new businesses, some that are focused on manufacturing, some in technology, but also just a strengthening of our institutions, our colleges, our universities, our health care networks as we’ve been creating jobs and more and more people have decided not to leave Bethlehem, but they want to stay here.
Even the steelworks themselves have been reimagined, saved from demolition and turned into a thriving cultural hub. For Kassie, it’s serving the community and making sure the city keeps hold of its young workforce.
The community knew we had to do something when Bethlehem Steel went out of business. So we have constantly reinvented ourselves. We’ve seen those demographics shift over time, too. The south side has its largest population growth is Hispanics and Latinos. We are certainly seeing an influx of immigrants coming into this community.
Education and income levels in Bethlehem have risen steadily. And the high street was even named the best in the country.
Congratulations. It had been nominated against other main streets around America.
Voters here swung from Obama to Trump, then to Biden, and back to Trump in 2024. Jai says the valley mirrors the rest of the country. Democratic urban centres, while rural areas are much more Republican.
So we’re a swing state. The battle goes back and forth. And depending on who’s in office, you do get a little bit different of energy. And we’re a very important state when it comes to elections, especially for the next upcoming election. It’s going to be a very important area.
Over the coming months and years, the FT will revisit Bethlehem to get a sense of that energy. We want to look at the city’s hopes and aspirations and its challenges, from immigration raids to the rising cost of housing, from the demographics to the economy to political polarisation, to see what’s at stake – not just here, but across the country.
