Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is one of four
statess of the
United States of America that is called a
commonwealth. It has given its name to the
Pennsylvanian time period in
geology. Pennsylvania is called the
Keystone State.
Although
Swedes and
Dutch were the first
European settlers, the
Quaker William Penn named Pennsylvania for the Latin phrase meaning "Penn's woodlands", in honor of his father. Today, two major cities dominate the state --
Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and a thriving metropolitan area, and
Pittsburgh, a busy inland
river port.
Pennsylvania is one of the nation's most historic states. Philadelphia is often called the cradle of the American Nation. It was here that the
Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution were drawn up by the founding fathers. The Pocono Mountains and the
Delaware Water Gap provide popular recreational activities.
The so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch" region in south-central Pennsylvania is another favorite of sightseers. Pennsylvania Germans, including the
Amish and the
Mennonites, dominate the area around the cities of Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg, with smaller numbers extending northeast to the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area and up the Susquehanna River valley. Most of the Old Order
Amish have left the area, but many
Mennonites remain, particularly in Lancaster County. Some adherents eschew modern conveniences and use horse-drawn farming equipment and carriages, while others are virtually indistinguishable from non-Amish or Mennonites.
(The term "Dutch" is a misnomer, as none of these groups are of Dutch origin; the German adjective for "German", "Deutsch", was misheard as "Dutch" and the name stuck.)
The battleship
USS Pennsylvania, damaged at
Pearl Harbor, was named in honor of this state, as were several other
naval vessels.
History
\nMain article: History of Pennsylvania
Before the state existed, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehanna, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee and other native american tribes.
In 1643, the southeastern portion of the state, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, was settled by Sweden, but control later passed to Netherlands, and then to Britain.
On March 4, 1681, Charles II of England granted a land charter to William Penn for the area that now includes Pennsylvania. Penn then founded a colony there as a place of religious freedom for Quakers, and named it for the Latin phrase meaning "Penn's woods".
A large tract of land north and west of Philadelphia, in Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties, was settled by Welsh Quakers and called the "Welsh Tract". Even today many cities and towns in that area bear the names of Welsh municipalities.
In 1704 the "three lower counties" of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex gained a separate legislature, and in 1710 a separate executive council, to form the new colony Delaware.
Pennsylvania and Delaware were two of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution of 1776. Pennsylvania became the second state on December 12, 1787 (five days after Delaware became the first).
In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil (kerosene) industry was born in western Pennsylvania, which supplied the vast majority of U.S. kerosene for years thereafter, and saw the rise and fall of oil boom towns.
During the 20th century Pennsylvania's existing iron industries expanded into a major center of steel production. Shipbuilding and numerous other forms of manufacturing flourished in the eastern part of the state, and coal mining was also extremely important in many regions. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Pennsylvania received very large numbers of immigrants from Europe seeking work; dramatic, sometimes violent confrontations took place between organized labor and the state's industrial concerns.
Pennsylvania was hard-hit by the decline of the steel industry and other heavy U.S. industries during the late 20th century.
Law and Government
The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg. Its current governor is Edward G Rendell, a former mayor of Philadelphia (Democrat). (List of Pennsylvania Governors) Since 1790, Pennsylvania has had a bicameral legislature, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators are Rick Santorum (Republican) and Arlen Specter (Republican). Pennsylvania's 19 representatives in the House are Robert Brady (D, 1st District); Chaka Fattah (D, 2nd District); Phil English (R, 3rd District); Melissa Hart (R, 4th District); John E. Peterson (R, 5th District); Jim Gerlach (R, 6th District); Curt Weldon (R, 7th District); Jim Greenwood (R, 8th District); Bill Shuster (R, 9th District); Don Sherwood (R, 10th District); Paul E. Kanjorski (D, 11th District); John Murtha (D, 12th District); Joe Hoeffel (D, 13th District); Mike Doyle (D, 14th District); Pat Toomey (R, 15th District); Joe Pitts (R, 16th District); Tim Holden (D, 17th District); Tim Murphy (R, 18th District); and Todd Russell Platts (R, 19th District).
The origin of Pennsylvania's government is unique as it was based on consensus (as with Quakers) rather than voting.
Notable Pennsylvanians
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was one of the most important figures in Pennsylvania's history, although he was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He founded the University of Pennsylvania in 1742. He had the distinction of signing both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. He is buried with his wife Deborah in Christ Church Cemetery in Philadelphia.
James Buchanan (1791-1868) was born and lived in Pennsylvania until his death. He was the 15th President of the United States and the only President from that state.
Winfield Scott Hancock (1824-1886) was born in Montgomery Square. He commanded Union troops during the U.S. Civil War, most notably during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Ida Tarbell (1857-1944) was born in Erie and was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris. She was a pioneering "muckraker" journalist and one of the few female journalists in the country during her time. In 1906, she joined with Lincoln Steffens and Ray Stannard Baker to establish the radical American Magazine. She also wrote several books on the role of women including The Business of Being a Woman (1912) and The Ways of Women (1915).
Pop artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh. The Andy Warhol Museum is located in Pittsburgh's North Side, and he is buried in nearby Bethel Park.
The current Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge (1945-), was Governor of Pennsylvania between 1995 and 2003. Prior to that, he was a US Representative from Erie between 1982 and 1995.
Geography
\nSee: List of Pennsylvania counties
Pennsylvania's nickname "The Keystone State" is quite apt, as the state forms a geographic bridge both between the Northeastern states and the Southern states, and between the Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest. It is bordered on the north and northeast by New York, on the east, across the Delaware River by New Jersey, on the south by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia, on the west by Ohio, and on the northwest by Lake Erie. The Delaware, Susquehanna, Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers are the major rivers of the state. The capital is Harrisburg.
Pennsylvania is 180 miles north to south and 310 miles east to west. The total land area is 44,817 square miles (119,283 kmē), 739,200 acres (1,239 square miles)\nof which are bodies of water. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States. The highest point of 3,213 feet above sea level is at Mt. Davis. The lowest point is 0 feet above sea level on the Delaware River. Pennsylvania is in the Eastern time zone.
Pennsylvania is bisected diagonally by ridges of the Appalachian Mountain chain from southwest to northeast. To the northwest of the folded mountains is the Allegheny Plateau, which continues into southwestern and south central New York. This plateau is so dissected by valleys that it also seems mountainous. The Plateau is underlain by sedimentary rocks of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age, which bear abundant fossils, as well as natural gas and petroleum. In 1859 near Titusville Edwin L. Drake drilled the first oil well into these sediments, . Similar rock layers also contain coal to the south and east of the oil and gas deposits. In the metamorphic (folded) belt of anthracite (hard coal) is mined near Wilkes-Barre and Hazelton. These fossil fuels have been an important resource to Pennsylvania. Timber and dairy farming are also sources of livelihood for midstate and western Pennsylvania. Along the shore of Lake Erie in the far northwest are orchards and vinyards.
Economy
\n
Pennsylvania's 1999 total gross state product was $383 billion, placing it 6th in the nation and its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $29,539, 18th in the nation. Its agricultural outputs are dairy products, poultry, cattle, nursery stock, mushrooms, hogs, and hay. Its industrial outputs are food processing, chemical products, machinery, electric equipment, and tourism.
Small companies, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch Candies company, also exist in Pennsylvania.
Demographics
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As of 2000, the population was 12,281,054. When Pennsylvania became a state in 1787, it had a population of about 300,000.
Important cities and towns
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Pennsylvania also saw the
Battle of Gettysburg, near
Gettysburg. Many historians consider this battle the major turning point of the
American Civil War. Dead from this battle rest at
Gettysburg National Cemetery, site of
Abraham Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address.
Education
Colleges and universities
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