Facts and Figures
Area, 45,333 sq mi (117,412 sq km). Pop. (2000) 12,281,054, a 3.4% increase since the 1990 census. Capital, Harrisburg. Largest city, Philadelphia. Statehood, Dec. 12, 1787 (2d of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution). Highest pt., Mt. Davis, 3,213 ft (980 m); lowest pt., sea level. Nickname, Keystone State. Motto, Virtue, Liberty, and Independence. State bird, ruffed grouse. State flower, mountain laurel. State tree, hemlock. Abbr., Pa.; PA
Geography
The Great Lakes Plain meets the Appalachian Plateau in the extreme northwestern part of the state. The Appalachian Plateau stretches across the western and northern sections of Pennsylvania and covers more than half the area of the state. The Allegheny Mts. line the eastern edge of the plateau and run southwest to northeast, overlooking the Great Appalachian Valley. The Jacks, Tuscarora, and Blue Mts. comprise a ridge and valley section bordered by the Great Appalachian Valley to the southeast and east. The Piedmont Plateau gives way to the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the extreme southeastern portion of the state.
In the east Pennsylvania is drained by the Delaware and the Susquehanna river systems; in the west by the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers, which join at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River; and in the central part by the West Branch of the Susquehanna, which crosses the state and empties into Chesapeake Bay. These turbulent streams and rivers have cut beautiful water gaps, natural passageways for roads and rail lines.
The great forests and lush vegetation that once covered the entire state were transformed during the Carboniferous period into deposits of anthracite coal in the northeast and extensive bituminous beds in the west. Large areas of woodland remain and, in some isolated sections, have retained an almost primitive wildness. Of the many historic sites and parks that have been preserved, those under federal ownership include Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Gettysburg National Military Park, and Independence and Valley Forge national historical parks (see National Parks and Monuments National Parks and Monuments
National Parks
Name
Type1
Location
Year authorized
Size
acres (hectares)
Description
Acadia
NP
SE Maine
1919
48,419 (19,603)
Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information. , table). Harrisburg Harrisburg, city (1990 pop. 52,376), state capital and seat of Dauphin co., SE Pa., on the Susquehanna River; settled c.1710 by John Harris, who established a trading post and operated a ferry there; inc. 1791.
..... Click the link for more information. , the state capital, is located between the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia Philadelphia, city (1990 pop. 1,585,577), coextensive with Philadelphia co., SE Pa., on the Delaware River c.100 mi (160 km) upstream at the influx of the Schuylkill River; chartered 1701.
..... Click the link for more information. , the largest city, and Pittsburgh Pittsburgh , city (1990 pop. 369,879), seat of Allegheny co., SW Pa., at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers, which there form the Ohio River; inc. 1816.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Economy
Iron smelting, made possible by abundant supplies of ore and of hardwoods for the furnaces, became important in the 18th cent. In the 19th cent., after the Bessemer process Bessemer process [for Sir Henry Bessemer], industrial process for the manufacture of steel from molten pig iron. The principle involved is that of oxidation of the impurities in the iron by the oxygen of air that is blown through the molten iron; the heat of
..... Click the link for more information. made the use of its great bituminous deposits economical, Pennsylvania quickly emerged as the nation's leading steel producer, but the industry has since declined dramatically. Another Pennsylvania resource, anthracite coal, found in the northeast, long made the state a dominant force in American railroading. Heavy industry has declined in general, but the state still manufactures metal products, transportation equipment, foodstuffs, machinery, chemicals, and a wide variety of plastic, rubber, stone, clay, and glass products.
The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, situated at opposite ends of the state and dominating the commercial and industrial life of their regions, present startling contrasts in production and culture. Other leading cities are Allentown Allentown, city (1990 pop. 105,090), seat of Lehigh co., E Pa., on the Lehigh River; inc. as a borough 1811, as a city 1867. The largest city in the agricultural and industrial Lehigh Valley, it is a commercial, financial, and government center.
..... Click the link for more information. , Bethlehem Bethlehem, city (1990 pop. 71,428), Northampton and Lehigh counties, E Pa., on the Lehigh R. near Allentown and Easton; inc. as a city 1917. Local manufacturing, once dominated by the giant Bethlehem Steel Corp., is now more diversified.
..... Click the link for more information. , Erie Erie, city (1990 pop. 108,718), seat of Erie co., NW Pa., on Lake Erie; inc. as a city 1851. Pennsylvania's only port on the Great Lakes, Erie is a busy shipping point for coal, iron ore, grain, petroleum, machinery, and lumber.
..... Click the link for more information. , Reading Reading.
1 Town (1990 pop. 22,539), Middlesex co., NE Mass., a suburb of Boston; settled 1639, set off from Lynn and inc. 1644. Printing is the major industry. A 17th-century tavern is in Reading.
2 City (1990 pop. 12,038), Hamilton co.
..... Click the link for more information. , Scranton Scranton, city (1990 pop. 81,805), seat of Lackawanna co., NE Pa., in a mountain region, on the Lackawanna River; settled in the 1700s, inc. 1866. Named for George W.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre , city (1990 pop. 47,523), seat of Luzerne co., E Pa., on the east bank of the Susquehanna River; settled 1769, inc. as a city 1871. Once a major anthracite coal center, Wilkes-Barre has factories manufacturing pencils, radios, glass, shoes, and
..... Click the link for more information. .
Agriculture is concentrated in the fertile counties of the southeast, and prized farmlands lie in the Great Appalachian Valley, rich with limestone soils; here the Pennsylvania Dutch Pennsylvania Dutch [Ger. Deutsch=German], people of E Pennsylvania of German descent who migrated to the area in the 18th cent., particularly those in Northampton, Berks, Lancaster, Lehigh, Lebanon, York, and adjacent counties.
..... Click the link for more information. farmer built a culture that is identified with the bountiful agrarian life. Principal agricultural products include dairy products, cattle, hay, corn, wheat, oats, mushrooms, poultry, potatoes, and fruit.
Government and Higher Education
Pennsylvania is governed under the constitution adopted in 1873 and amended extensively since then. The governor serves a four-year term and may be reelected for one additional term. Thomas Ridge, a Republican, was elected in 1994 and reelected in 1998. Ridge resigned in 2001 to head the U.S. Office of Homeland Security; he was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Mark S. Schweiker. A Democrat, Ed Rendell, was elected to the office in 2002 and reelected in 2006. The state legislature, called the general assembly, consists of a senate of 50 members and a house of representatives of 203 members. Pennsylvania sends 2 senators and 21 representatives to the U.S. Congress and has 23 electoral votes.
Among the state's many universities and colleges are Bryn Mawr College, at Bryn Mawr; Bucknell Univ., at Lewisburg; Carnegie-Mellon Univ., the Univ. of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne Univ., at Pittsburgh; Dickinson College, at Carlisle; Drexel Univ., Temple Univ., the Univ. of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's Univ., and La Salle College, at Philadelphia; Franklin and Marshall College, at Lancaster; Haverford College, at Haverford; Lafayette College, at Easton; Lehigh Univ., at Bethlehem; Lincoln Univ., at Oxford; Pennsylvania State Univ., mainly at University Park; Swarthmore College, at Swarthmore; Villanova Univ., at Villanova; and the 14 universities in the state system.
History
Exploration and Early Settlement
In the early 1600s the English, Dutch, and Swedes disputed the right to the region of Pennsylvania. Explorations were confined to the Delaware River vicinity, where fur trading with the Native Americans was carried on. The original permanent settlement was established on Tinicum Island Tinicum Island , area in the Delaware River, SW of Philadelphia, separated from the mainland by creeks and marshes. Site of the first European settlement in Pennsylvania, it was the capital of New Sweden from 1643 to 1655.
..... Click the link for more information. (1643) in the Delaware River by Johan Printz Printz, Johan Björnsson , 1592–1663, colonial governor of New Sweden, b. Bottnaryd, Sweden. After serving as a mercenary in the armies of various European princes, he obtained a post in the Swedish army (1625) and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
..... Click the link for more information. , governor of New Sweden New Sweden, Swedish colony (1638–55), on the Delaware River; included parts of what are now Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. With the support of Swedish statesman Axel Oxenstierna, Admiral Klas Fleming (a Finn), and Peter Minuit (a Dutchman), the New
..... Click the link for more information. , and was followed in the succeeding years by the neighboring colony of Uppland.
Swedish jurisdiction was short-lived as the Dutch, operating from their stronghold in New Amsterdam, succeeded in gaining control of the Middle Atlantic region in 1655. In turn the Dutch were overpowered by the British forces of Col. Richard Nicolls, acting for the duke of York (later James II), and in 1664 the British took over the Delaware area. The duke of York remained in control until 1681, when, in payment of a royal debt, William Penn Penn, William, 1644–1718, English Quaker, founder of Pennsylvania, b. London, England; son of Sir William Penn.
Early Life
He was expelled (1662) from Oxford for his religious nonconformity and was then sent by his father to the Continent to
..... Click the link for more information. was granted proprietary rights to almost the whole of what is now Pennsylvania, and, in addition, leased the three Lower Counties (see Delaware Delaware , one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States, the country's second smallest state (after Rhode Island). It is bordered by Maryland (W, S), and there is a short border with Pennsylvania (N); New Jersey (E) is across the Delaware Bay and Delaware R.
..... Click the link for more information. ).
Penn's Colony
A devout Quaker who had suffered for his beliefs, Penn viewed his colony as a holy experiment, designed to grant asylum to the persecuted under conditions of equality and freedom. In 1681 he sent William Markham as his deputy to establish a government at Uppland and sent instructed commissioners to plot the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia), which was laid out a few miles north of the confluence of the Delaware and the Schuylkill rivers.
Penn carefully constructed a constitution, known as the Frame of Government, that gave Pennsylvania the most liberal government in the colonies. Religious freedom was guaranteed to all who believed in God, a humane penal code was adopted, and the emancipation of slaves was encouraged. However, under the representative system that it established, the popular assembly was left in an inferior position in relation to the executive branches controlled by the proprietors. In 1682 Penn arrived at Uppland (renamed Chester). Shortly thereafter he met with the chiefs of the Delaware tribes and a famous treaty was signed that promoted long-lasting goodwill between the Native Americans and the European settlers. After Penn's death in 1718 proprietary rights were held by his heirs.
By this time Pennsylvania had developed into a dynamic and growing colony, enriched by the continuous immigration of numerous different peoples. The Quakers, English, and Welsh were concentrated in Philadelphia and the eastern counties, where they acquired great commercial and financial power through foreign trade and where they achieved a political dominance which they held until the time of the American Revolution. Philadelphia had by then become the finest city in the nation, a leader in the arts and the professions. The Germans (Pennsylvania Dutch)—largely of the persecuted religious sects of Mennonites (including Amish), Moravians, Lutherans, and Reformed—settled in the farming areas of SE Pennsylvania, where they retained their cohesion and to a considerable extent their language, customs, architecture, and superstitions.
Western Settlement and Native American Resistance
After 1718 the Scotch-Irish began colonizing in the Cumberland Valley and gradually pushed the frontiers toward W Pennsylvania. Their rugged independence and the peculiarities of their frontier problems made them rebellious against the established order. Throughout the province agriculture was the chief occupation, although industry was spurred by abundant water power and plentiful natural resources.
In the west settlement was hindered by a growing unrest among the Native Americans. Penn's heirs lacked both the good sense and the ethical values that prompted Penn's fair and considerate treatment. Resentful of encroachment on their lands and of the land purchase made by the Albany Congress Albany Congress, 1754, meeting at Albany, N.Y., of commissioners representing seven British colonies in North America to treat with the Iroquois, chiefly because war with France impended.
..... Click the link for more information. (1754), the Native Americans allied themselves with the French, who were then fortifying positions in the Ohio valley (see French and Indian Wars French and Indian Wars, 1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The frontier settlements were severely ravaged until, after several reverses, the French abandoned (1758) Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne , at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, on the site of Pittsburgh, SW Pa. Because of its strategic location, it was a major objective in the last of the French and Indian Wars.
..... Click the link for more information. to British and American forces under Gen. John Forbes.
The power of the Native Americans was not completely broken until the suppression of the uprising of 1763 (see Pontiac's Rebellion Pontiac's Rebellion, Pontiac's Conspiracy, or Pontiac's War, 1763–66, Native American uprising against the British just after the close of the French and Indian Wars, so called after one of its leaders, Pontiac.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The inept defenses provided by the Quaker-controlled assembly during the crisis aroused bitter resentment and intensified efforts to overturn proprietary rule. The struggle between proprietary and antiproprietary parties was soon overshadowed, however, by the opposition to British imperial policies that culminated in the American Revolution.
The American Revolution and a New Nation
Important Pennsylvanians of both dominant political parties emerged as leaders of the Revolutionary movement—Benjamin Franklin Franklin, Benjamin, 1706–90, American statesman, printer, scientist, and writer, b. Boston. The only American of the colonial period to earn a European reputation as a natural philosopher, he is best remembered in the United States as a patriot and diplomat.
..... Click the link for more information. , Benjamin Rush Rush, Benjamin, 1745?–1813, American physician, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Byberry (now part of Philadelphia), Pa., grad. College of New Jersey (now Princeton), 1760, M.D. Univ. of Edinburgh, 1768.
..... Click the link for more information. , Joseph Reed Reed, Joseph, 1741–85, American Revolutionary political leader and army officer, b. Trenton, N.J. He studied law, was admitted (1763) to the bar, and then went to London to study at the Middle Temple.
..... Click the link for more information. , Thomas Mifflin Mifflin, Thomas, 1744–1800, American Revolutionary general and political leader, b. Philadelphia. Turning from business to public affairs, he was a member of the Pennsylvania provincial assembly and of the First Continental Congress.
..... Click the link for more information. , John Dickinson Dickinson, John, 1732–1808, American patriot and statesman, b. Talbot co., Md. After studying law in Philadelphia and in London at the Middle Temple, he developed a highly successful practice in Philadelphia.
..... Click the link for more information. , Robert Morris Morris, Robert, 1734–1806, American merchant, known as the "financier of the American Revolution," and signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Liverpool, England.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Haym Salomon Salomon, Haym , 1740–85, American Revolutionary financier, b. Lissa (now Leszno), Poland. A Jewish emigrant from Poland, he was imprisoned (1778) by the British in New York City for aiding the Revolutionaries and was condemned to death, but he escaped to
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1776 a provincial convention dominated by radical patriots created the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under one of the most democratic of the new state constitutions.
The state was invaded by British troops, and notable engagements were fought in 1777 on the Brandywine (see Brandywine, battle of the Brandywine, battle of the, in the American Revolution, fought Sept. 11, 1777, along Brandywine Creek. The creek, formed by two small branches in SE Pennsylvania, flows southeast to join, near Wilmington, Del., the Christina River, which empties into the Delaware.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and at Germantown Germantown, residential section of NW Philadelphia, Pa. Settled by Dutch and Germans in 1683, Germantown became one of the earliest printing and publishing centers in the country.
..... Click the link for more information. . Philadelphia was occupied by the British, while Valley Forge Valley Forge, on the Schuylkill River, SE Pa., NW of Philadelphia. There, during the American Revolution, the main camp of the Continental Army was established (Dec., 1777–June, 1778) under the command of Gen. George Washington.
..... Click the link for more information. witnessed the heroic endurance of Washington's troops in the winter of 1777–78, making the site a shrine of patriotism. In the postwar period, Pennsylvania's role as the geographical keystone of the new nation was strengthened by its resolution of boundary disputes that had persisted throughout the colonial period: agreement was reached with Maryland in 1784 by acceptance of the Mason-Dixon line; with Virginia and New York in 1786; with the United States and the Iroquois Confederacy in 1789; and with Connecticut in 1799 after bitter dissension in the Wyoming Valley.
Philadelphia, host to the First and Second Continental Congresses (1774, 1775–81) and scene of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for many years the nation's leading city. It was the site of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, served as the seat of the new federal government from 1790 to 1800, and became a financial center through the organization of the First Bank of the United States (1791) and the U.S. Mint (1792). In 1790 it was also the site of a convention that replaced the radical state constitution of 1776 with a more conservative one patterned after the federal Constitution, while retaining such liberal achievements as the act (1780) providing for the gradual abolition of slavery. Philadelphia was not, however, typical of the state as a whole.
From the Whiskey Rebellion to the Civil War
Opposition to federal taxation in rural Pennsylvania led to violence in the Whiskey Rebellion Whiskey Rebellion, 1794, uprising in the Pennsylvania counties W of the Alleghenies, caused by Alexander Hamilton's excise tax of 1791. The settlers, mainly Scotch-Irish, for whom whiskey was an important economic commodity, resented the tax as discriminatory and
..... Click the link for more information. of 1794 and the Fries Rebellion of 1798 (see Fries Fries, John, c.1750–1818, American rebel, b. Montgomery co., Pa. After serving in the American Revolution, Fries became a traveling auctioneer. Strongly opposed to the federal property taxes levied (1798) for a possible war with France, he stirred the
..... Click the link for more information. , John), while anti-eastern sentiment forced removal of the state capital to Lancaster Lancaster.
1 Uninc. city (1990 pop. 97,291), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in Antelope Valley and in the Mojave Desert; laid out 1894. It developed as a trade center for an irrigated farming area and has since become an important site for electronic,
..... Click the link for more information. in 1799, then to Harrisburg in 1812. Western influence in state affairs increased as the rapid movement of settlers into the Ohio country created new markets, stimulated the growth of new industries, and assured the importance of Pittsburgh and Erie as commercial centers. The economic and social development of W Pennsylvania also encouraged programs of internal improvements. The turnpike era, initiated by the incorporation of the Lancaster Turnpike in 1792, was followed by an extensive canal-building program in the 1820s and 30s and, after the introduction of steam power, by an era of extensive railroad construction.
Adequate provisions for free public education, championed by Gov. George Wolf and Thaddeus Stevens Stevens, Thaddeus, 1792–1868, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania (1849–53, 1859–68), b. Danville, Vt. He taught in an academy at York, Pa., studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Maryland.
..... Click the link for more information. , emerged in the Free School Act of 1834, which was implemented in 1849 by legislation making attendance by those of school age compulsory. Much of the early education was denominational, and many schools remained church-affiliated.
In political life the Democratic party was generally dominant, and in 1857 Pennsylvania gave the nation a Democratic president in James Buchanan. However, a split within the party over its opposition to slavery and the desire for a high protective tariff to protect the state's growing industries led to a Republican victory in 1860 and began Pennsylvania's long affiliation with the Republican party. Because of Pennsylvania's location near the South, it was the scene of several battles in the Civil War, notably the Gettysburg campaign Gettysburg campaign, June–July, 1863, series of decisive battles of the U.S. Civil War.
The Road to Gettysburg
After his victory in the battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate general Robert E. Lee undertook a second invasion of the North.
..... Click the link for more information. of 1863.
The Rise of Industry and the Labor Movement
With the close of the war came the rapid emergence of the state as a mighty industrial commonwealth. Supported by high protective tariffs, the industries found favorable markets and a constant supply of immigrant labor. The first oil well was dug at Titusville in 1859, and a number of fortunes, particularly that of the Rockefeller family, was founded on petroleum. But it was steel that became the basic industry, using iron ore from the Lehigh valley and the Bethlehem area and the native Pennsylvania coal. Later the iron ore was transported in massive amounts across the Great Lakes. Under the manipulation of such men as Andrew Carnegie Carnegie, Andrew , 1835–1919, American industrialist and philanthropist, b. Dunfermline, Scotland. His father, a weaver, found it increasingly difficult to get work in Scottish factories and in 1848 brought his family to Allegheny (now Pittsburgh), Pa.
..... Click the link for more information. , Henry Frick Frick, Henry Clay, 1849–1919, American industrialist, b. Westmoreland co., Pa. He worked on his father's farm, was a store clerk, and did bookkeeping before he and several associates organized (1871) Frick & Company to operate coke ovens in the
..... Click the link for more information. , Charles Schwab Schwab, Charles Michael , 1862–1939, American steel magnate, b. Williamsburg, Pa. He started as a stake driver in Andrew Carnegie's steelworks and rose to become (1897) president of the Carnegie Steel Company and then the first president (1901) of the U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , and J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913; see under Morgan Morgan, American family of financiers and philanthropists.
Junius Spencer Morgan, 1813–90, b. West Springfield, Mass., prospered at investment banking.
..... Click the link for more information. , family) numerous interests were merged into vast combines with state and national influence.
In the face of this increasing concentration of power, labor struggled to achieve safer working conditions, higher wages, and shorter hours. The campaign brought bloodshed during the fight between mine owners and the radical Molly Maguires Molly Maguires , secret organization of Irish-Americans in the anthracite mining districts of Pennsylvania. Its name came from a woman who led an extralegal, antilandlord organization in Ireland during the 1840s, and its membership was drawn from the Ancient Order of
..... Click the link for more information. and reached a climax in the strike at Homestead (see Homestead strike Homestead strike, in U.S. history, a bitterly fought labor dispute. On June 29, 1892, workers belonging to the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers struck the Carnegie Steel Company at Homestead, Pa. to protest a proposed wage cut. Henry C.
..... Click the link for more information. ) in 1892. The miners, under the leadership of John Mitchell Mitchell, John, 1870–1919, American labor leader, b. Braidwood, Ill. He became a miner at the age of 12 and in 1885 joined the Knights of Labor. When the United Mine Workers of America was formed (1890), he became a member; after his successful leadership of
..... Click the link for more information. and aided by the intervention of Theodore Roosevelt, achieved a qualified victory in the anthracite strike of 1902, but the great steel strike of 1919 was broken. During the 1930s the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) successfully promoted unionization in many new areas and somewhat weakened the strength of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). By 1941 the CIO had succeeded in organizing the steel industry, while the United Mine Workers had acquired increasing strength among the workers in the coal fields.
Government Reform and Economic Restructuring
The powerful and corrupt political machine that had been built by Simon Cameron continued into the 20th cent. under the leadership of such bosses as Boies Penrose. Gifford Pinchot, a Progressive Republican and a vigorous "dry," was governor for two terms (1923–27, 1931–35) and did much to repair government through a new administrative code, an improved budget system, and pioneer work in conservation.
In 1979 the state suffered a near-disaster as an accident at the Three Mile Island Three Mile Island, site of a nuclear power plant 10 mi (16 km) south of Harrisburg, Pa. On Mar. 28, 1979, failure of the cooling system of the No. 2 nuclear reactor led to overheating and partial melting of its uranium core and production of hydrogen gas, which
..... Click the link for more information. nuclear facility near Harrisburg resulted in a partial meltdown. Pennsylvania's population has grown slowly since the 1940s, when it was the second largest state in the union; it was the sixth most populous state after the 2000 census. After losing hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the 1980s, the state's economy experienced a notable shift to the service sector. Some of Pennsylvania's enterprises did grow, however, and in recent years such high-tech industries as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals have flourished, largely in the suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Bibliography
See S. G. Fisher, The Making of Pennsylvania (2d ed. 1969); A. S. Bolles, Pennsylvania, Province and State: A History from 1609 to 1790 (2 vol., 1970); P. H. Gibbons, Pennsylvania Dutch (3d ed. 1971); W. H. Egle, Pennsylvania Women in the American Revolution (1898, repr. 1972); C. A. Hanna, The Wilderness Trail (2 vol., 1911; repr. 1972); P. S. Klein and A. Hoogenboom, A History of Pennsylvania (2d ed. 1980); E. W. Miller, Pennsylvania: Keystone to Progress (1986); D. J. Cuff et al., Atlas of Pennsylvania (1989).
Pennsylvania
officially Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaState (pop., 2000: 12,281,054), middle Atlantic region, U.S. It covers 45,333 sq mi (117,412 sq km); its capital is Harrisburg. The state is bounded on the north by Lake Erie and New York; on the east by New York and New Jersey; on the south by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia; and on the west by the panhandle of West Virginia and by Ohio; the Delaware River forms part of the eastern boundary. The Monongahela River unites with the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. The area was inhabited by Indian peoples, including the Shawnee and Delaware, when Europeans arrived in the 17th century. In 1664 the English seized control of the region, and in 1681 the English king granted a charter to William Penn, who established a Quaker colony based on religious tolerance in 1682. Much of the fighting of the French and Indian War took place there. The first and second Continental Congresses met in Philadelphia, and the Declaration of Independence was signed there in 1776. One of the original states of the Union, it was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1787. During the American Civil War it was a centre of military activity (see Battle of Gettysburg). The postwar period brought great economic, industrial, and population growth, consolidating the state's position as a major commercial power. It is one of the most prosperous states, with an economy based on farming, mining, manufacturing, and high technology. The state continues to produce much of the nation's specialty steel and an abundance of coal. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are major ports with fine educational, cultural, and musical institutions.
Pennsylvania
www.state.pa.us
Area (sq mi): 46055.24 (land 44816.61; water 1238.63). Pop per sq mi: 277.30.
Pop 2005: 12,429,616. State rank: 0. Pop change: 2000-20005 1.20%; 1990-2000 3.40%. Pop 2000: 12,281,054 (White 84.10%; Black or African American 10.00%; Hispanic or Latino 3.20%; Asian 1.80%; Other 2.80%). Foreign born: 4.10%. Median age: 38.00.
Income 2000: per capita $20,880; median household $40,106; Pop below poverty level: 11.00%. *Personal per capita income 2000-2003: $29,695-$31,911.
Unemployment 2004: 5.40%. Change from 2000: 1.20%. Median travel time to work: 25.20 minutes. Working outside county of residence: 27.60%.
List of Pennsylvania counties:
- US National Parks
- Urban Parks
- State Parks
- Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - US
- National Wildlife Refuges
- National Trails
- National Scenic Byways
- National Heritage Areas
- National Forests
Second state; adopted the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787
State capital: Harrisburg Nicknames: Keystone State; Quaker State State motto: Virtue, Liberty, and Independence State animal: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) State beverage: Milk State dog: Great Dane State fish: Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) State flagship: U.S. Brig Niagara State flower: Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) State fossil: Phacops rana State game bird: Ruffed grouse or partridge (Bonasa umbel
lus)
State insect: Firefly (Poturis pennsylvanica)
State plant: Penngift crownvetch (Coronilla varia)
State song: “Pennsylvania”
State tree: Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
More about state symbols at:
www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/
SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 827 AnnivHol-2000, p. 207
STATE OFFICES:
State web site: www.state.pa.us
Office of the Governor 225 Main Capitol Bldg Harrisburg, PA 17120 717-787-2500 fax: 717-772-8284 www.governor.state.pa.us
Secretary of the Commonwealth 302 North Office Bldg Harrisburg, PA 17120 717-787-6458 fax: 717-787-1734 www.dos.state.pa.us
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Libraries 333 Market St Harrisburg, PA 17126 717-787-2646 fax: 717-772-3265 www.statelibrary.state.pa.us
Legal Holidays:
| Day after Thanksgiving | Nov 25, 2011; Nov 23, 2012; Nov 29, 2013; Nov 28, 2014; Nov 27, 2015 |
Pennsylvania
a state in the northeastern USA. Area, 117,400 sq km; population, 12 million, of which 71.5 percent is urban (1973). The capital is Harrisburg; the largest cities and industrial centers are Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, which is the second-largest seaport of the USA in cargo turnover (90 million tons in 1970).
A large part of Pennsylvania is occupied by the Appalachian Mountains (elevations to 979 m). In the west, the steep Allegheny Front separates the Appalachians from the Appalachian Plateau, which is deeply cut by river valleys. The Atlantic lowland is in the southeastern part of the state. The climate is humid and temperate. The average temperature in January is – 3°–2”C, and in July 21°-25°C. The annual precipitation is about 1,000 mm. The Ohio, Susquehanna, and Delaware rivers are navigable.
Pennsylvania is one of the most economically developed states. It ranks third in population and in the number of employed and fifth in output value of processing industries. Heavy industry predominates. Pennsylvania is the USA’s leading producer of pig iron (18 million tons in 1971), steel, coke (17 million tons in 1970), and cement (7.3 million tons in 1969) and ranks third in coal mining (82 million tons in 1970). There is some extraction of oil, natural gas, and iron ore. The installed capacity of power plants totals 24 million gigawatts (1973). The chief metallurgical centers are Pittsburgh, Bethlehem, and Fairless Hills (near Philadelphia). Developed industries include metal-working, machine building, chiefly equipment manufacturing, shipbuilding (Philadelphia), and reactor construction. Also important is the electrotechnical and radio-electronics industry. Other industries include oil refining (Philadelphia) and the production of chemicals, clay and glass products, textiles, and clothing, including knitwear. In 1971 there were 1.4 million persons (about 33 percent of the working population) employed in processing industries and 38,000 in the mining industry; less than 2 percent were employed in agriculture (1970). The number of farms declined from 129,000 in 1954 to 63,000 in 1969. Livestock raising (primarily dairy farming) and poultry breeding yield more than three-fourths of commercial agricultural output. Truck farming, horticulture, and mushroom cultivation are also developed. The number of livestock (1972) totaled 1.8 million head of cattle (including 700,000 milch cows), 700,000 hogs, and 150,000 sheep and goats.
In the first half of the 17th century, what is now Pennsylvania was the object of a conflict between the English, Dutch, and Swedes. In the 1660’s the territory was seized by the English, who founded a colony there in the 1680’s. In the 1760’s and 1770’s the English colonizers waged destructive wars against the indigenous Indian population.
Pennsylvania is one of the 13 original states of the USA. In 1776, during the War of Independence in North America (1775–83), the establishment of the USA was proclaimed in Philadelphia. During the Civil War (1861–65), Pennsylvania fought on the side of the North.
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