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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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A Brief History
Pennsylvania was the second state to join the United States of America, becoming a state on December 12, 1787. During colonial times, Pennsylvania was the middle colony of the original 13 – six colonies were north of it and six colonies were south of it. Because Pennsylvania had the reputation of holding the colonies together, it became known as “The Keystone State” (the keystone is the most important part of an arch, linking both curved columns together at the top).


Birth & Founding
Before European settlement, the land that would become Pennsylvania was inhabited by numerous native tribes, including the Delawares, the Shawnees, and the Susquehannocks.

The first European settlers moved in the area along the Delaware River near Philadelphia. Swedish, Dutch, and English settlers battled over land ownership for decades until 1664, when the English took modern-day New York.

In 1681, English King Charles II granted the territory between Lord Baltimore’s land (which would become Maryland) and the Duke of York’s province (which would become New York) to William Penn, a Quaker, as payment of a debt. Penn named his new territory “Pennsylvania,” which means Penn’s Woods, in honor of his father. Pre-colonial Pennsylvania attracted English Quakers, as well as Germans and the Scotch-Irish.

In the mid-1700s, modern-day Pennsylvania was split between the British Empire (in the east) and “New France” (in the west). French efforts in the west led to the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The French established forts at Erie (Fort Presque Isle), Waterford (Fort LeBoeuf), Pittsburgh (Fort Duquesne) and Franklin (Fort Machault). After General George Washington failed to persuade the French to leave, the war began. Skirmishes and battles raged all along the western front before the British emerged victorious.

The American Revolution
By 1776, the Province of Pennsylvania had become the third-largest English colony in America. Philadelphia had become the second-largest English-speaking city in the world (after London). The province had started with just three counties (Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks) but by 1773 there were 11. Westmoreland, the last new county created before the Revolution, was the first county located entirely west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Because the American Revolution had urban origins, Philadelphia was a center of ferment. Groups of artisans and mechanics, many loyal to Benjamin Franklin, formed grassroots leadership. Philadelphia was a center of resistance to the Stamp Act (1765) and moved quickly to support Boston in opposition to the Intolerable Acts, in 1774. Philadelphia was the nation's capital during the Revolution, except when the British threat caused the capital to be moved. Pennsylvania troops took part in almost all the campaigns of the Revolution. A rifle battalion joined in the siege of Boston in August 1775. Others fought in the Canadian campaign of 1776 and in the New York and New Jersey campaigns.

Because it was the capital of the colonies, Philadelphia was considered by the British to be extremely important. The Declaration of Independence was written and signed by the Continental Congress in the city in the summer of 1776.

In the summer of 1777, the British invaded the state. The Americans held their own at the Battle of Brandywine in September and the Battle of Germantown in October, but the Americans were unable to keep the British out of Philadelphia. The colonial capital moved to York, a town in southcentral Pennsylvania, from October 1777 to June 1778. While there, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, the first step toward a national government.

In December 1777, Washington marched his tired, beaten, hungry and sick army to Valley Forge, about 20 miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. From Valley Forge, Washington could keep an eye on General Howe's British army in Philadelphia.

At Valley Forge, there were shortages of everything from food to clothing to medicine, and Washington's men were sick from disease, hunger, and exposure. The Continental Army camped in crude log cabins, went hungry, and endured frigid cold while the British warmed themselves in colonial homes and ate well. About a quarter of the Continental Army’s 12,000 troops died during that winter in Valley Forge.

In the spring of 1778, Ben Franklin negotiated a treaty with the French, and that caused the British to change their war plans and leave Philadelphia.

Frontier Pennsylvania suffered heavily from British and Indian raids until they were answered in 1779 by John Sullivan's and Daniel Brodhead's expeditions against the Six Nations Indians.

Pennsylvania soldiers formed a major portion of Washington's army. Pennsylvania also aided in the creation of the Continental navy, many ships being built or purchased in Philadelphia and manned by Pennsylvania sailors.

The products of Pennsylvania farms, factories, and mines were essential to the success of the Revolutionary armies. At Carlisle, a Continental arsenal turned out cannons, swords, pikes, and muskets. The state actively encouraged the manufacture of gunpowder.

Pennsylvania's financial support, both from its government and from individuals, was of great importance. In 1780, when the Continental Army ran short of money, Philadelphians raised money to support the troops.

The Revolutionary War officially ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783.

The Early United States
In 1787, the U.S. Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, and that culminated in the creation of the U.S. Constitution in September.

Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution on December 12, 1787 – thereby becoming the second state in the new country.

After the war, the capital was moved to New York, but from 1790 until the opening of the District of Columbia in 1800, Philadelphia was the capital of the country. Much of the northern and western parts of the state were undistributed or undeveloped in 1790, and much of the rest was thinly populated. To encourage settlement, the state adopted generous land policies, distributed free "Donation Lands" to Revolutionary veterans, and offered land at reasonable prices.

Early Pennsylvanians were loyal to President George Washington and the fledgling nation, but they remained wary of federal power. After the national government levied a whiskey tax, whiskey distillers in western Pennsylvania attacked and destroyed the home of a tax inspector in July 1794. President Washington first tried negotiation, then sent in 13,000 militia troops to quell this “Whiskey Rebellion.”

That same year, the original Lancaster Pike (connecting Philadelphia with Lancaster) was completed. Throughout the 1790s, the state began considering improving the navigation of all major streams, and canals began to supplement the natural waterways. Canals extending the use of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers were chartered before 1815, and the Lehigh Canal was completed in 1838.

Complimenting the waterways was the steamboat, which originated with experiments by John Fitch of Philadelphia from 1787 to 1790. But it was Lancaster County native Robert Fulton who established it as a practical medium of transportation on the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers [today, a statue of Fulton holding a model steamboat sits in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol].

Railroads began operating in 1827, and were at first operated by horses, gravity, or cables to connect anthracite coal fields in northeastern Pennsylvania with canals and rivers. The Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad, completed in 1834, was the first ever built by a government. Major railroads chartered in the state included the Philadelphia and Reading (1833) and the Lehigh Valley (1846, reincorporated 1853). However, the most important of all was the Pennsylvania Railroad, chartered April 13, 1846, and completed to Pittsburgh by 1852. It absorbed so many short railroad lines by 1860 that it had nearly a monopoly on rail traffic from Chicago through Pennsylvania. In miles of rail and in total capital invested in railroads, Pennsylvania led all other states on the eve of the Civil War.

The use of anthracite coal began on a large scale after 1820 with the organization of important mining companies.

The mining of iron ore and coal led to the development of the state's steel industry. Pennsylvania’s production of iron was notable even in colonial times, and the charcoal furnaces of the state spread to the western parts of the state during the mid-1800s. Foundries, rolling mills, and machine shops became numerous and, by the Civil War, the state rolled about half the nation's iron. William Kelly, a native of Pittsburgh, is regarded as the inventor of the Bessemer process of making steel.

In the 1840s, machinery revolutionized the textile industry, and by 1860, there were more than two hundred textile mills in Pennsylvania. Leathermaking, lumbering, shipbuilding, publishing, and tobacco and paper manufacturing also prospered in the 1800s.

The nation's first oil well was dug at Titusville in 1859.

James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, was born in Cove Gap (near Mercersburg) on April 23, 1791 (he served from 1857 to 1861).

In those decades, Pennsylvania’s cities grew, but rural life remained strong. Many people lived on farms. Immigration over those years swelled the state’s population – from the Irish fleeing the potato famine of the late 1840s to Germans fleeing political turbulence in their homeland at about the same time. African-Americans also made Pennsylvania their homes; by 1850, all Pennsylvania African-Americans were free unless they were fugitives from the South.

The Civil War
Pennsylvania played an important role in preserving the Union. Southern forces invaded Pennsylvania three times by way of the Cumberland Valley, a natural highway from Virginia to Northern states. It was Pennsylvania that shielded the Northern states from Southern advances.

About 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union forces, including 8,600 African-American volunteers. At the beginning of the conflict, President Abraham Lincoln's call for 14 regiments of volunteers was answered by 25 Pennsylvania regiments. Union commanders from Pennsylvania included George B. McClellan, George G. Meade, John F. Reynolds, Winfield S. Hancock, John W. Geary, John F. Hartranft, Admiral David D. Porter, and Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren.

After the Battle of Antietam, General J.E.B. Stewart's cavalry rode around General McClellan's army and reached Chambersburg on October 10, 1862. They seized supplies and horses, burned a large storehouse, and withdrew as rapidly as they had come.

In June 1863, General Robert E. Lee turned his 75,000 men northward on a major invasion of Pennsylvania. The state called up reserves and volunteers for emergency duty. At Pittsburgh, the citizens fortified the surrounding hills; at Harrisburg, fortifications were thrown up on both sides of the Susquehanna. Confederate forces captured Carlisle and advanced to within three miles of Harrisburg; the bridge at Wrightsville had to be burned to prevent their crossing. These outlying forces were recalled when the Union army under General George G. Meade met Lee's army at Gettysburg. In a bitterly fought engagement on the first three days of July, the Union army threw back the Confederate forces, a major turning point in the struggle to save the Union. Not only was the battle fought on Pennsylvania soil, but nearly a third of General Meade's army was Pennsylvania troops. Now, Gettysburg is a major historical site, drawing millions of visitors a year to southcentral Pennsylvania.

In 1864, in retaliation for Union raids on Virginia, a Confederate force under General John McCausland advanced to Chambersburg and threatened to burn the town unless a large ransom was paid. The citizens refused, and Chambersburg was burned on July 20, leaving two-thirds of its people homeless and causing almost $2 million worth of damage.

Between the Wars
After the war, a new wave of immigrants brought people with new ethnic backgrounds –Slavic, Italian, Finn, Scandinavian, and Jewish immigrants. At the height of this "new immigration," between 1900 and 1910, the commonwealth witnessed the largest population increase of any decade in its history.

Pennsylvania began to experience a remarkable boom in many sectors.

The manufacture of steel and iron products was the largest single industry in the state. The lives of Andrew Carnegie, Henry C. Frick, Charles M. Schwab, and other “iron men” of Pennsylvania in large measure tell the story of modern American business. Concentrated for the most part in western Pennsylvania, but with important centers also at Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Lewistown, Carlisle, and Morrisville, Pennsylvania's steel industry furnished the rails for the nation's railway empire, the structural steel for its modern cities, and the armament for national defense.

During this period, Pennsylvania dominated the manufacture of railroad equipment. In the 20th century, electrical equipment manufacture also became prominent. George Westinghouse was a leader in both these fields. His air brake, patented in 1869, revolutionized railroading and was followed by his numerous inventions of signals, switches, and other safety features for trains. His Union Switch and Signal Co., formed in Pittsburgh in 1882, improved natural gas transmission and control. Then he turned to improving the nation's utilization of electricity by perfecting a means for generating large amounts of power in a more practical form, alternating current (AC).

Textiles and clothing manufacturing, especially worsteds and silk, grew from a base in Philadelphia, so that the state led the nation in production by 1900. That year, Pennsylvania also led the nation in tanning leather.

Food processing grew into a major industry. In 1905, the Hershey Chocolate factory opened, and the H. J. Heinz Co. was incorporated. These and other food processors were supported by Pennsylvania farms, which were shrinking but becoming more efficient and productive.

At its peak, the commonwealth had more than 10,000 miles of railroad track.

Alexander Graham Bell's telephone was first demonstrated publicly at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. Pennsylvania played a key role in the development of a major 20th-century contribution to the dissemination of ideas and information – the radio. The first commercial broadcast station in the world was KDKA in Pittsburgh, which started daily schedule broadcasting on November 2, 1920. The first church service broadcast by radio occurred on KDKA a year later, and the first public address by radio was made by Herbert Hoover at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh in 1921. The first all-motion-picture theater in the world was opened on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh on June 19, 1905, by John P. Harris and Harry Davis. The term "nickelodeon" was coined there. The Warner brothers began their careers in western Pennsylvania.

Between 1903 and 1911, Pennsylvania took the lead in creating a modern road system, establishing a department of highways, requiring automobile licenses, and taking over more than 8,000 miles of highway for maintenance and improvement. Most highway construction consisted of improvements to existing routes, including widening, laying hard surfaces, and relocating routes to eliminate sharp curves and grades. The world's first "drive-in gas station" opened in Pittsburgh in 1913. An outstanding road was the Lincoln Highway. Designated in 1913, it connected the state's two largest cities and stretched from New York City to San Francisco. In 1940, Pennsylvania opened the first high-speed, multi-lane highway in the country, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which set the pattern for modern super-highways throughout the nation. The turnpike initially connected Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and was later expanded from the western boundary to the Delaware River, as well as northward into the anthracite region.

In 1940, Pennsylvania was the second-largest state in the nation with a population two-thirds that of New York.

World War II & After
In World War II, 1.25 million Pennsylvanians served in the armed forces, or about one-eighth of the population. One out of every seven members of the armed forces in World War II was a Pennsylvanian; 130 generals or admirals were from Pennsylvania. More Medals of Honor were awarded to Pennsylvanians than to citizens of any other state.

There were 40 military and naval installations in Pennsylvania, including two large camps, Indiantown Gap and Camp Reynolds. All the Army's doctors received training at Carlisle Barracks, and the Navy's photographic reconnaissance pilots were instructed at the Harrisburg Airport. The Philadelphia Navy Yard built two of the world's largest battleships – the USS New Jersey and the USS Wisconsin – and many smaller vessels.

Pennsylvania's industrial resources made it the “Arsenal of America.” Planes, tanks, armored cars, guns, and shells poured out of its factories. Ships were launched in the Delaware and Ohio rivers and on Lake Erie. Steady streams of war goods flowed over its railroads and highways. Pennsylvania oil lubricated the machines of war, and its coal kept the steel mills going. Food from its fields fed war workers and soldiers.

In total war production, Pennsylvania ranked sixth among the states; was fifth in shipbuilding; and was fourth in ordnance. It furnished almost one-third of the nation's steel. More money was spent to expand production capacity in Pennsylvania than in any other state. Three hundred Pennsylvania firms were honored with production awards.

Pennsylvanians paid over $2 billion a year in taxes and were second only to New Yorkers in the purchase of war bonds. Under the leadership of the State Council of Defense, more than a million and a half people were organized to protect the state against enemy attack and to aid in the war effort.

After the war, Pennsylvania’s population was outpaced by other states. In 1950 it fell to third due to the growth of California. In 1980, Texas also exceeded Pennsylvania’s population, as did Florida in 1987. More recently, Illinois passed Pennsylvania, and the commonwealth currently ranks the sixth-most populous state in the union.

The state’s coal, steel, textile, and railroad industries all shrunk after the war. Pennsylvania's industry has diversified, although the state still leads the country in the production of specialty steel. The service, retail trade, and manufacturing sectors provide the most jobs; Pennsylvania is a leader in the production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, food products, and electronic equipment. And even though the state’s oil industry is almost nonexistent, Pennsylvania is becoming a leader in natural gas production due to the Marcellus shale formation.

Pennsylvania's 58,000 farms (occupying nearly 8 million acres) are the backbone of the state's economy, producing a wide variety of crops. Leading commodities are dairy products, cattle and calves, mushrooms, greenhouse and nursery products, poultry and eggs, a variety of fruits, sweet corn, potatoes, maple syrup, and Christmas trees.

The far-reaching Federal Highway Act of 1956 authorized the federal government to pay 90 percent of the costs of new roads connecting the nation's principal urban centers. Pennsylvania took advantage of these funds to build an interstate system. The most outstanding example of the system is Interstate 80, known as the Keystone Shortway, which is 313 miles long and crosses 15 Pennsylvania counties. Interstate 80 connects New York City with San Francisco, Calif.

Among the famous Pennsylvanians who starred in movies are W.C. Fields, Gene Kelly, Joe E. Brown, Richard Gere, Tom Mix, Jack Palance, and Jimmy Stewart. Beginning in 1977, Pennsylvania began to be the site of the filming of major motion pictures.

Pennsylvanians served their country faithfully in Korea and Vietnam, during the Gulf War conflicts, during the ongoing War on Terror, and in other military actions. With more than 10 percent of the total Medals of Honor ever awarded, Pennsylvania is second only to New York for most recipients of the country’s highest military award.

Pennsylvania Firsts
Hospital, library, zoo, newspaper, national capitol, all motion-picture theater, television broadcast, radio broadcast, paper mill, druggist, locomotive for railroad use, high-speed multi-lane highway, Banana Split, electronic computer (built), commercial use of computer, cable television, educational public television station, long-term business financing program

 

Primary source: “Pennsylvania History.” The Pennsylvania General Assembly. Date unknown. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/wu01/vc/visitor_info/pa_history/pa_history.htm (26 Jan 2012)