I.

Introduction

Pennsylvania, in full, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one of the north-eastern states of the United States, bordered 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 West Virginia and Ohio. The Delaware River forms the entire eastern boundary of the state.

Pennsylvania entered the Union on December 12, 1787, as the second state. It played a central role in the birth of the United States; both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were drawn up and signed in the state, at Philadelphia. Since colonial times Pennsylvania has been an important agricultural state, and it later became a major commercial, manufacturing, and mining state as well. In the early 1990s Pennsylvania remained a national leader in both manufacturing and mining output. President James Buchanan was born in Pennsylvania. The name of the state was probably coined by Charles II of England and combines the surname of Admiral William Penn, the father of William Penn, to whom the king granted the colony in 1681, and sylva (Latin, “wood”). Pennsylvania is known as the “Keystone State”.

II.

Land and Resources

Pennsylvania has an area of 118,515 sq km (45,789 sq mi). The state is roughly rectangular in shape, and its extreme dimensions are 254 km (158 mi) from north to south and 502 km (312 mi) from east to west.

A.

Physical Geography

Pennsylvania offers distinct contrasts in topography and soils, incorporating seven landform regions from the Eastern Great Lakes Lowland in the north-west to the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the south-east. Those are: the Eastern Great Lakes Lowland, the Appalachian Plateau, the Ridge and Valley Region, the Great Valley, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the New England Lapland, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The Eastern Great Lakes Lowland is a narrow, level region, bordering on Lake Erie. An escarpment separates this region from the higher Appalachian Plateau, which is sometimes known in Pennsylvania as the Allegheny Plateau. The plateau extends across northern and western Pennsylvania and constitutes about half the state’s area. The north-eastern part of this region is known locally as the Pocono Mountains; the most rugged portion is the Allegheny Mountains in the south.

On the eastern side of the Allegheny Front is the Ridge and Valley Region, made up of ridges separated by broad valleys. Elevations reach a maximum of about 760 m (2,500 ft), with ridges generally rising some 180 to 210 m (600 to 700 ft) above the valleys. In the eastern part of the region is the Great Valley; about 24 km (15 mi) wide, it consists of the Cumberland, Lebanon, and Lehigh valleys.

To the east lies the Piedmont Plateau, a region of low elevation ranging from about 30 to 150 m (100 to 500 ft). In the state’s south-eastern corner lies a narrow strip of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, separated from the Piedmont Plateau by the fall line.

Principal rivers are the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Ohio, with their tributaries, the Lehigh, Schuylkill, Juniata, Allegheny, and Monongahela. The state has more than 300 lakes, most of them small; many are in the glaciated north-western region.

B.

Climate

Pennsylvania has a humid continental climate, characterized by large temperature differences between the summer and winter months. The average annual temperature ranges from 8.3° C (47° F) in the north-central part of the state to 13.9° C (57° F) in the south-east. The recorded temperature has ranged from -41.1° C (-42° F) in 1904 to 43.9° C (111° F) in 1936.

C.

Plants and Animals

Forests cover about 56 per cent of the total land area of Pennsylvania. Trees are both hardwood and softwood; principal species include maple, beech, spruce, and black walnut.

Wildlife includes some black bear in the more remote parts of the north and west, as well as white-tailed deer, which are abundant in many areas. Common game birds include wild turkey, ruffed grouse, quail, and pheasant. The lakes and streams of Pennsylvania contain a variety of fish.

D.

Resources, Products, and Industries

Mining accounts for only about 1 per cent of the annual gross state product. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania is one of the country’s leading mining states, ranking among the nation’s leaders in annual coal production. Farming accounts for about 1 per cent of the annual gross state product. Livestock and poultry raising, and dairy farming are important agricultural commodities.

Manufacturing accounts for about 22 per cent of the annual gross state product. The leading industry is the manufacture of primary and fabricated metals, especially iron, steel, and related products. Pennsylvania is also well known for its speciality industries, including the manufacture of chocolate at Hershey and silk production at Wilkes-Barre.

III.

Population

The population of Pennsylvania is 12,440,621 (2006 estimate). The average population density in 1990 was 100 people per sq km (260 per sq mi). Whites made up 88.5 per cent of the population and blacks 9.2 per cent. The state had a substantial Jewish community (1.7 per cent) and was one of the principal centres of the Society of Friends (Quakers). The Pennsylvania Dutch, descendants of early German immigrants, lived in Lancaster County and other parts of eastern Pennsylvania. Most of them adhered to the Amish or Mennonite religion, wore distinctive clothing, and worked as farmers.

Pennsylvania’s major cities are the capital, Harrisburg (47,472 (2005 estimate)), Philadelphia (1,463,281 (2005 estimate)), Pittsburgh (316,718 (2005 estimate)), Allentown (106,992 (2005 estimate)), Erie (102,612 (2005 estimate)), and Scranton (73,120 (2005 estimate)).

A.

Education

At the start of the 21st century Pennsylvania had 263 institutions of higher education. Among the most notable of these institutions were the University of Pennsylvania (the first institution of higher education in the state, founded as a charity school in 1740), Temple University (1884), La Salle University (1863), and Drexel University (1891), in Philadelphia; Pennsylvania State University (1855), in University Park; the University of Pittsburgh (1787), Carnegie Mellon University (1900), and Duquesne University (1878), in Pittsburgh; Bucknell University (1846), in Lewisburg; Dickinson College (1773), in Carlisle; Bryn Mawr College (1880), in Bryn Mawr; Franklin and Marshall College (1787), in Lancaster; Moravian College (1742) and Lehigh University (1865), in Bethlehem. Of special note are the Moore College of Art and Design (1844), University of the Arts (1876), and Curtis Institute of Music (1924), all in Philadelphia. In the late 1990s Pennsylvania spent about US$7,770 on each student’s education, compared to a national average of about US$6,835.

B.

Places of Interest

Pennsylvania is rich in history, and many of the state’s historical sites commemorate events and people associated with the American War of Independence. Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia is a popular attraction; to be found there are Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was drafted, the US Constitution written, and the Liberty Bell sounded; and the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Also in Philadelphia are the First Bank of the United States, established in 1795, and Carpenter’s Hall, the meeting place of the First Continental Congress in 1774. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, attractions include the Delaware Water Gap Recreation area and the Pennsylvania Dutch county of Lancaster County. Other points of interest include Valley Forge National Historical Park, in Valley Forge; Gettysburg National Military Park, in Gettysburg; and Fort Washington State Park, in Ambler. Of special note are the preserved 18th- and early 19th-century buildings at the Old Economy Village, in Ambridge; Historic Fallsington, in Fallsington; and Ephrata Cloisters, in Ephrata.

Pennsylvania contains many fine art museums. Among them are the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in Philadelphia; the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Frick Art Museum, in Pittsburgh; and the Brandywine River Museum, in Chadds Ford. Other museums of note are the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (the oldest institute of natural history in America), and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia; the Allentown Art Museum, in Allentown; and the Mercer Museum, in Doylestown.

C.

Government and Politics

Pennsylvania is one of four states in the nation that are officially designated commonwealths. It is governed under a constitution adopted in 1874 and substantially revised in 1967-1968, as amended. The chief executive is a governor, who is popularly elected to a four-year term and who is limited to a maximum of two consecutive terms. Other elected officials include the lieutenant-governor, attorney-general, treasurer, and auditor-general. The governor appoints the secretary of the commonwealth, the adjutant-general, and several other administrative officials.

Legislative authority is vested in a bicameral General Assembly comprising a Senate and a House of Representatives. The 50 members of the Senate are elected to four-year terms, and the 203 members of the House are elected to two-year terms.

At a national level, Pennsylvania elects 2 senators and 19 representatives to the US Congress. The state has 21 electoral votes in presidential elections.

Long a bulwark of the Republican Party, Pennsylvania was the only major industrial state to prefer Herbert Hoover to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. During the 1930s Philadelphia and Pittsburgh became centres of Democratic strength. The Democrats held an edge in party registration in the early 1990s, but Republicans had been competitive in many of the most recent statewide contests. In the 2006 elections, 11 Democrats and 8 Republicans were returned to represent the state. Senators Arlen Specter (Republican) and Bob Casey (Democrat) represent Pennsylvania and face re-election in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Incumbent Democrat governor Ed Rendell was elected to serve a second term of office in 2006, defeating Lynn Swann (Republican).

IV.

History

Two major groups of Native Americans, the Algonquians and the Iroquoians, were represented within Pennsylvania. The main Algonquian tribes—the Leni-Lenape (Delaware) and the Shawnee—occupied the coastal region. The Iroquoian Susquehannocks lived along the Susquehanna River, and in the west were the Erie and Seneca, who were also Iroquoians.

A.

Exploration and Settlement

As early as 1609, Henry Hudson explored the Delaware Bay area and laid claim to it for the Dutch. Settlements were subsequently begun by the Dutch West India Company, followed by those of the New Sweden Company. The latter fell to the Dutch in 1655. By this time, the English had established fur-trading outposts and acquired territory around Delaware Bay, and in 1664, England seized control of all New Netherland.

English Quakers settled in New Jersey in the 1670s, and in 1681 one of their leaders, William Penn, acquired a royal patent to the land between New Jersey and Maryland, which he called Pennsylvania (Penn’s Woods). Penn prepared a written contract called the Frame of Government between himself as proprietor and the Pennsylvania colonists. In 1682, Penn founded Philadelphia and made a treaty of friendship with the Native Americans. The Crown revoked his charter in 1692, but it was restored in 1699. Penn’s Charter of Privileges (1701), which replaced the Frame of Government, remained the colony’s constitution until 1776.

Pennsylvania’s population expanded rapidly in the 18th century with the arrival of new colonists from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. Many of the German-speaking settlers belonged to the Mennonite, Moravian, and other religious sects similar to the English Quakers. In time they became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch (the latter word being a variant of Deutsch, meaning “German”). Philadelphia, a thriving seaport, soon became the chief city of British North America.

A struggle between the British and French for control of western Pennsylvania led to the outbreak of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), which ended with the British in full possession of the region.

B.

Pennsylvania and the American War of Independence

With the close of the French and Indian War in 1763, Britain’s imperial policy shifted towards stricter regulation of colonial trade. Dissatisfaction with this policy and with the imposition of unpopular taxes by the British government caused increasing sentiment in favour of independence among many Americans in the early 1770s. In Pennsylvania, a split developed between an anti-British party, led by Benjamin Franklin and John Dickinson, and a pro-British faction under Joseph Galloway. In 1774, with the imperial relationship deteriorating, the legislature, under Galloway’s leadership, offered to host an intercolonial conference (the First Continental Congress) as a means of restoring goodwill between the colonies and England. Contrary to Galloway’s expectations, the Congress rejected his plan of union, accepting instead the Suffolk Resolves, which denounced British policy, and adopting a commercial boycott against British merchandise. The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia the following year. Just before the session began, fighting broke out between the colonists and British troops in Massachusetts, marking the beginning of the American War of Independence (1775-1783). In January 1776, Thomas Paine, a transplanted Englishman living in Philadelphia, published Common Sense, a revolutionary political tract advocating separation from Britain. The conservative Pennsylvania assembly continued to support royal dominance until July 2, 1776, when it narrowly approved the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Congress two days later.

Philadelphia, the capital of the new nation, was occupied by the British from September 1777 to May 1778; during that period the Congress met in the nearby town of York, while the American army suffered starvation, freezing weather, and rampant diseases at Valley Forge. Wartime financial needs induced Congress to establish the Bank of North America in Philadelphia. Chartered in 1781, it was the first commercial bank in the world.

C.

Pennsylvania in the Early Republic

In 1787 the need was felt for a stronger federal government than was provided for by the Articles of Confederation (1781); Pennsylvania banking and mercantile interests helped pave the way for the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution adopted by the convention. Under the new government, banking activities were centred at Philadelphia with the chartering of the Bank of the United States.

The western region developed rapidly, especially in those areas with access to Pittsburgh. Challenged by Baltimore’s better transport connections with the Ohio Valley and the construction of the Erie Canal in New York State, Pennsylvania launched a grandiose road- and canal-building programme in the first half of the 19th century. This programme enhanced the state’s position as the nation’s foremost supplier of timber, coal, and iron to a world market; it was followed by the construction of a railway system connecting all parts of the state.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, expanded as a manufacturing centre. In addition to being the world’s largest manufacturer of pharmaceutical chemicals by 1850, the city produced iron machinery and tools, textiles, window glass, furniture, carriages, and ships, and remained important in printing and publishing. The face and economy of America were transformed after 1859 with the discovery of oil at Titusville. Initially used for medicinal and illumination purposes, it spurred regional growth, as well as expansion of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and led to the creation of the refinery industry and the development of multi-million-dollar corporations. The combination of coal and iron resources, oil, and a transport network made Pennsylvania a leading industrial state.

Politically, Pennsylvania was regarded as primarily Democratic prior to the American Civil War, but a long-standing opposition to slavery moved the state into the Republican ranks by 1860. During the war, periodic raids occurred within its southern tier, and a Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 ended with the Union victory at Gettysburg.

D.

Pennsylvania Since the Civil War

The Republicans maintained control of the state for some 50 years after 1865. Significantly, during that period Simon Cameron, Matthew S. Quay, Bois Penrose, and other Pennsylvania political leaders held important national positions from which they could wield support and provide protection for Pennsylvania’s rising industries.

Industrial enterprises needed armies of workers, and these were supplied through immigration. Before the 1880s, most of the new workforce came from Ireland, France, Germany, England, and Scandinavia. Wave upon wave of immigrants then came from Italy, Poland, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. Since the late 1920s, some of Pennsylvania’s labour needs have been filled by blacks migrating from the South. While it remains an industrialized state, Pennsylvania has not had a significant upsurge in population since the end of World War I. The important change has been a redistribution of manufacturing activities from the older cities to smaller plants scattered throughout the countryside, which came about with the introduction of the motor car. In its population distribution, Pennsylvania is only slightly more urban today than it was in 1920. As a result in the 1990s much of the state retains a forested and rural atmosphere exemplifying nature’s bounty as first viewed by the colonial settlers.

On September 11, 2001, a hijacked passenger plane—believed to have been headed for the White House, Camp David, or the US Capitol Building—crashed in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all those on board.