History Of Pennsylvania
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The history of Pennsylvania stems back thousands of years when the first
indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
occupied the area of what is now Pennsylvania. In 1681, Pennsylvania became an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
colony when
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
received a royal deed from
King Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of King of England, England, Scotland and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II ...
. Although European activity in the region precedes that date (the area was first colonized by the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
in 1643). The area was home to the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
, Susquehannocks,
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
,
Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
,
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
, Arandiqiouia, and other American Indian tribes. Most of these tribes were driven off or reduced to remnants as a result of diseases, such as smallpox. The
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
took control of the colony in 1667. In 1681, William Penn, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, established a colony based on religious tolerance; it was settled by many
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
along with its chief city Philadelphia, which was also the first planned city. In the mid-1700s, the colony attracted many
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and Scots-Irish immigrants. Pennsylvania played a central role in the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, and
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
served as the nation's capital for a portion of the
18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...
. During the
19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...
, Pennsylvania would grow into its northwestern, northeastern, and southwestern borders with
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
becoming one of America's largest and most prominent cities for a period of time. The state played an important role in the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
's victory in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Following the war, Pennsylvania grew into a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
stronghold politically and a major manufacturing and transportation center. During the
20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear ...
, after the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in the 1940s, Pennsylvania moved towards the service and financial industries economically and became a
swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pre ...
politically. In 2022,
Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...
became the second Jewish governor-elect of Pennsylvania and will take office in January 2023.


Pre-Columbian era

Pennsylvania's history of human habitation extends to thousands of years before the foundation of the
Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...
.
Archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s generally believe that the first
settlement of the Americas The settlement of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of ...
occurred at least 15,000 years ago during the last glacial period, though it is unclear when humans first entered the area known as Pennsylvania. There is an open debate in the archaeological community regarding when the ancestors of Native Americans expanded across the two continents down to the tip of South America, with possibilities ranging between 30,000 and 10,500 years ago. The
Meadowcroft Rockshelter Meadowcroft Rockshelter is an archaeological site located near Avella in Jefferson Township, Pennsylvania. The site is a rock shelter in a bluff overlooking Cross Creek (a tributary of the Ohio River), and contains evidence that the area may ha ...
contains the earliest known signs of human activity in Pennsylvania, and perhaps all of North America, as it contains the remains of a civilization that existed over 10,000 years ago and possibly pre-dated the
Clovis culture The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleoamerican culture, named for distinct stone and bone tools found in close association with Pleistocene fauna, particularly two mammoths, at Blackwater Locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, in 1936 ...
.Ancient Pa. Dwelling Still Dividing Archaeologists
/ref> By 1000 C.E., in contrast to their nomadic
hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
, the native population of Pennsylvania had developed agricultural techniques and a mixed food economy. The best information we have detailing Pennsylvania's prehistory comes from a mix of oral history and archaeology, which pushes the known record back another 500 years or so. Before the Iroquois pushed out from the St. Lawrence River region, Pennsylvania appears to have been populated primarily by Algonquians and Siouans. We know from archaeology that the Monongahela had a far more vast territory at the time and the Iroquois Book of Rites shows that there were Siouans along Lake Erie's southern shores as well. The Iroquois collectively called them the Alligewi (better written Adegowe), or Mound Builders. It is said that this is where the term Allegheny comes from (Adegoweni). Two groups of migrating Iroquoians moved through the region—an Iroquois related group who spread west along the Great Lakes and a Tuscarora related group who followed the coast straight south. The Eries were the next to split off from the Iroquois and may have once held northwestern Pennsylvania. An offshoot of them crossed the Ohio and fought back the ancient Monongahela, but later merged with the Susquahannocks to form a single, expanded territory. (Europeans later said that they used the terms White Minqua and Black Minqua to differentiate their ancestries from one another.) A whole other Iroquoian tribe, the Petun, are believed to be Huron related and entered the region after, wedging in between the Eries and Iroquois. By the time that
European colonization of the Americas During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short ter ...
began, several Native American tribes inhabited the region. The
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
spoke an Algonquian language, and inhabited an area known as the
Lenapehoking Lenapehoking (Unami: ''Lënapehòkink'') is widely translated as ' homelands of the Lenape', which in the 16th and 17th centuries, ranged along the Eastern seaboard from western Connecticut to Delaware, and encompassed the territory adjacent to th ...
, which was mostly made up of the state of New Jersey, but incorporated a lot of surrounding area, including eastern Pennsylvania. Their territory ended somewhere between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, within the state bounds. The
Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern p ...
spoke an
Iroquoian language The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
and held a region spanning from New York to West Virginia, that went from the area surrounding the Susquehanna River all the way to the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers (about level with modern-day Pittsburgh). European disease and constant warfare with several neighbors and groups of Europeans weakened these tribes, and they were grossly outpaced financially as the Hurons and Iroquois blocked them from proceeding into Ohio during the Beaver Wars. As they lost numbers and land, they abandoned much of their western territory and moved closer to the Susquehanna River and the Iroquois and Mohawk to the north. Northwest of the Allegheny River was the Iroquoian
Petun The Petun (from french: pétun), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati ("People Among the Hills/Mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the woodlands of eastern North America. Their last known traditional homeland was sout ...
, known mostly for their vast Tobacco plantations, although this is believed to be complete fabrication. They were fragmented into three groups during the Beaver Wars—the Petun of New York, the Wyandot of Ohio and the Tiontatecaga of the Kanawha River in southern West Virginia. (Their much grander than previously thought size evidenced by Kentatentonga being used on the Jean Louis Baptiste Franquelin map, a known name for Petun, showing them with Pennsylvania bounds and with 19 villages destroyed and the use of Tiontatecaga, mimicking the Petun autonym, Tionontati) South of the Alleghany River was, allegedly, a nation known as the Calicua (probably Kah-dee-kwuh), or Cali. They may have been the same as the
Monongahela Culture The Monongahela culture were an Iroquoian Native American cultural manifestation of Late Woodland peoples from AD 1050 to 1635 in present-day western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern Ohio, and West Virginia. The culture was named by Mary ...
and very little is known about them, except that they were probably a Siouan culture. Archaeological sites from this time in this region are scarce and the very few historical sources even mention them—most of these sources only coming from those who met Calicua traders further east on the Allegheny. Early on, a tribe known as the Trokwae were said to have settled among the westernmost Susquehannocks, along the Ohio River. They may be the same as the
Tockwogh The Tockwogh were an Algonquian tribe first encountered in 1608 by Captain John Smith's party after being informed about them by the Massawomekes (Iroquois). The name Tockwogh is a variation of tuckahoe, a water plant with bulbous roots used f ...
, a small Iroquoian tribe from the Delmarva Peninsula (In many surviving Iroquoian languages, 'r' is silent.). They, however, did not survive the Beaver Wars. During that time, the highly influential Mohawks seceded from the Iroquois Confederacy and the remaining four tribes—Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga and Oneida—began attacking into Ohio, destroying the Petun and other tribes, then the Erie. Later, after their war with the Susquehannocks ended in the 1670s, they pushed straight south from New York and began attacking other tribes of Virginia. In the end, the French pushed the Iroquois back to the Ohio-PA border, where they were finally convinced to sign a peace treaty in 1701. They sold off much of their remaining, extended lands to the English, but kept a large section along the Susquahanna River for themselves, which they allowed refugees of other tribes to settle in towns, such as Shamokin—such as Lenape, Tutelo, Saponi, Piscataway and Nanticoke, to name but a few. Around the onset of the French-Indian War, the English Ambassador to the Iroquois, William Johnson, was able to repair relations between the Iroquois and Mohawk and the nation re-unified. In the 1750s, the refugee tribes were relocated to New York, where they were roughly reorganized along cultural lines into three new Tutelo, Delaware and Nanticoke tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy. In the 1680s, due to conflicts with the sons of William Penn resulted in the
Walking Purchase The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape native Indians (also known as the Delaware Ind ...
and after the English conquered the colony of New Netherland, the majority of the Lenape were relocated to northeastern Ohio, immediately prior to that very region being conquered by the French. Other tribes would pass through, such as the first
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
, after they broke away from the Virginian Algonquian tribes along the east coast. They soon after merged with other tribes in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia to form a massive confederacy that held much of the eastern Ohio River Valley until the Shawnee Wars in 1811–1813. Like the other indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Native Americans of Pennsylvania suffered from a massive loss in population caused by disease following the beginning of the
Columbian Exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) in ...
in 1492. The
Monongahela culture The Monongahela culture were an Iroquoian Native American cultural manifestation of Late Woodland peoples from AD 1050 to 1635 in present-day western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern Ohio, and West Virginia. The culture was named by Mary ...
of southwestern Pennsylvania suffered such large losses that it was nearly extinct by the time Europeans arrived in the region in the 17th century.


Early colonization

Long-term European
exploration of the Americas The exploration of the Americas includes: * Exploration of North America ** Age of Discovery#Exploring North America ** Timeline of the European colonization of North America **Colonial history of the United States *Exploration of South America ** ...
commenced after the 1492 expedition of
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
, and the 1497 expedition of
John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North ...
is credited with discovering continental North America for Europeans. European exploration of North America continued in the 16th century, and the area now known as Pennsylvania was mapped by the French and labeled ''L'arcadia'', or "wooded coast", during
Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic ...
's voyage in 1524. Even before large-scale European settlement, the Native American tribes in Pennsylvania engaged in trade with Europeans, and the
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
was a major motivation for the European colonization of North America. The fur trade also sparked wars among Native American tribes, including the
Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...
, which saw the
Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
rise in power. In the 17th century, the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
,
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
all competed for southeastern Pennsylvania, while the French expanded into parts of
western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
. In 1638, the
Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
, then one of the
great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...
s in Europe, established the colony of
New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...
in the area of the present-day Mid-Atlantic states. The colony was established by
Peter Minuit Peter Minuit (between 1580 and 1585 – August 5, 1638) was a Wallonian merchant from Tournai, in present-day Belgium. He was the 3rd Director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New N ...
, the former governor of
New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
, who established the fur trading colony over the objections of the Dutch. New Sweden extended into modern-day Pennsylvania, and was centered on the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
with a capital at
Fort Christina Fort Christina (also called Fort Altena) was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, it was located approximately 1 mi (1.6 ...
(near
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
). In 1643, New Sweden Governor
Johan Björnsson Printz Johan Björnsson Printz (July 20, 1592 – May 3, 1663) was governor from 1643 until 1653 of the Swedish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River in North America. Early life in Sweden He was born in Bottnaryd, Jönköping County, in the pro ...
established Fort Nya Gothenburg, the first European settlement in Pennsylvania, on Tinicum Island. Printz also built his own home,
The Printzhof The Printzhof, located in Governor Printz Park in Essington, Pennsylvania, was the home of Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden. In 1643, Johan Printz moved his capital from Fort Christina (located in what is now Wilmington, Delaware) ...
, on the island. In 1609, the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
, in the midst of the
Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...
, commissioned
Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...
to explore North America. Shortly thereafter, the Dutch established the colony of
New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
to profit from the
North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...
. In 1655, during the
Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...
, the Dutch under
Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...
captured
New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...
. Although Sweden never again controlled land in the area, several Swedish and
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
colonists remained, and with their influence came America's first
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...
s. The
Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On 1 ...
had established the
Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
in 1607 and the adjacent
Colony of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryla ...
in 1632. England also claimed the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
watershed based on the explorations of
John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North ...
, John Smith, and
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
. The English named the Delaware River for
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1577 – 7 June 1618), was an English merchant and politician, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. He wa ...
, the Governor of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
from 1610 until 1618. During the
Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...
(1665–1667), the English took control of the Dutch (and former Swedish) holdings in North America. At the end of the
Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...
, the 1674 Treaty of Westminster permanently confirmed England's control of the region. Following the voyages of
Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic ...
and
Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...
, the French established a permanent colony in
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
in the 17th century to exploit the
North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...
. During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the French expanded New France across present day Eastern Canada into the
Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...
, and colonized the areas around the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
as well. New France expanded into
western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
by the 18th century, as the French built
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
to defend the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
valley. With the end of the Swedish and Dutch colonies, the French were the last rivals to the British for control of the region that would become Pennsylvania. France was often
allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
with Spain, the only other remaining European power with holdings in continental North America. Beginning in 1688 with
King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
(part of the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
), France and England engaged in a series of wars for dominance over Northern America. The wars continued until the end of the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
in 1763, when France lost
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
.


Colonial period

On March 4, 1681,
Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
granted the
Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...
to
William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
to settle a debt of £16,000 (around £2,100,000 in 2008, adjusting for retail inflation) that the king owed to Penn's father. Penn founded a
proprietary colony A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial prop ...
that provided a place of religious freedom for
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
s. Charles named the colony ''Pennsylvania'' ("Penn's woods" in Latin), after the elder Penn, which the younger Penn found embarrassing, as he feared people would think he had named the colony after himself. Penn landed in North America in October 1682, and founded the colonial capital,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, that same year. In addition to English Quakers, Pennsylvania attracted several other ethnic and religious groups, many of whom were fleeing persecution and the religious wars.
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
Quakers settled a large tract of land north and west of Philadelphia, in what are now Montgomery,
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, and
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
counties. This area became known as the " Welsh Tract", and many cities and towns were named for points in Wales. The colony's reputation of religious freedom and tolerance also attracted significant populations of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, Scots-Irish, Scots, and French settlers. Many of the settlers worshiped a brand of Christianity disfavored by the government of their homeland;
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...
,
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
, Calvinists, Mennonites and Catholics all migrated to Pennsylvania. Other groups, including Anglicans and Jews, migrated to Pennsylvania, while Pennsylvania also had a significant African-American population by 1730. Additionally, several Native American tribes lived in the area under their own jurisdiction. Settlers of Swedish Americans, Swedish and
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
colonies that had been taken over by the British continued to live in the region. To give his new province access to the ocean, Penn had leased the proprietary rights of the King Charles II of England, Charles II's brother, James II of England, James, Duke of York, to the "three lower counties" (now the state of Delaware) on the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
. In Penn's ''Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, Frame of Government of 1682'', Penn established a combined assembly by providing for equal membership from each county and requiring legislation to have the assent of both the Delaware, Lower Counties and the Pennsylvania, Upper Counties. The meeting place for the assembly alternated between Philadelphia and New Castle, Delaware, New Castle. In 1704, after disagreements between the upper and lower counties, the lower counties began meeting in a separate assembly. Province of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania and Delaware Colony, Delaware continued to share the same royal governor until the American Revolutionary War, when both Pennsylvania and Delaware became states. Penn died in 1718, and was succeeded as List of colonial governors of Pennsylvania, proprietor of the colony by his sons. While Penn had won the respect of the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
for his honest dealing, Penn's sons and agents were less sensitive to Native American concerns. The 1737
Walking Purchase The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape native Indians (also known as the Delaware Ind ...
expanded the colony, but caused a decline in relations with the
Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
. Pennsylvania continued to expand and settle in the areas to the West until the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which forbade all settlers from settling on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. Meanwhile,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
became an important port and trading center. The University of Pennsylvania was founded during this period, and Benjamin Franklin established various other organizations such as the American Philosophical Society, the Union Fire Company, and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. By the start of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
was the largest city in British North America. The western portions of Pennsylvania were among disputed territory between the colonial British and French during the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
(the North American component of the Seven Years' War). The French had established numerous fortified sites in Pennsylvania, including Fort Le Boeuf, Fort Presque Isle, Fort Machault, and the pivotal
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
, located near the present site of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Many Indian tribes were Franco-Indian alliance, allied with the French because of their long trading history and opposition to the expansion of the British colonies. The conflict began near the present site of Uniontown, Pennsylvania when a company of Virginia militia under the command of George Washington ambushed a French force at the Battle of Jumonville Glen in 1754. Washington retreated to Fort Necessity and surrendered to a larger French force at the Battle of Fort Necessity. In 1755, the British sent Braddock Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, but the expedition ended in failure after the British lost the Battle of the Monongahela near present-day Braddock, Pennsylvania. In 1758, the British sent the Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. The French won the Battle of Fort Duquesne, but after the battle the outnumbered French force demolished Fort Duquesne and retreated from the area. Fighting in North America had mostly come to an end by 1760, but the war continued until the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763), Treaty of Paris in 1763. Great Britain in the Seven Years War, Britain's victory in the war helped secure Pennsylvania's frontier, as the Ohio Country came under formal British control. Although
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
was no more, the French would deal their British rivals a major blow in the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
by Franco-American alliance, aiding the rebel cause. During the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, Pennsylvania settlers experienced raids from Indian allies of the French. The settlers' pleas for military relief were stymied by a power struggle in Philadelphia between Governor Robert Hunter Morris, Robert Morris and the Pennsylvania Assembly. Morris wanted to send military forces to the frontier, but the Assembly, whose leadership included Benjamin Franklin, refused to grant the funds unless Morris agreed to the taxation of the proprietary lands, the vast tracts still owned by the Penn family and others. The dispute was finally settled, and military relief sent, when the owners of the proprietary lands sent 5,000 pounds to the colonial government, on condition that it was considered a free gift and not a down payment on taxes. Shortly after the end of the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, Indians attempted to drive the British out of Ohio country in Pontiac's Rebellion. The war, which began in 1763, saw heavy fighting in
western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
. The native forces were defeated in the Battle of Bushy Run. The war lasted until 1766, when the British made peace. During the war, the king issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, Proclamation Act. The act barred Americans from any settling west of the Appalachians, and reserved that Indian Reserve (1763), territory for the Native Americans. Fighting between Native Americans and Americans in present-day Pennsylvania continued in Lord Dunmore's War and the western theater of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. Native American tribes ceased to pose a military threat to European settlers in Pennsylvania after the conclusion of the Northwest Indian War in 1795. By the mid-18th century Pennsylvania was basically a middle-class colony with limited deference to the small upper-class. A writer in the ''The Pennsylvania Journal, Pennsylvania Journal'' in 1756 summed it up: :The People of this Province are generally of the middling Sort, and at present pretty much upon a Level. They are chiefly industrious Farmers, Artificers or Men in Trade; they enjoy in are fond of Freedom, and the ''meanest among them'' thinks he has a right to Civility from the greatest.


American Revolution and early government

Pennsylvania's residents generally supported the protests common to all 13 colonies after the Royal Proclamation of 1763, Proclamation of 1763 and the Stamp Act 1765, Stamp Act were passed, and Pennsylvania sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 Philadelphia hosted the First Continental Congress, first and Second Continental Congress, second Continental Congresses, the latter of which resulted in the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence in Independence Hall (United States), Independence Hall in 1776. Pennsylvania was the site of several battles and military activities during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, including George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, the Battle of Brandywine, and the Battle of Germantown. During the Philadelphia campaign, the rebel army of George Washington spent the winter of 1777–78 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In 1781, the Articles of Confederation were written and adopted in York, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia continued to serve as the List of capitals in the United States#United States of America, capital of the fledgling nation until the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783. Notable Pennsylvanians who Patriot (American Revolution), supported the Revolution include Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, Anthony Wayne, Samuel Van Leer, James Wilson (Founding Father), James Wilson, and Thomas Mifflin. However, Pennsylvania was also home to numerous Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalists, including Joseph Galloway, William Allen (loyalist), William Allen, and the Doan Outlaws. After elections in May 1776 returned old guard Assemblymen to office, the Second Continental Congress encouraged Pennsylvania to call delegates together to discuss a new form of governance. Delegates met in June in Philadelphia, where events (the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence) soon overtook assemblymen's efforts to control the delegates and the outcome of their discussions. On July 8 attendees elected delegates to write a Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, state constitution. A committee was formed with Benjamin Franklin as chair and George Bryan and James Cannon (mathematician), James Cannon as prominent members. The convention proclaimed a new constitution on September 28, 1776, and called for new elections. Elections in 1776 turned the old assemblymen out of power. But the new constitution lacked a governor or upper legislative house to provide checks against popular movements. It also required test oaths, which kept the opposition from taking office. The constitution called for a unicameral legislature or Assembly. Executive authority rested in a ''Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Supreme Executive Council'' whose members were to be appointed by the assembly. In elections during 1776, radicals gained control of the Assembly. By early 1777, they selected an executive council, and Thomas Wharton Jr. was named as the president of the council. This constitution was never formally adopted, so government was on an ad hoc basis until a new constitution could be written fourteen years later. In 1780, Pennsylvania passed a An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, law that provided for the gradual Abolitionism in the United States, abolition of slavery, making Pennsylvania the first state to pass an act to abolish slavery (although Vermont Republic, Vermont had also previously abolished slavery). Children born after that date to slave mothers were considered legally free, but they were bound in indentured servitude to the master of their mother until the age of 28. The last slave was recorded in the state in 1847. Six years after the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, delegates from across the country met again at the Philadelphia Convention to establish a new constitution. Pennsylvania ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787, and was the second state to do so after Delaware. The Constitution took effect after eleven states had ratified the document in 1788, and George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States on March 4, 1789. After the passage of the Residence Act, Philadelphia again served as the List of capitals in the United States#United States of America, capital of the nation from 1790 to 1800, before the capital was permanently moved to Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania ratified a new state constitution in 1790; the constitution replaced the executive council with a List of governors of Pennsylvania, governor and a Pennsylvania General Assembly, bicameral legislature.


Westward expansion and land speculation

Pennsylvania's borders took definitive shape in the decades before and after the Revolutionary War. The Mason–Dixon line established the borders between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and was later extended to serve as the border between Pennsylvania and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
(except for what is now Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, West Virginia's northern panhandle). Although some settlers proposed the creation of the state of Westsylvania in the area that now contains
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania retained control of the region. The first Treaty of Fort Stanwix and the Treaty of Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania), Fort McIntosh saw Native Americans relinquish claims on present-day southwestern Pennsylvania. The Treaty of Paris (1783) granted the United States independence, and also saw Great Britain give up its land claims in the neighboring Ohio Country, although most of these lands ultimately became new states under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. In the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784), second Treaty of Fort Stanwix, Pennsylvania gained control of northwestern Pennsylvania from the Iroquois League. The New York–Pennsylvania border was established in 1787. Pennsylvania purchased the Erie Triangle from the federal government in 1792. In 1799, the Pennamite–Yankee War came to an end, as Pennsylvania kept control of the Wyoming Valley despite the presence of settlers from Connecticut. After the United States government granted land to Revolutionary War soldiers for military service, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a general land act on April 3, 1792. It authorized the sale and distribution of the large remaining tracts of land east and west of the Allegheny River in hopes of sparking development of the vast territory. The process was an uneven affair, prompting much speculation but little settlement. Most veteran soldiers sold their shares sight unseen under market value, and many investors were ultimately ruined. The East Allegheny district consisted of lands in Potter County, Pennsylvania, Potter, McKean County, Pennsylvania, McKean, Cameron County, Pennsylvania, Cameron, Elk County, Pennsylvania, Elk, and Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Jefferson counties, at the time worthless tracts. West Allegheny district was made up of lands in Erie County, Pennsylvania, Erie, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Crawford, Warren County, Pennsylvania, Warren, and Venango County, Pennsylvania, Venango counties, relatively good investments at the time. Three major land companies participated in the land speculation that followed. Holland Land Company and its agent, Theophilus Cazenove, acquired of East Allegheny district land and of West Allegheny land from Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice James Wilson (Founding Father), James Wilson. The Pennsylvania Population Company and its president, Pennsylvania State Comptroller General John Nicholson, controlled of land, mostly in Erie County and the Beaver River (Pennsylvania), Beaver Valley. The North American Land Company and its patron, Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, held some Pennsylvania lands but was vested mostly in upstate New York, former Iroquois territory. The Whiskey Rebellion, centered in Western Pennsylvania, was one of the first major challenges to the new federal government under the United States Constitution. From 1791 to 1794, farmers rebelled against an excise tax on distilled spirits, and prevented federal officials from collecting the tax. In 1794, President George Washington led a 15,000-soldier militia force into Western Pennsylvania to put down the rebellion, and most rebels returned home before the huge militia force arrived.


Early 19th century

Pennsylvania, one of the largest states in the country, always had the Electoral College (United States), second most electoral votes from 1796 to 1960. From 1789 to 1880, the state only Political party strength in Pennsylvania, voted for two losing presidential candidates: Thomas Jefferson (in 1796 United States presidential election, 1796) and Andrew Jackson (in the unusual 1824 United States presidential election, 1824 election). The Democratic-Republicans dominated the state for most of the First Party System, as the Federalist Party, Federalists experienced little success in the state after the 1800 United States presidential election, 1800 election. Pennsylvania generally supported Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Second Party System (1828–54), although the Whig Party (United States), Whigs Political party strength in Pennsylvania, won several elections in the 1840s and 1850s. The Anti-Masonic Party was perhaps Pennsylvania's most successful third party, as it Political party strength in Pennsylvania, elected Pennsylvania's only third-party Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1835, governor (Joseph Ritner) and several congressmen in the 1830s. Several Pennsylvanians fought in the War of 1812, including Jacob Brown, John Barry (naval officer), John Barry, and Stephen Decatur. Decatur, who served in both Barbary Wars and the Quasi-War, was one of America's first post-American Revolutionary War, Revolution war heroes. Commodore (United States), Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry earned the title "Hero of Lake Erie" after building a fleet at Erie, Pennsylvania and defeating the British at the Battle of Lake Erie. Pennsylvanians such as David Conner (naval officer), David Conner fought in the Mexican–American War, and Pennsylvania raised two regiments for the war. Pennsylvania Congressman David Wilmot earned national prominence for the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
continued to be one of the Largest cities in the United States by population by decade, most populous cities in the country, and it was the second largest city after New York City for most of the 19th century. In 1854, the Act of Consolidation, 1854, Act of Consolidation consolidated the city and county of Philadelphia. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Franklin Institute were founded during this period. Philadelphia served as the home of the Bank of North America and its successors, the First Bank of the United States, First and Second Bank of the United States, all three of which served as the History of central banking in the United States, central bank of the United States. Philadelphia was also home to the first stock exchange, museum, insurance company, and medical school in the new nation. Settlers continued to cross the Allegheny Mountains. Pennsylvanians built many new roads, and the National Road cut through Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania also saw the construction of thousands of miles of rail, and the Pennsylvania Railroad became one of the largest railroads in the world.
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
grew into an important town West of the Alleghenies, although the Great Fire of Pittsburgh devastated the town in the 1840s. In 1834, Pennsylvania completed construction on the Main Line of Public Works, a railroad and canal system that stretched across southern Pennsylvania, connecting
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. In 1812, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg was named the capital of the state, providing a more central location than Philadelphia. Pennsylvania had established itself as the largest food producer in the country by the 1720s, and Pennsylvania agriculture experienced a "golden age" from 1790 to 1840. In 1820, agriculture provided 90 percent of the employment in Pennsylvania. Farm equipment manufacturers sprang up across the state as inventors across the world pioneered new equipment and techniques, and Pennsylvanians such as Frederick Watts were a part of this scientific approach to farming. Pennsylvania farmers lost some of their political power as other industries emerged in the state, but even in the 2000s agriculture remains one of Pennsylvania's major industries. In 1834, Governor George Wolf signed the Free Schools Act, which created a system of state-regulated school districts. The state created the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Department of Education to oversee these schools. In 1857, the Normal School Act laid the foundation for the creation of normal schools to train teachers. Several Pennsylvania politicians gained national renown. Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania served as the nation's first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Albert Gallatin served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of the Treasury from 1801 to 1814. Democrat James Buchanan, the first and only President of the United States from Pennsylvania, took office in 1857 and served until 1861.


Civil War

Prior to and during the American Civil War, Civil War, Pennsylvania was a divided state. Although Pennsylvania had outlawed slavery, many conservative Pennsylvanians believed that the federal government should not interfere with the Slavery in the United States, institution of slavery. One such individual was Democrat James Buchanan, the last pre-Civil War president. Buchanan's party had generally won List of United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania, presidential and List of Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections, gubernatorial elections in Pennsylvania. However, the nascent Republican Party's 1856 Republican National Convention, first convention took place in Philadelphia, and the 1860 elections saw the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party win the state's presidential vote and the governor's office. After the failure of the Crittenden Compromise, the Ordinance of Secession, secession of the South, and the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Civil War began with Pennsylvania as a key member of the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. Despite the Republican victory in the 1860 election, Democrats remained powerful in the state, and several "copperheads (politics), copperheads" called for peace during the war. The Democrats re-took control of the state legislature in the 1862 election, but incumbent Republican Governor Andrew Curtin retained control of the governorship in 1863 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1863. In the 1864 United States presidential election, 1864 election, President Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln narrowly defeated Pennsylvania native George B. McClellan for the state's electoral votes. Pennsylvania was the target of several raids by the Confederate States Army. J.E.B. Stuart made cavalry raids in 1862 and 1863; John Imboden raided in 1863 and John McCausland in 1864, when his troopers burned the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Chambersburg. However, easily the most famous and important military engagement in Pennsylvania was the Battle of Gettysburg, which is considered by many historians as the Turning point of the American Civil War, major turning point of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. The battle, called "the High-water mark of the Confederacy, high water mark of the Confederacy", was a major union victory in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, Eastern theater of the war, and the Confederacy was generally on the defensive following the battle. Dead from this battle rest at Gettysburg National Cemetery, established at the site of Abraham Lincoln's ''Gettysburg Address''. A number of smaller engagements were also fought in the state during the Gettysburg Campaign, including the battles of Battle of Hanover, Hanover, Battle of Carlisle, Carlisle, Battle of Hunterstown, Hunterstown, and the Battle of Fairfield, Fairfield. Pennsylvania's Thaddeus Stevens and William D. Kelley emerged as leading members of the Radical Republicans, a group of Republicans that advocated winning the war, abolishing slavery, and protecting the civil rights of African-Americans during Reconstruction Era, Reconstruction. Pennsylvania generals who served in the war include George G. Meade, Winfield Scott Hancock, John Hartranft, and John F. Reynolds. List of governors of Pennsylvania, Governor Andrew Curtin strongly supported the war and War Governors' Conference, urged his fellow governors to do the same, while former Pennsylvania Senator Simon Cameron served as United States Secretary of War, Secretary of War before his removal.


Post-Civil War to the Roaring Twenties

Following the American Civil War, Civil War, the Republican Party exercised strong control over politics in the state, as Republicans Political party strength in Pennsylvania, won almost every election during the Third Party System (1854–1894) and the Party System (1896–1930). Pennsylvania remained one of the most populous states in the Union, and the state's Electoral College (United States), large number of electoral votes helped Republicans dominate presidential elections from 1860 to 1928. Only once during that period did Pennsylvania List of United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania, vote for a presidential candidate that was not a Republican (the lone exception was former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 United States presidential election, 1912). The Republican Party was nearly as dominant in List of Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections, gubernatorial elections, as Robert E. Pattison was the lone non-Republican to win election as governor between 1860 and 1930. In the 1870s, Pennsylvanians embraced the constitutional reform movement that was sweeping across several states, and Pennsylvania passed a new constitution in 1874. The state created the office of Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, lieutenant governor and made the offices of Pennsylvania Auditor, state auditor and Pennsylvania Treasurer, state treasurer into elective offices. The term of the List of governors of Pennsylvania, Governor of Pennsylvania was extended to four years, but the governor was prohibited from serving two consecutive terms. The Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Republican party was led by a series of bosses, including founder Simon Cameron, his son J. Donald Cameron, Matthew Quay, and Boies Penrose. Quay in particular was one of the dominant political figures of his era, as he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee and helped place Theodore Roosevelt on the 1900 Republican ticket. Following Penrose's death in the 1920s, no one boss dominated the state party, but Pennsylvania Republicans continued to be significantly more powerful than the Democrats until the 1950s. Although the party bosses dominated politics, the Republicans also had a reform movement that challenged the power of the bosses. Many Pennsylvanians supported the Progressivism in the United States, Progressive movement, including Philander C. Knox, Gifford Pinchot, and John Tener. Several new state agencies were established during this time, including the Department of Welfare and the Department of Labor and Industry. Pennsylvanians twice rejected an amendment to the state constitution that would have granted Women's suffrage in the United States, women the right to vote, but the state was one of the first to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote nationwide. The era after the Civil War, known as the Gilded Age, saw the continued rise of industry in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was home to some of the largest steel companies in the world, as Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie Steel Company and Charles M. Schwab founded the Bethlehem Steel. Other titans of industry, such as John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould, also operated in the state. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil industry was born in western Pennsylvania, which supplied the vast majority of kerosene for years thereafter. As the Pennsylvanian oil rush developed, the oil boom towns, such as Titusville, Pennsylvania, Titusville, rose and fell. Coal mining was also a major industry in the state. In 1903, Milton S. Hershey began construction on a chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania; The Hershey Company would become the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. The Heinz Company was also founded during this period. These huge companies exercised a large influence on the politics of Pennsylvania; as Henry Demarest Lloyd put it, oil baron John D. Rockefeller "had done everything with the Pennsylvania legislature except refine it". Pennsylvania created a Department of Highways and engaged in a vast program of road-building, while railroads continued to see heavy usage. The growth of industry eventually provided middle-class incomes to working-class households, after the development of labor unions helped them gain living wages. However, the rise of unions led to a rise of union busting, with several private police forces springing up. Pennsylvania was the location of the first documented organized strike in North America, and Pennsylvania experienced the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Coal Strike of 1902. Eventually, the eight-hour day was adopted, and the "coal and iron police" were banned. During this period, the United States was the destination of millions of immigrants. Previous immigration had mostly come from western Europe, western and northern Europe, but during this period Pennsylvania experienced heavy immigration from southern Europe, southern and eastern Europe. As many new immigrants were Catholic and Jewish, they changed the demographics of major cities and industrial areas. Pennsylvania and New York received many of the new immigrants, who entered through New York and Philadelphia and worked in the developing industries. Many of these poor immigrants took jobs in factories, steel mills, and coal mines throughout the state, where they were not restricted because of their lack of English. The availability of jobs and public education systems helped integrate the millions of immigrants and their families, who also retained ethnic cultures. Pennsylvania also experienced the Great Migration (African American), Great Migration, in which millions of African Americans migrated from the southern United States to other locations in the United States. By 1940, African Americans made up almost five percent of the state's population. Even before the Civil War, Pennsylvania had emerged as a center of scientific discovery, and the state, led by its two major urban centers, continued to be a major place of innovation. The state continued to innovate, as Pennsylvanians invented the first iron and steel t-rails, iron bridges, Railway air brake, air brakes, switching signals, and drawn metal wires. Pennsylvanians also contributed to advances in aluminum production, radio, television, airplanes, and farm machinery. During this period,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
emerged as an important center of industry and technological innovation, and George Westinghouse became one of the preeminent inventors of the United States. Philadelphia became one of the leading medical science centers in the nation, although it no longer rivaled New York City as a financial capital. Frederick Winslow Taylor pioneered the field of scientific management, becoming America's first "efficiency engineer". In 1890, Chicago had passed Philadelphia as the List of most populous cities in the United States by decade#1890, second most populous city in the United States, while Pittsburgh rose to the eighth spot after annexing Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Allegheny. Education continued to be a major issue in the state, and the state constitution of 1874 guaranteed an annual appropriation for education. School attendance became compulsory in 1895, and by 1903, school districts were required to either have their own high schools or pay for their residents to attend another high school. Two of Pennsylvania's largest public schools were founded in the mid-to-late 19th century. The Pennsylvania State University was founded in 1855, and in 1863 the school became Pennsylvania's land-grant university under the terms of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts. Temple University in Philadelphia was founded in 1884 by Russell Conwell, originally as a night school for working-class citizens. Other schools, such as Bucknell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Drexel University, Duquesne University, La Salle University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Saint Francis University, Saint Joseph's University, and Villanova University were also founded in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Western University of Pennsylvania had been operating since 1787, but the school changed its name to the University of Pittsburgh in 1908. Additionally, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School was founded in 1879 as the flagship American Indian boarding schools, American Indian boarding school. Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during the Spanish–American War, and many Pennsylvanians fought in the successful campaign against the Spanish in the Philippine Islands. Pennsylvania was an important industrial center in World War I, and the state provided over 300,000 soldiers for the army. Pennsylvanians Tasker H. Bliss, Peyton C. March, and William S. Sims all held important commands during the war. Following the war, the state suffered the effects of the Spanish flu.


The Great Depression and World War II

As with much of the rest of the country, Democrats were much more successful in Pennsylvania during the Fifth Party System than they were in the previous two party systems. The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
finally broke the lock on Republican power in the state, as Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt won Pennsylvania's electoral votes List of United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania, in all three of his re-election campaigns. Roosevelt was the first Democrat to win the state's electoral votes since James Buchanan in 1856. In 1934, Pennsylvania elected Joseph F. Guffey to the Senate and George Howard Earle III, George Earle III as governor; both individuals were the first Democrats elected to either office in the 20th century. Earle, with the help of a Democratic legislature, passed the "Little New Deal" in Pennsylvania, which included several reforms based on the New Deal and relaxed Pennsylvania's strict Blue laws. However, Republicans regained power in the state in the 1938 elections, and Democrats would not win another gubernatorial election until George M. Leader's successful candidacy in 1954 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1954. Earle signed the Pennsylvania State Authority Act in 1936, which would purchase land from the state and add improvements to that land using state loans and grants. The state expected to receive federal grants and loans to fund the project under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in ''Kelly v Earle'', found the Act violated the state constitution. This prevented the state from receiving federal funds for Works Progress Administration projects and making it difficult to lower the extremely high unemployment rate. Pennsylvania, with its large industrial labor force, suffered heavily during the Great Depression. Pennsylvania manufactured 6.6 percent of total United States military armaments produced during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, ranking sixth among the 48 states. The Philadelphia Naval Yard served as an important naval base, and Pennsylvania produced important military leaders such as George Marshall, George C. Marshall, Henry H. Arnold, Hap Arnold, Jacob L. Devers, Jacob Devers, and Carl Spaatz. During the war, over one million Pennsylvanians served in the armed forces, and more Medal of Honor, Medals of Honor were awarded to Pennsylvanians than to individuals from any other state.


1945 to present

The Republican lock on Pennsylvania was permanently broken in the era after World War II, and Pennsylvania became a somewhat less powerful state in terms of electoral votes and number of United States House of Representatives, House seats. Pennsylvania adopted its fifth and Pennsylvania Constitution, current constitution in 1968; the new constitution established a Judiciary of Pennsylvania, unified judicial system and allows governors and the other statewide elected officials to serve two consecutive terms. Between 1954 and 2012, each party consistently won two straight List of Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections, gubernatorial elections before ceding control to the other party. In List of United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania, presidential elections, the Republican Party won Pennsylvania in seven of the eleven elections between 1948 and 1988, but Democrats have won the state in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012. When Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey won Pennsylvania's electoral votes in United States presidential election in Pennsylvania, 1968, 1968, he became the first non-Republican since 1824 to win Pennsylvania's votes without winning the presidential election. After having the List of electoral votes by US state, second most electoral votes since the 18th century, Pennsylvania was eclipsed in electoral votes by California in 1964. Texas and Florida also now have more electoral votes, while New York also has more electoral votes and Illinois has the same number of electoral votes (and a slightly larger List of U.S. states and territories by population, population). , Pennsylvania is generally considered to be an important
swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pre ...
in both presidential and congressional elections, and Pennsylvania has a Cook Partisan Voting Index, Cook PVI of D+1. Since the 1990s, Republicans have Political party strength in Pennsylvania, usually controlled both houses of the legislature, while candidates from both parties have been elected to the statewide offices of List of governors of Pennsylvania, governor, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, lieutenant governor, Pennsylvania Attorney General, attorney general, Pennsylvania Treasurer, treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General, auditor general. Democrats generally win the cities and Republicans win the rural areas, with the suburbs voting for both parties and often acting as the key swing areas. The state was hard-hit by the decline and restructuring of the steel industry and other heavy industries during the late 20th century. With job losses came heavy population losses, especially in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. With the end of mining and the downturn of manufacturing, the state has turned to service industries. Pittsburgh's concentration of universities has enabled it to be a leader in technology and healthcare. Similarly, Philadelphia has a concentration of university expertise. Healthcare, retail, transportation, and tourism are some of the state's growing industries of the postindustrial era. As in the rest of the nation, most residential population growth has occurred in suburban rather than central city areas, although both major cities have had significant revitalization in their downtown areas. Pittsburgh lost its place among the Largest cities in the United States by population by decade, top ten most populous cities in the United States after the 1940s, while Philadelphia is now the fifth largest city after New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. Philadelphia anchors the List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, sixth-largest metropolitan area in the country, while Pittsburgh is the center of the twenty-second largest metro area in the country. The growth of the Lehigh Valley has made it one of the seventy most populous metro areas in the country, while Pennsylvania also has List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, six other metro areas among the top 200 most populous American metro areas. Philadelphia forms part of the Northeast megalopolis and is associated with the Northeastern United States, while Pittsburgh is part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis and is often associated with the Midwestern United States and the Rust Belt. After 1990, as information-based industries became more important in the economy, state and local governments put more resources into the old, well-established public library system. Some localities, however, used new state funding to cut local taxes. New ethnic groups, especially Hispanics, began entering the state to fill low skill jobs in agriculture, and service industries. For example, in Chester County, Mexican migrants brought their Spanish language, Catholic religion, high birth rates and cuisine when they were hired to as agricultural laborers; in some rural localities they made up half the population. Meanwhile Puerto Ricans built a large community in the state's third largest city, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown. They comprised over 40% of the population by 2000. On September 11, 2001, during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on the United States, the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania received worldwide attention after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Stonycreek Township, north of the town, killing all 40 civilians and four al-Qaeda hijackers on board. The hijackers had intended to fly the plane to Washington, D.C. and crash it into either the Capitol or the White House. However, after learning from family members via airphone of the earlier attacks on the World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center, the passengers on board revolted against the hijackers and fought for control of the plane, causing it to crash. It was the only one of the four aircraft hijacked that day that never reached its intended target and the heroism of the passengers has been commemorated.


See also

* History of the Mid-Atlantic States * History of the Northeastern United States * History of Erie, Pennsylvania * History of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania * History of the Townships of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania * History of Pittsburgh * Timeline of Pittsburgh * History of Philadelphia * Timeline of Philadelphia * Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission * Jewish history in Pennsylvania * History of slavery in Pennsylvania * History of Veterinary Medicine in Pennsylvania * History of West Chester, Pennsylvania * History of Williamsport, Pennsylvania * Pennsylvania Woman's Convention at West Chester in 1852 * Women's suffrage in Pennsylvania *List of historical Pennsylvania women *List of Pennsylvania suffragists * List of newspapers in Pennsylvania in the 18th-century * Timeline of Pennsylvania


References


Further reading


Surveys

* Miller, Randall M. and William A. Pencak, eds. ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth'' (2002) detailed scholarly history * Beers, Paul B. ''Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday'' (1980)* * Klein, Philip S and Ari Hoogenboom. ''A History of Pennsylvania'' (1973). * Weigley, Russell. ''Philadelphia: A 300-Year History'' (1982)


Pre 1900

* Alexander, John K. ''Render them Submissive: Responses to Poverty in Philadelphia, 1760–1800'' (1980) * Baldwin, Leland D. ''Pittsburgh: the Story of a City, 1750–1865'' (1937). * Barr, Daniel P. ''A Colony Sprung from Hell: Pittsburgh and the Struggle for Authority on the Western Pennsylvania Frontier, 1744–1794'' (Kent State University Press, 2014); 334 pp. * Buck, Solon J., Clarence McWilliams and Elizabeth Hawthorn Buck. ''The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania'' (1939), social history * Dunaway, Wayland F. ''The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania'' (1944) * Gallman, J. Matthew. ''Mastering Wartime: A Social History of Philadelphia during the Civil War'' (U of Pennsylvania Press, 2000). * Higginbotham, Sanford W. ''The Keystone in the Democratic Arch: Pennsylvania Politics, 1800–1816'' (1952) * Illick Joseph E. ''Colonial Pennsylvania: A History'' (1976) * Ireland, Owen S. ''Religion, Ethnicity, and Politics: Ratifying the Constitution in Pennsylvania'' (1995) * Kehl, James A. ''Boss Rule in the Gilded Age: Matt Quay of Pennsylvania'' * Klees, Fredric. ''The Pennsylvania Dutch'' (1950) * Klein, Philip Shriver. ''Pennsylvania Politics, 1817–1832: A Game without Rules'' (1940) * David McCullough, McCullough, David. ''The Johnstown Flood (book), The Johnstown Flood'' (1968) * Mueller, Henry R. ''The Whig Party in Pennsylvania'' (1922) * Nash, Gary B. ''Forging freedom: The formation of Philadelphia's black community, 1720–1840'' (Harvard University Press, 1988). * Shade, William G. "'Corrupt and Contented': Where Have All the Politicians Gone? A Survey of Recent Books on Pennsylvania Political History, 1787–1877." ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' (2008): 433–451. in JSTOR; historiography * Smith, Billy Gordon. ''The "Lower Sort": Philadelphia's Laboring People, 1750–1800'' (Cornell University Press, 1994). * Snyder, Charles McCool. ''The Jacksonian Heritage: Pennsylvania Politics, 1833–1848'' (1958) * Tinkcom, Harry Marlin. ''The Republicans and Federalists in Pennsylvania, 1790–1801: A Study in National Stimulus and Local Response'' (1950) * Warner, Sam Bass. ''The Private City: Philadelphia in Three Periods of its Growth'' (1968) * Wood, Ralph. et al. ''The Pennsylvania Germans'' (1942) * Wulf, Karin. ''Not All Wives: Women of Colonial Philadelphia''. Cornell University Press, 2000


Since 1900

* Bodnar, John; ''Immigration and Industrialization: Ethnicity in an American Mill Town, 1870–1940'', (1977), on Steelton * Heineman; Kenneth J. ''A Catholic New Deal: Religion and Reform in Depression Pittsburgh'', (1999) *Keller, Richard C., "Pennsylvania's Little New Deal", in John Braeman et al. eds. ''The New Deal: Volume Two – the State and Local Levels'' (1975) pp. 45–76 * Lamis, Renée M. ''The Realignment of Pennsylvania Politics since 1960: Two-Party Competition in a Battleground State'' (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009) 398 pp. * Lubove, Roy. Twentieth-century Pittsburgh: The post-steel era. Vol. 2. University of Pittsburgh Pre, 1995. * McGeary, M. Nelson. ''Gifford Pinchot: Forester-Politician'' (1960) Republican governor 1923–1927 and 1931–1935 * Sandoval, Edgar. ''The New Face of Small-town America: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, Pennsylvania'' (Penn State Press, 2010). * Warner, Sam Bass. ''The Private City: Philadelphia in Three Periods of its Growth'' (1968)


Economic and labor history

* Aurand, Harold W. ''Coalcracker Culture: Work and Values in Pennsylvania Anthracite, 1835–1935'' 2003 * Blatz, Perry. ''Democratic Miners: Work and Labor Relations in the Anthracite Coal Industry, 1875–1925''. Albany: SUNY Press, 1994. * Binder, Frederick Moore. ''Coal Age Empire: Pennsylvania Coal and Its Utilization to 1860''. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1974. * Chandler, Alfred. "Anthracite Coal and the Beginnings of the 'Industrial Revolution' in the United States", ''Business History Review'' 46 (1972): 141–181
in JSTOR
* * Edward J. Davies, Davies, Edward J., II. ''The Anthracite Aristocracy: Leadership and Social Change in the Hard Coal Regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1800–1930'' (1985). * DiCiccio, Carmen. ''Coal and Coke in Pennsylvania''. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1996 * Dublin, Thomas, and Walter Licht, ''The Face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century'' Cornell University Press, (2005). . * Lauver, Fred J. "A Walk Through the Rise and Fall of Anthracite Might", ''Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine'' 27#1 (2001
online edition
* Lewis, Ronald L. ''Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields'' (U. of North Carolina Press, 2008
online
* Powell, H. Benjamin. ''Philadelphia's First Fuel Crisis. Jacob Cist and the Developing Market for Pennsylvania Anthracite''. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1978 * Sullivan, William A. ''The Industrial Worker in Pennsylvania, 1800–1840'' Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 195
online edition
* United States Anthracite Coal Strike Commission, 1902–1903, ''Report to the President on the Anthracite Coal Strike of May–October 1902 By United States Anthracite Coal Strike'' (1903
online edition
* Wallace, Anthony F.C. ''St. Clair. A Nineteenth-Century Coal Town's Experience with a Disaster-Prone Industry''. (1981) * Warren, Kenneth. ''Triumphant Capitalism: Henry Clay Frick and the Industrial Transformation of America'' (1996) * Warren, Kenneth. ''Big Steel: The First Century of the United States Steel Corporation, 1901–2001'' (2002) * Williamson, Harold F. and Arnold R. Daum. ''The American Petroleum Industry: The Age of Illumination, 1859–1899'' (1959)


Historiography

* Bauman, John F. "An urban look at Pennsylvania history" ''Pennsylvania History'' (2008) 75#3 pp 390–395
online


Primary sources


The Peoples Contest: A Civil War era digital archiving project
access to primary sources from Pennsylvania, especially newspapers and other resources * ''Report of the United states coal commission...''. (5 vol in 3; 1925) Official US government investigation of the 1922 anthracite strike
online vol 1–2
* Carocci, Vincent P. ''A Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making Of Public Policy In Pennsylvania''. (2005) memoir by senior aide to Gov Casey in 1990

*Robert P. Casey, Casey, Robert P. ''Fighting for Life: The Story of a Courageous Pro-Life Democrat Whose Own Brush with Death Made Medical History''. Dallas, Texas: Word Publishing (1996). Autobiography. Hardcover: , . * W. E. B. Du Bois; ''The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study'' (1899
online edition
* Myers, Albert Cook, ed., ''Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630–1707'', (1912
online edition
* Pinsker, Matthew. "The Pennsylvania Prince: Political Wisdom From Benjamin Franklin to Arlen Specter" ''Pennsylvania Magazine of History & Biography'' (2008) 132#4 pp 417–432; examines autobiographies
online
* Specter, Arlen and Charles Robbins. ''Passion for Truth: From Finding JFK's Single Bullet to Questioning Anita Hill to Impeaching Clinton'' (2000).


External links


ExplorePAHistory.com



View the Pennsylvania State Archives Online

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Publications

1776 Constitution text

Pennsylvania Indian Tribes
Listing of Indian tribes with a historical presence in Pennsylvania * Boston Public Library, Map Center
Maps of Pennsylvania
various dates.
Ohio Historical Sites
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Pennsylvania History of Pennsylvania, History of the United States by state, Pennsylvania