Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
spanning the
Mid-Atlantic,
Northeastern,
Appalachia
Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
n, and
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
regions of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It borders
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
to its southeast,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
to its south,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
to its southwest,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
and the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
to its west,
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
to its north, the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
to its east, and the
Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
to its northwest via
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
. Pennsylvania's most populous city is
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
to
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
, the son of
the state's namesake. Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of
New Sweden
New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...
, a
Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the
colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...
was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes,
innovative government system, and
religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religion, religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following:
* Recognizing and Religious tolerance, tolerating the religio ...
.
Pennsylvania later played a vital and historic role in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, hosting the
First and
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...
in Philadelphia, which formed the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
and elected
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
as its commander in 1775 during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, and unanimously adopted the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
the following year.
In 1787, following the establishment of the nation's independence, the
Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
, now the world's oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution, was written at the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and was ratified in Philadelphia the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In July 1863, during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...
, fought over three days in and around
Gettysburg, was the deadliest battle of both the Civil War and of any
battle in American military history, with over 50,000
Union and
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
fatalities. But the success of the Union army at Gettysburg in repelling Confederate general
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
's attempt to invade the North also proved the
Civil War's turning point, leading to the
Union's preservation. Recognizing the Union army's extraordinary sacrifice at Gettysburg, U.S. president
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
visited the
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot & at Knoxlyn Ridge ...
later that year, where he delivered his historic 271-word
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, U.S. president, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The speech has come to be viewed as one ...
, widely considered one the most famous speeches in
American history
The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...
.
In the late 19th and 20th centuries, Pennsylvania's manufacturing-based economy blossomed, contributing to the development of much of the nation's early infrastructure, including key bridges,
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
s, and much of the military hardware that allowed the U.S. to prevail in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the nation's heavy manufacturing base struggled. The nation's two largest
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
manufacturers,
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe.
The company produces and sells steel products, ...
in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...
in
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, confronted unprecedented competitive practices from foreign manufacturers and other threats to their historic industry leadership. In 1982, Bethlehem Steel reported an unexpected loss of US$1.5 billion, and abruptly announced that it was suspending most of its operations. The company, which subsequently declared bankruptcy and was dissolved, is often cited as one of the most prominent examples of the impact of
deindustrialization
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpr ...
in the nation's
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt, formerly the Steel Belt or Factory Belt, is an area of the United States that underwent substantial Deindustrialization, industrial decline in the late 20th century. The region is centered in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (Uni ...
during the late 20th century.
["Rust Belt Allure of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania"](_blank)
''Pacific Standard
''Pacific Standard'', founded as ''Miller–McCune'', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was ...
'', October 6, 2013
Pennsylvania's geography is highly diverse. The
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
run through the center of the state, the
Allegheny and
Pocono mountains span much of
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA or Nepa) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton (the area's largest city), Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Ha ...
, and close to
60% of the state is forested. Although it has no ocean shoreline, it has of waterfront along Lake Erie and the tidal Delaware River.
Pennsylvania is the
fifth-most populous state in the United States, with over 13 million residents as of the
2020 United States census, its highest decennial census count ever.
[ The state is the 33rd-largest by area and has the ninth-highest population density among all states. The largest metropolitan statistical area is the southeastern ]Delaware Valley
The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...
, including and surrounding Philadelphia, the state's largest and nation's sixth-most populous city. The second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh
Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and seven adjacent Pennsylvania cou ...
, is centered in and around Pittsburgh, the state's second-largest city. The state's subsequent five most populous cities are Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, Erie, Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, and Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
.
History
Indigenous settlement
Pennsylvania's history of human habitation extends thousands of years before the foundation of the colonial Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...
in 1681. Archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
believe the first settlement of the Americas
It is believed that the peopling of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers (Paleo-Indians) entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and w ...
occurred at least 15,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, though it is unclear when humans first inhabited present-day Pennsylvania. Between 10,000 and 16,000 years ago, Native Americans crossed the two continents, arriving in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. Meadowcroft Rockshelter
The Meadowcroft Rockshelter is an archaeological site which is 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 ...
in Jefferson Township includes the earliest known signs of human activity in Pennsylvania and perhaps all of North America, including the remains of a civilization that existed over 10,000 years ago and possibly pre-dated the Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is an archaeological culture from the Paleoindian period of North America, spanning around 13,050 to 12,750 years Before Present (BP). The type site is Blackwater Draw locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, where stone too ...
. By 1000 AD, in contrast to their nomadic hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
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 w ...
, the native population of Pennsylvania had developed agricultural
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
techniques and a mixed food economy.
By the time European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale colonization of the Americas, involving a number of European countries, took place primarily between the late 15th century and the early 19th century. The Norse explored and colonized areas of Europe a ...
began, at least two major Native American tribes inhabited Pennsylvania. The first, the Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
, spoke an Algonquian language Algonquian language may refer to:
* Algonquian languages, language sub-family indigenous to North America
* Algonquin language, an Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language
{{disambiguation ...
and inhabited the eastern region of the state, then known as Lenapehoking
Lenapehoking () 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 the Delaware and lower ...
. It included most of present-day New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and the Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
and Delaware Valley
The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...
regions in eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. The Lenape's territory ended somewhere between the Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
in the east and the Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
in central Pennsylvania. The second tribe, the Susquehannock
The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.”
T ...
, 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, almost all surviving I ...
and were based in Eastern Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River. European disease and constant warfare with several neighboring tribes and groups of Europeans weakened these two tribes, and they were grossly outpaced financially as the Hurons
The Wyandot people (also Wyandotte, Wendat, Waⁿdát, or Huron) are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of the present-day United States and Canada. Their Wyandot language belongs to the Iroquoian language family.
In Canada, ...
and Iroquois
The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
blocked them from proceeding west into Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
during the Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...
. As they lost numbers and land, the Hurons abandoned much of their western territory and moved closer to the Susquehanna River, and the Iroquois and Mohawk tribes moved further north. Northwest of the Allegheny River was the Iroquoian Petun
The Petun (from ), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati (Dionnontate, Etionontate, Etionnontateronnon, Tuinontatek, Dionondadie, or Khionotaterrhonon) ("People among the hills/mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the w ...
, who 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. South of the Allegheny River was a nation known as Calicua, which may have been part of 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 ...
.
17th century
In the 17th century, the Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
and the English each claimed both sides of the Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
as part of their colonial lands in America. The Dutch were the first to take possession. By June 3, 1631, the Dutch began settling the Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia.
The peninsula is l ...
by establishing the Zwaanendael Colony
or was a short-lived Dutch colonial settlement in Delaware. It was built in 1631. The name is archaic Dutch for "swan valley." The site of the settlement later became the town of Lewes, Delaware.
History
Two directors of the Amsterdam c ...
on the site of present-day Lewes, Delaware
Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 3,303. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Del ...
. In 1638, Sweden established the New Sweden Colony in the region of Fort Christina
Fort Christina, also called Fort Altena, was the first Sweden, Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Christina, Queen of Sweden, it was located approximately 1&nb ...
on the site of present-day Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
. New Sweden claimed and, for the most part, controlled the lower Delaware River region, including parts of present-day Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but settled few colonists there.
On March 12, 1664, King 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 King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
gave James, Duke of York
James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
a grant that incorporated all lands included in the original Virginia Company of Plymouth Grant and other lands. This grant was in conflict with the Dutch claim for New Netherland
New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
, which included parts of today's Pennsylvania.
On June 24, 1664, the Duke of York sold the portion of his large grant that included present-day New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
to John Berkeley and George Carteret
Vice admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet ( – 14 January 1680 New Style, N.S.) was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon ministry, Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy. ...
for a proprietary colony. The land was not yet in British possession, but the sale boxed in the portion of New Netherland on the West side of the Delaware River. The British conquest of New Netherland began on August 29, 1664, when New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
was coerced to surrender while facing cannons on British ships in New York Harbor
New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States.
New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
. The conquest was completed in October 1664, when the British captured Fort Casimir
Fort Casimir or Fort Trinity was a Dutch fort in the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware.
Background
The Dutch c ...
in what today is New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...
. The Treaty of Breda between England, France, and the Netherlands confirmed the English conquest on July 21, 1667, although there were temporary reversions.
On September 12, 1672, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...
, the Dutch reconquered New York Colony/New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
, establishing three County Courts, which went on to become original Counties in present-day Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
and Pennsylvania. The one that later transferred to Pennsylvania was Upland. This was partially reversed on February 9, 1674, when the Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War and reverted all political situations to the ''status quo ante bellum''. The British retained the Dutch Counties with their Dutch names. By June 11, 1674, New York reasserted control over the outlying colonies, including Upland, and the names started to be changed to British names by November 11, 1674. Upland was partitioned on November 12, 1674, producing the general outline of the current border between Pennsylvania and Delaware.
On February 28, 1681, Charles II granted a land charter to Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
leader William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000 (around £2,100,000 in 2008, adjusting for retail inflation) owed to William's father. The transaction represents one of the largest land grants to an individual in history. Penn proposed that the land be called New Wales, but there were objections to that name, so he recommended Sylvania (from the Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''silva'': "forest, woods"). The King named it Pennsylvania (literally "Penn's Woods") in honor of Admiral Penn. The younger Penn was embarrassed at this name, fearing that people would think he had named it after himself, but King Charles would not rename the grant. Penn established a government with two innovations, the county commission
A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to fiv ...
and freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
, which were subsequently replicated in many of the Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America.
The Thirteen C ...
.
What had been Upland on the Pennsylvania side of the Pennsylvania-Delaware border was renamed Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania.
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee, United States
* Cheshire
...
when Pennsylvania instituted its colonial governments on March 4, 1681. Penn signed a peace treaty with Tamanend
Tamanend ("the Affable"; ), historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the founding peace treaty w ...
, leader of the Lenape, which began a long period of friendly relations between the Quakers and the Indians. Additional treaties between Quakers and other tribes followed. The Treaty of Shackamaxon
The Treaty of Shackamaxon, also called the Great Treaty and Penn's Treaty, was a treaty between William Penn and Tamanend of the Lenape signed in 1682. The treaty created peace between the Quakers and Lenape, with Tamanend saying the two would "l ...
of William Penn was never violated.
18th century
Between 1730 and when the Pennsylvania Colony was shut down by Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
with the Currency Act
The Currency Act or Paper Bills of Credit Act is one of several Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain that regulated paper money issued by the colonies of British America. The Acts sought to protect British merchants and creditors from being ...
in 1764, the Pennsylvania Colony made its own paper money to account for the shortage of actual gold and silver. The paper money was called Colonial Scrip.
The Colony issued bills of credit, which were as good as gold or silver coins because of their legal tender status. Since they were issued by the government and not a banking institution, they were interest-free, largely defraying the expense of the government and therefore taxation of the people. It also promoted general employment and prosperity, since the government used discretion and did not issue excessive amounts that inflated the currency. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
had a hand in creating this currency, whose utility, he said, was never to be disputed. The currency also met with "cautious approval" by Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...
.
In 1740, Franklin also founded the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. The university, one of nine colonial colleges
The colonial colleges are nine institutions of higher education founded in the Thirteen Colonies, predating the United States. As the only American universities old enough to have alumni that participated in the American Revolution and the Foundi ...
, was the first college established in Pennsylvania and one of the first in the nation. Today, it is an Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
university, which is routinely ranked among the world's best universities. Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...
in Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
, founded by Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...
and named after John Dickinson, was the first college founded after Revolutionary War and the unification of the states. Established in 1773, it was ratified on September 9, 1783, five days after the Treaty of Paris.
James Smith wrote that in 1763, "the Indians again commenced hostilities, and were busily engaged in killing and scalping the frontier inhabitants in various parts of Pennsylvania. This state was then a Quaker government, and at the first of this war the frontiers received no assistance from the state." The ensuing hostilities became known as Pontiac's War
Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...
.
After the Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress (October 7 – 25, 1765), also known as the Continental Congress of 1765, was a meeting held in New York City in the colonial Province of New York. It included representatives from most of the British colonies in Nort ...
of 1765, delegate John Dickinson of Philadelphia wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. The Congress was the first meeting of the Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America.
The Thirteen C ...
, which convened at the request of the Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
assembly; nine of the 13 colonies sent delegates. Dickinson then wrote '' Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies'', which were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between December 2, 1767, and February 15, 1768.
When the Founding Fathers
The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...
convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...
. The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...
, which began in May 1775, authored and signed the Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
in Philadelphia, but when Philadelphia fell to the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
in the Philadelphia campaign
The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British military campaign during the American Revolutionary War designed to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened, formed the ...
, the Continental Congress moved west, where it met at the Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then to York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. In York, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
, largely authored by Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, that formed 13 independent States into a new union. Later, the Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new nation. The Constitution was drafted and signed at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of ...
, the same building where the Declaration of Independence was previously adopted and signed in 1776.
On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constituti ...
, five days after Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
became the first. At the time, Pennsylvania was the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen colonies. Because a third of Pennsylvania's population spoke German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, the Constitution was presented in German so those citizens could participate in the discussion about it. Reverend Frederick Muhlenberg, a Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
minister and the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, acted as chairman of Pennsylvania's ratifying convention.
For half a century, the Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
met at various places in the Philadelphia area before it began meeting regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years. However, events such as the Paxton Boys
The Paxton Boys, also known as the Paxtang Boys or the Paxton Rangers, were a mob of settlers that murdered 20 unarmed Conestoga in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in December 1763. This group of vigilantes from Lancaster and Cumberland counti ...
massacres of 1763 had made the legislature aware of the need for a central capital. In 1799, the General Assembly moved to the Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
Courthouse.
19th century
The Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
met in the old Dauphin County Court House until December 1821 when the Federal-style Hills Capitol, named for Lancaster architect Stephen Hills, was constructed on a hilltop land grant of four acres set aside for a seat of state government in Harrisburg
Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
by the son and namesake of John Harris, Sr., a Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
native who founded a trading post and ferry on the east shore of the Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
in 1705. The Hills Capitol burned down on February 2, 1897, during a heavy snowstorm, presumably because of a faulty flue
A flue is a duct, pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. In the United States, they a ...
.
The General Assembly met at a nearby Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
until a new capitol could be built. Following an architectural selection contest, Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
architect Henry Ives Cobb
Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Gothic revival, Victori ...
was asked to design and build a replacement building. However, the legislature had little money to allocate to the project. When they dubbed the roughly finished, somewhat industrial Cobb Capitol building complete, the General Assembly refused to occupy the building. In 1901, political and popular indignation prompted a second contest that was restricted to Pennsylvania architects; Joseph Miller Huston of Philadelphia was chosen to design the present Pennsylvania State Capitol
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg. The building was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with de ...
that incorporated Cobb's building into a magnificent public work, finished and dedicated in 1907.
From 1857 to 1861, James Buchanan
James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...
, a Franklin County native, served as the 15th U.S. president, the first president to be born in Pennsylvania.
Over three days, from July 1 to July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...
was fought near Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of both the Civil War and of any battle in American history. The Union army's victory at Gettysburg also proved the Civil War's turning point, leading to the Union's victory two years later and the nation's preservation. Several months later, on November 19, 1863, then U.S. president
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
traveled to Gettysburg, where he participated in a ceremonial consecration of present-day Gettysburg National Cemetery and delivered the Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, U.S. president, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The speech has come to be viewed as one ...
, a 271-word speech that is one of the most famous speeches
This list of speeches includes those that have gained notability in English or in English translation. The earliest listings may be approximate dates.
Before the 1st century
*c.570 BC : The Buddha gives his first sermon, '' Dhammacakkappava ...
in American history
The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...
. During the Civil War, an estimated 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union army, including 8,600 African American military volunteer
A military volunteer (or ''war volunteer'') is a person who enlists in military service by free will, and is not a conscript, mercenary, or a foreign volunteers, foreign legionnaire. Volunteers sometimes enlist to fight Foreign volunteers, in th ...
s.
The politics of Pennsylvania were for decades dominated by the financially conservative Republican-aligned Cameron machine
The Cameron machine, later known as the Quay machine and Penrose machine, was a Republican political machine in Pennsylvania that controlled much of the state's politics for seven decades. Founded by antislavery Know Nothing and Republican Simon ...
, established by U.S. Senator Simon Cameron,[Chapter One: 1. Pennsylvania's Bosses and Political Machines](_blank)
''ExplorePAHistory.com''. Retrieved February 18, 2022. who later served as Lincoln's Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
. Control of the machine was subsequently passed on to Cameron's son J. Donald Cameron, whose ineffectiveness resulted in a transfer of power to Matthew Quay
Matthew Stanley Quay (; September 30, 1833May 28, 1904) was an American politician of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1887 until 1899 and from 1901 until his ...
and later to Boies Penrose
Boies Penrose (November 1, 1860 – December 31, 1921) was an American politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who served as a Republican member of the United States Senate for Pennsylvania from 1897 to 1921. He served as a member of th ...
.
The post-Civil War era, known as the Gilded Age
In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...
, saw the continued rise of industry in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was home to some of the largest steel companies in the world. Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
founded the Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was formed in ...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and Charles M. Schwab founded Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...
in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
. Other titans of industry, including John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...
and Jay Gould
Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
, also operated in Pennsylvania. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil industry
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products ...
was born in Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...
, which supplied the vast majority of kerosene
Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
for years thereafter. As the Pennsylvania oil rush
The oil rush in America started in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in the Oil Creek Valley when Edwin L. Drake struck "rock oil" there in 1859. Titusville and other towns on the shores of Oil Creek expanded rapidly as oil wells and refineries shot ...
developed, Pennsylvania's oil boom towns, such as Titusville, rose and later fell. Coal mining, primarily in the state's Coal Region
The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons.
The region is typically defined ...
in the northeast region of the state, also was a major industry for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1903, Milton S. Hershey
Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.
Trained in the confectionery business, Hershey pioneered the manufacture of caramel, using fresh milk. He launched ...
began construction on a chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey ...
; The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. T ...
grew to become the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Heinz Company was also founded during this period. These huge companies exercised a large influence on the politics of Pennsylvania; as Henry Demarest Lloyd
Henry Demarest Lloyd (May 1, 1847 – September 28, 1903) was an American journalist and political activist who was a prominent muckraker during the Progressive Era. He is best known for his exposés of Standard Oil which were written before Ida ...
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 also led to a rise of union busting
Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or weaken the power of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace.
Union busting tactics can refer to both legal and illegal activities, and can range anywhe ...
with several private police forces springing up. Pennsylvania was the location of the first documented organized strike in North America, and Pennsylvania was the location of two hugely prominent strikes, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. The Great Railroad Strike of 187 ...
and the Coal Strike of 1902
The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the Recognition stri ...
. The eight-hour day was eventually adopted, and the coal and iron police were banned.
20th century
In the beginning of the 20th century, Pennsylvania's economy was centered on steel manufacturing, logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks[coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...]
, textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
production, and other forms of industrial manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the
secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
. A surge in immigration to the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided a steady flow of cheap labor for these industries, which often employed children and people who could not speak English from Southern and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during the Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
. Pennsylvania was an important industrial center during World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The state provided over 300,000 soldiers during the war. On May 31, 1918, the Pittsburgh Agreement
The Pittsburgh Agreement was a memorandum of understanding completed on May 31, 1918, between members of Czech and Slovak expatriate communities in the United States. It replaced the Cleveland Agreement of October 22, 1915.
It is named for th ...
was signed in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, signed by Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovaks, Czechoslovak statesman, political activist and philosopher who served as the first List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 191 ...
and established Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
as an independent nation.
In 1922, 310,000 Pennsylvania miners joined the UMW General coal strike, which lasted 163 days and shut down most of the state's coal mines.
In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge established the Allegheny National Forest
The Allegheny National Forest is a National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The forest covers of land. Within the forest is Kinzua Dam, which impounds the Allegheny River to form Allegheny Reserv ...
under the authority of the Weeks Act
The Weeks Act is a federal law (36 Stat. 961) enacted by the United States Congress on March 1, 1911. Introduced by Massachusetts Congressman John W. Weeks and signed into law by President William Howard Taft, the law authorized the United Stat ...
of 1911. The forest is located in the northwest part of the state in Elk
The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...
, Forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, McKean, and Warren
Warren most commonly refers to:
* Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits
* Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named
Warren may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Warren (biogeographic region)
* War ...
Counties for the purposes of timber production and watershed protection in the Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...
basin. The Allegheny is the state's only national forest.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Pennsylvania manufactured 6.6 percent of total U.S. military armaments for the war, the sixth-most of the 48 states. Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries.
Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...
served as an important naval base during the war, and Pennsylvania produced many of the war's most important military leaders, including George C. Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. ...
, Hap Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (25 June 1886 – 15 January 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1 ...
, Jacob Devers, and Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew Spaatz (born Spatz; 28 June 1891 – 14 July 1974), nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil productio ...
. During World War II, over a million Pennsylvanians served in the armed forces, and more Medals of Honor were awarded to Pennsylvanians than to individuals from any other state.
On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor (TMI-2) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, located on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Londonderry T ...
was the most significant nuclear accident
A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include radiation poisoning, lethal effect ...
in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history. 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 the state's largest cities. Pittsburgh lost its place among the top ten most populous cities in the United States in 1950, and Philadelphia dropped to the fifth and is currently the sixth-largest city after decades of ranking among the top three.
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 and Latinos, began entering the state to fill low-skill jobs in agriculture and service industries. For example, in Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania.
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee, United States
* Cheshire
...
, Mexican immigrants brought the Spanish language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
, increased Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, high birth rates, and cuisine when they were hired as agricultural laborers; in some rural localities, they made up half or more of the population.
Stateside Puerto Ricans
Stateside Puerto Ricans (), also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans (, ), or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who reside in the Contiguous United States, mainland United States.
Pursuant to the Jones–Shafroth A ...
have built a large community in the state's third-largest city, Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, where they comprise over 40% of the city's population as of 2000.
In the late 20th century, as Pennsylvania's historical national and even global leadership in mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
largely ceased and its steelmaking
Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. Steel has been made for millennia, and was commercialized on a massive scale in the 1850s and 1860s, using the Bessemer process, Bessemer and open hearth furnace, Siemens-M ...
and other heavy manufacturing sectors slowed, the state sought to grow its service and other industries to replace the jobs and economic productivity lost from the downturn of these 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. Philadelphia anchors the seventh-largest metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
in the country and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, and Pittsburgh is the center of the nation's 27th-largest metropolitan areas. As of 2020, the Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
in eastern Pennsylvania is the nation's 69th-largest metropolitan area. Pennsylvania also has six additional metropolitan areas that rank among the nation's 200-most populous metropolitan areas. Philadelphia forms part of the Northeast megalopolis
The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, BosWash, or BosNYWash, is the most populous megalopolis exclusively within the United States, with slightly over 50 million resident ...
and is associated with the Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
. Pittsburgh is part of the Great Lakes megalopolis and is often associated with the Rust Belt
The Rust Belt, formerly the Steel Belt or Factory Belt, is an area of the United States that underwent substantial Deindustrialization, industrial decline in the late 20th century. The region is centered in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (Uni ...
.
21st century
During the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Shanksville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It has a population of 199 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Somerset, Pennsylvania Micropolitan Statistical ...
, received worldwide attention after United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers planned to crash the plane into a feder ...
crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, located north of the town. All 40 civilians and 4 Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
hijackers on board were killed. The hijackers had intended to crash the plane into either the United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
or The White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...
. After learning from family members via air phone of the earlier attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may also refer to:
Buildings
* World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
, however, Flight 93's passengers 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.
In October 2018, the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation () is a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation moved into its present synagogue building in 1953. It merged wit ...
, a conservative Jewish
Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...
synagogue, experienced the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
On October 27, 2018, a right-wing extremist attacked Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Had ...
, which resulted in 11 fatalities. On July 13, 2024, near Butler, Pennsylvania
Butler is a city in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is north of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,502.
Butler is named after Major General ...
, an assassination attempt on the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
occurred.
Geography
Pennsylvania is north to south and east to west. Of a total , are land, are inland waters, and are waters in Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
.[2006 Statistical Abstract: Geography & Environment: Land and Land Use](_blank)
/ref> It is the 33rd-largest state in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Pennsylvania has of coastline along Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
and of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Of the original Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America.
The Thirteen C ...
, Pennsylvania is the only state that does not border the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
.
The boundaries of the state are the Mason–Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...
(39°43' N) to the south, Twelve-Mile Circle
The Twelve-Mile Circle is an approximately circular arc that forms most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania. It is a combination of different circular arcs that have been feathered together.
It is nominally a circle with a variab ...
on the Pennsylvania-Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
border, the Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
to the east, 80°31' W to the west, and the 42° N to the north, except for a short segment on the western end where a triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
extends north to Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
. The state has five geographical regions: Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...
, Ridge and Valley
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three sec ...
, Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
, Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, and Erie Plain.
Climate
Pennsylvania's diverse topography produces a variety of climates, though the entire state experiences cool to cold winters and very warm, humid summers. Straddling two major zones, much of the state has a humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Dfa '' or ''Dfb''). The southern portion of the state has a humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...
climate. The largest city, Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, has a humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'').
Summers are generally hot and humid. Moving toward the mountainous interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increases, and snowfall amounts are greater. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
, can receive over of snowfall annually, and the entire state receives plentiful precipitation throughout the year. The state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into autumn. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, such as 30 recorded tornadoes in 2011; violent tornadoes, however, are rarer than they are in states further west.
Municipalities
Cities in Pennsylvania include Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, and Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
in the southeast, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
in the southwest, and the tri-cities of Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, and Easton in the central east, known as the Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
. The northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...
includes the former anthracite coal
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...
mining cities of Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
, Pittston
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city lies in the Wyoming Valley on the east side of the Susquehanna River and on the south side of the Lackawanna River. It is approximately midway between Wilkes-Barre, Pen ...
, Nanticoke, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest. State College
State College is a borough and home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University.
State College is the largest designated borou ...
is located in the central region. Williamsport is in the north-central region with York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
, and the state capital Harrisburg
Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
on the Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
in the east-central region of the state. Altoona and Johnstown are in the state's west-central region.
The state's three-most populated cities, in order of size, are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown.
Adjacent states and province
* Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
(Province of Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
) (Northwest)
* New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
(North and Northeast)
* New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
(East and Southeast)
* Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
(Extreme Southeast)
* Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
(South)
* West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
(Southwest)
* Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
(West)
Demographics
As of the 2020 U.S. census, Pennsylvania had a population of 13,011,844, up from 12,702,379 in 2010. Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populated state in the U.S. after California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. In 2019, net migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
to other states resulted in a decrease of 27,718, and immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
from other countries resulted in an increase of 127,007. Net migration to Pennsylvania was 98,289. Migration of native Pennsylvanians resulted in a decrease of 100,000 people. 7.2% of the population was foreign-born as of 2021. Pennsylvania's center of population
In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...
is in Duncannon
Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford Harbour, Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncanno ...
in Perry County Perry County may refer to:
United States
*Perry County, Alabama
*Perry County, Arkansas
*Perry County, Illinois
*Perry County, Indiana
*Perry County, Kentucky
*Perry County, Mississippi
*Perry County, Missouri
*Perry County, Ohio
* Perry Cou ...
.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 12,691 homeless
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
people in Pennsylvania.
Place of origin
Among Pennsylvania residents, as of 2020, nearly three out of four, 74.5%, are native to the state and were born in Pennsylvania, 18.4% were born in a different U.S. state, 1.5% were born in Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5.6% were foreign born. Foreign-born Pennsylvanians are largely from Asia (36.0%), Europe (35.9%), and Latin America (30.6%) with the remainder from Africa (5%), North America (3.1%), and Oceania (0.4%). The state's largest ancestry groups, expressed as a percentage of total people who responded with a particular ancestry for the 2010 census, were German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
28.5%, Irish 18.2%, Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
12.8%, African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
9.6%, English 8.5%, Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
7.2%, and French 4.2%. As of 2018, the top countries of origin for Pennsylvania's immigrants were India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
.
Race and ethnicity
The vast majority of Pennsylvania's population is made up of whites, blacks and Hispanics, with the latter two being minorities and having significant populations. Non-Hispanic Whites make up the majority of Pennsylvania; they are mostly descended from German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, and English immigrants. Rural portions of South Central Pennsylvania are recognized nationally for their Amish communities. Wyoming Valley
The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...
, including Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
and Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
, has the highest percentage of white residents of any metropolitan area with a population of 500,000 or above in the U.S.; in Wyoming Valley, 96.2% of the population claim to be white with no Hispanic background. The state's Hispanic or Latino American population grew by 82.6% between 2000 and 2010, marking one of the largest increases in a state's Hispanic population. The significant growth of the Hispanic or Latino population is due to migration to the state mainly from Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, a U.S. territory, and to a lesser extent immigration from countries such as the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, and various Central and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
n nations and a wave of Hispanic and Latinos leaving New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
for more affordable living.
Romani people
{{Infobox ethnic group
, group = Romani people
, image =
, image_caption =
, flag = Roma flag.svg
, flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress
, po ...
have been present in the state since the mid-1800s.
The majority of Hispanic or Latino Americans in Pennsylvania are of Puerto Rican descent. Most of the remaining Hispanic or Latino population is made up of Mexicans
Mexicans () are the citizens and nationals of the Mexico, United Mexican States. The Mexican people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish language, Spanish, but many also speak languages from 68 different Languages o ...
and Dominicans
Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...
, and the majority of Hispanics and Latinos are concentrated in Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
, and South Central Pennsylvania. The Hispanic or Latino population is greatest in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
, York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, and around Philadelphia. As of 2010, the vast majority of Hispanics and Latino Americans in Pennsylvania, about 85%, live within a radius of Philadelphia, and about 20% live in the city itself.
The Asian population swelled by almost 60%, mostly Indian, Vietnamese, and Chinese immigrants, and many Asians moving to Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
from New York City. The rapid growth of this community has given Pennsylvania one of the largest Asian populations in the nation. The African American population grew by 13%, which was the largest increase in that population among the state's peers of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. Pennsylvania has a high in-migration of black and Hispanic people from other nearby states with the eastern and south-central portions of the state seeing the bulk of the increases.
Among the state's black population, the vast majority in the state are African American. There are also a growing number of black residents of West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...
, recent African, and Hispanic or Latino origins. Most Blacks live in the Philadelphia area, Pittsburgh, or South Central Pennsylvania. Additionally, in 2020, 31,052 identified as being Native American alone, and 158,112 did in combination with one or more other races.
Birth data
''Note: data for births of White Hispanic
White Hispanic and Latin Americans, also called Euro-Hispanics, Euro-Latinos, White Hispanics, or White Latinos, are Americans who self-identify as white of European (diaspora) or West Asian descent with origins from Hispanic countries or Lat ...
origin have not been collected, but included in one ''Hispanic'' group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.''
Age and poverty
As of the 2010 census, Pennsylvania had the fourth-highest proportion of elderly (65+) citizens in the nation at 15.4%, compared to a national average of 13.0%. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the state's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2017 compared to 13.4% for the U.S. as a whole.
Languages
As of 2010, 90.2% (10,710,239) of Pennsylvania residents age five and older spoke English at home as a primary language
A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...
while 4.1% (486,058) spoke Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, 0.9% (103,502) spoke German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, including Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...
, and 0.5% (56,052) spoke Chinese, including Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
. In total, 9.9% (1,170,628) of Pennsylvania's population age5 and older spoke a mother tongue
A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...
other than English.
Pennsylvania Dutch language
Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...
is a descendant of the West Central German
West Central German () belongs to the Central German, Central, High German languages, High German dialect family of German language, German. It includes the following sub-families:
* Central Franconian ()
** Ripuarian language, Ripuarian (), spok ...
dialect family and is closest to Palatine German. Pennsylvania Dutch is still very vigorous as a first language among Old Order Amish
The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss and Alsatian origins. As they maintain a degree of separation from surrounding populations, and ho ...
and Old Order Mennonite
Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who prac ...
s, principally in the Lancaster County and Berks County areas; it is almost extinct as an everyday language outside the plain communities, though a few words have passed into English usage.
Religion
Of the original Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America.
The Thirteen C ...
, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
had the most religious freedom. Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
, writing of William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
in 1733, observed: "The new sovereign also enacted several wise and wholesome laws for his colony, which have remained invariably the same to this day. The chief is, to ill-treat no person on account of religion, and to consider as brethren all those who believe in one God." One result of this uncommon freedom was a wide religious diversity
Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to:
Business
*Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce
*Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers
* ...
, which continues to the present.
Pennsylvania's population in 2010 was 12,702,379; of these, 6,838,440 (53.8%) were estimated to belong to some sort of organized religion. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making t ...
(ARDA) at Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
, the largest religious bodies in Pennsylvania by adherents were the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
with 3,503,028 adherents, the United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
with 591,734 members, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...
with 501,974 members. Since 2014, among the state's religious population, 73% were Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, according to Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
. In 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute
The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization that conducts public opinion polls on a variety of topics, specializing in the quantitative and qualitative study of politic ...
estimated 68% of the population identified with Christianity. As of 2014, 47% of all Pennsylvanians identified as Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, making Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
far and away the most prominent religious affiliation among Pennsylvanians. Among all self-identified Christians in the state, however, 24% identified as Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, the most of any Christian religious affiliation. In April 2023, a ''Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...
'' poll found that a plurality of Pennsylvania residents were unaffiliated, with the rest predominately being Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
or Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Pennsylvania, especially the Greater Pittsburgh
Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and seven adjacent Pennsylvania cou ...
area, has one of the largest communities of Presbyterians
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
in the nation, the third-highest by percentage of population and the largest outright in membership as Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Christians. The American Presbyterian Church, with about 250,000 members and 1,011 congregations, is the largest Presbyterian denomination, and the Presbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
is also significant, with 112 congregations and approximately 23,000 adherents; the EPC has around 50 congregations, including the ECO, according to 2010 estimates. The fourth-largest Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
denomination, the United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...
, has 180,000 members and 627 congregations in the state. The American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...
, also referred to as the Northern Baptist Convention is based in King of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
.
Pennsylvania was the center state of the German Reformed
The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). ...
denomination from the 1700s. Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
is one of the headquarters of the Moravian Church
The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...
in the U.S. Pennsylvania also has a very large Amish
The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...
population, second only to Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
among U.S. states. As of 2000, there was a total Amish population of 47,860 in Pennsylvania and an additional 146,416 Mennonite
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
s and 91,200 Brethren. The total Anabapist population including Bruderhof was 232,631, about two percent of the population. While Pennsylvania owes its existence to Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
, and much of the historic character of Pennsylvania is ideologically rooted in the teachings of the Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
(as they are officially known), practicing Quakers are a small minority of about 10,000 adherents as of 2010.
Economy
As of 2024, Pennsylvania's gross state product
Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...
(GSP) is $1.017 trillion, the sixth-largest among all U.S. states, behind California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. If Pennsylvania were an independent country, its economy, as of 2023, would rank as the 20th-largest in the world. On a per capita basis, Pennsylvania's 2021 per capita income of $68,957 ranks 21st among the 50 states. As of 2016, there were 5,354,964 people in employment in Pennsylvania with 301,484 total employer establishments. As of January 2024, the state's unemployment rate is 3.4%.
The state has five manufacturing centers: Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
in the southeast, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
in the southwest, Erie in the northwest, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre in the northeast, and the Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
in the east.
Pennsylvania is home to 23 of the nation's 500 largest companies that comprise the ''Fortune'' 500, including two that rank in the top 100, Cencora
Cencora, Inc., formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is an American drug wholesale company and a contract research organization, that was formed by the merger of Bergen Brunswig and AmeriSource in 2001. It is one of the largest pharmaceutica ...
(formerly AmeriSource Bergen) in Conshohocken, which is the nation's 11th-largest company, and Comcast
Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
in Philadelphia, which is the 29th-largest. Philadelphia is home to six of the ''Fortune'' 500 companies, with more located in suburbs like King of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
; it is a leader in the financial and insurance industries. Pittsburgh is home to eight ''Fortune'' 500 companies, including U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe.
The company produces and sells steel products, ...
, PPG Industries
PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500, ''Fortune'' 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By ...
, Heinz
The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...
, and GE Transportation
GE Transportation is a division of Wabtec. It was known as GE Rail and owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019. The organization manufactures equipment for the railroad, marine, mining, drilling and energy generatio ...
. Hershey is home to The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. T ...
, one of the world's largest chocolate manufacturers. In eastern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley has become an epicenter for the growth of the U.S. logistics
Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
industry, including warehousing
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
and the intermodal transport
Intermodal transport (or intermodal transportation) involves the use of more than one mode of transport for a journey. It may refer to:
* Intermodal passenger transport
* Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the t ...
of goods.
Like many U.S. states, Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
is the largest private employer in Pennsylvania. The state's second-largest employer is the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, an Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
private research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is home to the oldest investor-owned utility company in the U.S., The York Water Company.
As of 2018, Pennsylvania ranks first in the nation in a few economic sectors and niches, including barrels of beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
produced annually (3.9 million), farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
s (over 6,000), food processing
Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...
companies (2,300), hardwood lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
production (a billion board feet annually), mushroom farms (68), natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
production, potato chip
Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...
manufacturing (24 facilities manufacturing one-fourth of the nation's total), and pretzel
A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baking, baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twi ...
manufacturing (80 percent of the nation's total).
Other notable Pennsylvania companies include C. F. Martin & Company, based in Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
, which manufacturers Martin Guitars, used by some of the world's most prominent guitarists
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
, including Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton, and others.
Agriculture
Pennsylvania ranks 19th overall among all states in agricultural production. Its leading agricultural products are fungiculture, mushrooms, apples, Christmas trees, Egg (food), layer chickens, Nursery (horticulture), nursery, sod, milk, maize, corn for silage, grapes (including Grape juice, juice grapes), and horses production. Pennsylvania ranks eighth in the nation in winemaking.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture worked with private companies to establish "PA Preferred" as a way to brand agricultural products grown or made in the state. The financial impact of agriculture in Pennsylvania includes employment of more than 66,800 people employed by the food manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the
secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
industry and over $1.7 billion in food product export as of 2011.
Banking
The first nationally chartered bank in the U.S., the Bank of North America, was founded in 1781 in Philadelphia. After a series of mergers, the Bank of North America is now part of Wells Fargo. Pennsylvania is home to the first nationally chartered bank under the 1863 National Banking Act. That year, the Pittsburgh Savings & Trust Company received a national charter and renamed itself the First National Bank of Pittsburgh as part of the National Banking Act. That bank is still in existence today as PNC Financial Services, PNC and remains based in Pittsburgh. PNC is currently the state's largest and the nation's sixth-largest bank.
Film
The Pennsylvania Film Production Tax Credit began in 2004 and stimulated the development of a film industry in the state.
Gambling
Casino gambling was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2004. As of 2010, there are List of casinos in Pennsylvania, 16 casinos in the state.
Mining
Coal mining in Pennsylvania dates back to the mid-1700s. Since then, over 15 billion tons of coal were removed from the state. Production peaked in 1918. As mine output decreased, some 250,000 acres of mine land were abandoned. As of 2024, the state has the largest inventory of abandoned mines in the United States, creating environmental problems such as water pollution and ground subsidence which damages above-ground buildings. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny and Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland counties alone account for over 550 abandoned sites. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for remediation of such problems.
State government
Pennsylvania has had five Pennsylvania Constitution, constitutions during its statehood:1776
1790
1838
1874
an
1968
Before that the province of Pennsylvania was governed for a century by a Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, Frame of Government, of which there were four versions: 1682, 1683, 1696, and 1701. The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg
Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
. The legislature meets there in the Pennsylvania State Capitol, State Capitol.
In a 2020 study, Pennsylvania was ranked as the 19th-hardest state for citizens to vote.
Executive
The current Governor is Josh Shapiro. The other elected officials composing the executive branch are the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis (politician), Austin Davis, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Attorney General Dave Sunday (politician), Dave Sunday, Pennsylvania Auditor General, Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, and Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor run as a ticket in the general election and are up for re-election every four years during the midterm elections. The elections for Attorney General, Auditor General, and Treasurer are held every four years coinciding with a Presidential election.
Legislative
Pennsylvania has a bicameral legislature that was established in the Pennsylvania Constitution, which was ratified in 1790. The original Frame of Government of William Penn had a unicameral legislature. The Pennsylvania General Assembly, General Assembly includes 50 Pennsylvania Senate, senators and 203 Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representatives. Kim Ward, Kim L. Ward is currently president pro tempore of the State Senate, Joe Pittman (politician), Joe Pittman the majority leader, and Jay Costa the minority leader. Joanna McClinton is Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, speaker of the House of Representatives, with Matthew Bradford as majority leader and Bryan Cutler as minority leader. As of 2025, the Republicans hold the majority in the State Senate (27–23) and the Democrats in the State House (102–101). Pennsylvania is one of four states that currently have divided party control of the state legislature.
Judiciary
Pennsylvania is divided into 60 judicial districts. With the exception of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, most have district justices and justices of the peace who preside over most preliminary hearings in felony and misdemeanor offenses, all minor (summary) criminal offenses, and small civil claims. Most criminal and civil cases originate in the Courts of Common Pleas, which also serve as appellate court. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Superior Court hears all appeals from the Courts of Common Pleas not expressly designated to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Court or United States Supreme Court, Supreme Court. The Superior Court also has original jurisdiction to review probable cause governmental requests for Warrant (law), warrants in Telephone tapping, wiretap surveillance. The Commonwealth Court is limited to appeals from final orders of certain state agencies and certain designated cases from the Courts of Common Pleas. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the state's final appellate court. All judges in Pennsylvania are elected, and the chief justice of the state's Supreme Court is determined by seniority.
Local government
Pennsylvania is divided into 67 county (United States), counties.[''The Pennsylvania Manual'', p. 6-3.] Counties are further subdivided into municipalities that are either incorporated as cities, Borough (Pennsylvania), boroughs, or Township (Pennsylvania), townships.[''Pennsylvania Manual'', p. 6-5.] The most populous county in Pennsylvania and List of the most populous counties in the United States, 24th-most populous county in the United States
is Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, which includes the city of Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, with a 2020 population of 1,603,797; the state's least populous county is Cameron County, Pennsylvania, Cameron with a population of 4,547.
There are a total of 56 cities in Pennsylvania, which are classified by population as either first-class, second-class, or third-class cities. Philadelphia, the state's largest city with a population exceeding 1.6 million, is Pennsylvania's only first-class city. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
(303,000) and Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
(76,000) are second-class and second-class 'A' cities, respectively. All of the state's remaining cities including Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, the state's third-largest city, and Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, its fourth-largest, to Parker, Pennsylvania, Parker, the state's smallest city with a population of only 820, are designated as third-class cities. First- and second-class cities are governed by a "strong mayor" form of mayor–council government, whereas third-class cities are governed by either a "weak mayor" form of government or a council–manager government.
Pennsylvania boroughs are generally smaller in population than the state's cities, and most of the state's cities were incorporated as boroughs prior to being designated cities. There are 958 boroughs in Pennsylvania, all of which are governed by the "weak mayor" form of mayor-council government. The largest borough in Pennsylvania is State College
State College is a borough and home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University.
State College is the largest designated borou ...
(40,501) and the smallest is Centralia, Pennsylvania, Centralia.
Townships are the third type of municipality in Pennsylvania and are classified as either first-class or second-class townships. There are 1,454 second-class townships and 93 first-class townships.[''The Pennsylvania Manual'', p. 6-6.] Second-class townships can become first-class townships if they have a population density greater than and a referendum is passed supporting the change. Pennsylvania's largest township is Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Upper Darby Township (85,681), and the smallest is East Keating Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania, East Keating Township.
There is one exception to the types of municipalities in Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg was incorporated as a town in 1870 and is, officially, the only town in the state. In 1975, McCandless Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, McCandless Township adopted a home-rule charter under the name of "Town of McCandless", but is, legally, still a first-class township. The state has 56 cities, 958 boroughs, 93 first-class townships, 1,454 second-class townships, and one town (Bloomsburg) for a total of 2,562 municipalities.
Taxation
Pennsylvania had the 15th-highest state and local tax burden in the nation as of 2012, according to the Tax Foundation. Residents paid a total of $83.7 billion in state and local taxes with a per capita average of $4,589 annually. Residents share 76% of the total tax burden. Many state politicians have tried to increase the share of taxes paid by out-of-state sources. Suggested revenue sources include taxing natural gas drilling as Pennsylvania is the only state without such a tax on gas drilling. Additional revenue prospects include trying to place tolls on interstate highways; specifically Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 80, which is used heavily by out of state commuters with high maintenance costs.
Sales taxes provide 39% of Pennsylvania's state revenue; State income tax, personal income taxes 34%; motor vehicle taxes about 12%, and taxes on Cigarette tax#Taxation, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages 5%. The personal income tax is a flat 3.07%. An individual's taxable income is based on the following eight types of income: compensation (salary); interest; dividends; net profits from the operation of a business, profession or farm; net gains or income from the dispositions of property; net gains or income from rents, royalties, patents and copyrights; income derived through estates or trusts; and gambling and lottery winnings (other than Pennsylvania Lottery winnings).
Counties, municipalities, and school districts levy taxes on real estate. In addition, some local bodies assess a income tax, wage tax on personal income. Generally, the total wage tax rate is capped at 1% of income but some municipalities with home rule charters may charge more than 1%. Thirty-two of Pennsylvania's sixty-seven counties levy a property tax, personal property tax on stocks, bonds, and similar holdings. With the exception of the city of Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Pennsylvania, municipalities and school districts are allowed to enact a local earned income tax within the purview of Act 32. Residents of these municipalities and school districts are required to file a local income tax return in addition to federal and state returns. This local return is filed with the local income tax collector, a private collection agency appointed by a particular county to collect the local earned income and local services tax (the latter a flat fee deducted from salaried employees working within a particular municipality or school district).
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
has its own local income taxation system. Philadelphia-based employers are required to withhold the Philadelphia wage tax from the salaries of their employees. Residents of Philadelphia working for an employer are not required to file a local return as long as their Philadelphia wage tax is fully withheld by their employer. If their employer does not withhold the Philadelphia wage tax, residents are required to register with the Revenue Department and file an Earnings Tax return. Residents of Philadelphia with self-employment income are required to file a Net Profits Tax (NPT) return, while those with business income from Philadelphia sources are required to obtain a Commercial Activity License (CAL) and pay the Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT) and the NPT. Residents with unearned income except interest from checking and savings accounts are required to file and pay the School Income-tax (SIT).
The complexity of Pennsylvania's local tax filing system has been criticized by experts, who note that the outsourcing of collections to private entities is akin to tax farming and that many new residents are caught off guard and end up facing failure to file penalties even if they did not owe any tax. Attempts to transfer local income tax collections to the state level by having a separate local section on the state income tax return, currently the method used to collect local income taxes in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, Indiana, and Iowa, have been unsuccessful.
State law enforcement
The Pennsylvania State Police is the chief law enforcement agency in the Pennsylvania.
Politics
Since the latter half of the 20th century, Pennsylvania has been perceived as a powerful swing state, and winning Pennsylvania has since been deemed as essential to President of the United States, U.S. presidential candidates. Only thrice between 1932 United States presidential election, 1932 and 1988 United States presidential election, 1988 (1932, 1948, and 1968 United States presidential election, 1968, with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Richard Nixon, respectively) has a presidential candidate been able to win the White House while losing Pennsylvania.
Between 1992 and 2016, Pennsylvania trended Democratic Party (United States), Democratic in presidential elections; Bill Clinton won the state twice by large margins and Al Gore won it by a slightly closer margin in 2000. In the 2004 presidential election, John F. Kerry beat President George W. Bush in Pennsylvania, 2,938,095 (51%) to 2,793,847 (48%). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican John McCain in Pennsylvania, 3,276,363 (54%) to 2,655,885 (44%).
In the 2016 United States presidential election, however, Republican Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
broke the Democratic streak in the state, winning by 2,970,733 (48%) votes to 2,926,441 (47%) votes. The state returned to the Democratic column in 2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania, 2020 by voting for Joe Biden over Trump, 3,458,229 (50%) to 3,377,674 (49%). In 2024 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania, 2024, Pennsylvania swung back to Trump, with the former president winning 3,543,308 (50%) to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 3,423,042 (49%). The state holds 19 United States Electoral College, electoral votes.
Despite voting for the Democratic ticket for president in every election between 1992 and 2012, Pennsylvania has a history of electing Republican U.S. senators. From 2009 to 2011, the state was represented by two Democratic senators for the first time since 1947 after Republican Senator Arlen Specter switched party affiliation. In 2010, Republicans recaptured a U.S. Senate seat and a majority of the state's congressional seats, control of both chambers of the state legislature, and the governorship. Democrats won back the governorship, however, four years later in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014, 2014 election. It was the first time since a governor became eligible for reelection that an incumbent governor had been defeated in a reelection bid.
Historically, Democratic strength was concentrated in Philadelphia in the southeast, the Pittsburgh, and Johnstown areas in the southwest, and Scranton
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
and Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
in the northeast. Republican strength was concentrated in the Philadelphia suburbs and the more rural areas in the state's central, northeastern, and western portions, some of which have long been considered among the nation's most conservative areas. Since 1992, however, the Philadelphia suburbs have swung Democratic; the brand of Republicanism there was traditionally moderate. In the 21st century, however, Pittsburgh suburbs, which historically had been Democratic strongholds, have swung more Republican.
Democratic political consultant James Carville once pejoratively described Pennsylvania as "Philadelphia in the east, Pittsburgh in the west, and Alabama in the middle", suggesting that political power in the state was based in its two largest cities, which have been reliably Democratic, offset by the state's large rural power base, which has proven equally reliably Republican. Political analysts and editorials refer to central Pennsylvania as the "T" in statewide elections. The state's three valleys (Delaware Valley, Delaware, Lehigh Valley, Lehigh, and Wyoming Valley, Wyoming Valleys) and Greater Pittsburgh
Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and seven adjacent Pennsylvania cou ...
generally vote Democratic, while the majority of the counties in the central part of the state vote Republican. As a result, maps showing the results of statewide elections invariably form a shape that resembles a "T".
Pennsylvania retains the death penalty, although there is currently a gubernatorial hold on executions.
Federal representation
Pennsylvania's two United States Senate, U.S. senators are Republican Dave McCormick and Democrat John Fetterman.
Pennsylvania has Pennsylvania's congressional districts, 17 seats in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives as of 2023.
Education
Pennsylvania has 500 public school districts, thousands of private schools, publicly funded colleges and universities, and over 100 private institutions of higher education.
Primary and secondary education
Under state law, school attendance in Pennsylvania is mandatory for children between ages eight and 17, or until graduation from an accredited high school, whichever is earlier, unless students are Homeschooling in the United States, homeschooled. As of 2005, 83.8% of Pennsylvania residents age 18 to 24 are high school graduates. Among residents age 25 and over, 86.7% have graduated from high school.
The following are the four-year graduation rates for students completing high school in 2016:
Among Pennsylvania high school graduates as of 2009, 27.5% of them went on to obtain a bachelor's degree or higher degree. State students consistently do well in standardized testing. In 2007, Pennsylvania ranked 14th in the nation in mathematics, 12th in reading, and 10th in writing for eighth grade students. In 1988, the Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
passed Act 169, which allows parents or guardians to homeschool their children as an alternative to compulsory school attendance. The law specifies varying geographic requirements and responsibilities on the part of parents and school districts.
Higher education
"Pennsylvania has the fourth most higher education institutions of any state," according to ''Inside Higher Ed'', with 250 universities and colleges. The state is ranked second among the nation's top destinations for freshman out-of-state college students, according to NPR/PBS affiliate WHYY-TV, WHYY, which cites a study by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP). Pennsylvania is third in the nation for the quantity of "Best Colleges", according to ''The Wall Street Journal''.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), which includes 14 state-owned universities and colleges, is Pennsylvania's public university system. West Chester University is by far the largest of the 14 with nearly 15,000 students. The Commonwealth System of Higher Education is the organizing body of Pennsylvania's four state-related schools, which include Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
, Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Lincoln University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University. There are 15 publicly funded two-year Community colleges in the United States, community colleges and technical schools in Pennsylvania that are separate from the PASSHE system, and many private two- and four-year technical schools, colleges, and universities.
Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
, the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, and the University of Pittsburgh are members of the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only organization of leading research universities. Lehigh University, founded in 1865 and located in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, is a private research university. The Pennsylvania State University is Pennsylvania's land-grant university, National Sea Grant College Program, Sea Grant College, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, Space Grant College.
The University of Pennsylvania, founded in West Philadelphia in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, a Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father of the nation, is Pennsylvania's only Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
university, and is the geographically most southern of the nation's eight Ivy League universities. The University of Pennsylvania was one of the first university in the United States, first universities established in the nation; its medical school, Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765, was the first List of medical schools in the United States, medical school established in the nation.
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is a private graduate school of medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy with a main campus in Erie, a branch campus in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Greensburg, and two additional campuses outside Pennsylvania. It is the largest medical school in the United States. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the first and oldest art school in the United States. Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, now part of University of the Sciences , University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, was the first pharmacy school in the United States.
Recreation
Pennsylvania is home to the nation's first zoo, the Philadelphia Zoo. Other long-accredited Association of Zoos and Aquariums#Accreditation, AZA zoos include the Erie Zoo and the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The Lehigh Valley Zoo and ZooAmerica are other notable zoos.
Pennsylvania is home to some of the most notable museums in the nation, including the Allentown Art Museum in Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, Carnegie Museums in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and :Museums in Pennsylvania, several others. One unique museum is the Houdini Museum in Scranton, the only building in the world devoted to the legendary magician. Pennsylvania is also home to the National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh.
All 121 List of Pennsylvania state parks, state parks in Pennsylvania feature free admission.
Pennsylvania's notable amusement parks include Conneaut Lake Park, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Dutch Wonderland, DelGrosso's Amusement Park, Great Wolf Lodge, Hersheypark, Idlewild Park, Kalahari Resorts, Kalahari Resorts Poconos, Kennywood, Knoebels, Lakemont Park, Sandcastle Waterpark, Sesame Place Philadelphia, and Waldameer Park. The largest indoor waterpark resort on the East Coast of the United States, U.S. East Coast is Splash Lagoon in Erie.
The state's notable music festivals include Musikfest, the nation's largest free music festival held annually each August in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Creation Festival, and Purple Door. The Great Allentown Fair, held annually at the Allentown Fairgrounds since the 19th century, is one of the nation's longest-running annual fairs.
There are nearly one million licensed hunters in Pennsylvania. White-tail deer, American black bear, black bear, cottontail rabbit, squirrel, turkey (bird), turkey, and grouse are common game species. Pennsylvania is considered one of the finest wild turkey hunting states in the nation, alongside Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and Alabama. Sport hunting in Pennsylvania provides a massive boost for the state's economy. A report from The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
, reported that hunting, fishing, and furtaking generated a total of $9.6 billion statewide.
The Boone and Crockett Club reports that five of the ten largest American black bear, black bear entries came from the state. The state also has a tied record for the largest hunter shot black bear in the Boone and Crockett Club, Boone and Crockett record books at and a skull of 23 3/16, tied with a bear shot in California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 1993. As of 2007, Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of Boone and Crockett-recorded record black bears at 183, behind Wisconsin's 299.
Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, abbreviated as PennDOT, is responsible for transport issues in Pennsylvania.
Air
Pennsylvania has seven major airports: Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia International, Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh International, Lehigh Valley International Airport, Lehigh Valley International, Harrisburg International Airport, Harrisburg International, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International, Erie International Airport, Erie International, and University Park Airport. A total of 134 public-use airports are located in the state.
Bus and coach
Intercity bus service is provided between cities in Pennsylvania and other major points in the Northeast by BoltBus, Fullington Trailways, Greyhound Lines, Martz Trailways, Megabus (North America), Megabus, OurBus, Trans-Bridge Lines, and various Chinatown bus lines, Chinatown bus companies. In 2018, OurBus began offering service from West Chester, Pennsylvania, West Chester, Malvern, Pennsylvania, Malvern, King of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
, and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, Fort Washington to New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Highways and roads
PennDOT owns of the of roadway in the state, making it the fifth-largest state highway system in the United States.["Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Fact Book", p. 7.] The Pennsylvania Turnpike system is long, with the mainline portion stretching from Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
to Philadelphia and New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. It is overseen by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Another major east–west route is Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 80, which runs primarily in the northern tier of the state from Ohio to New Jersey at the Delaware Water Gap. Interstate 90 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 90 travels the relatively short distance between Ohio and New York through Erie County, Pennsylvania, Erie County, in the extreme northwestern part of the state.
Primary north–south highways are Interstate 79 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 79 from its terminus in Erie through Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
to West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 81 from New York (state), New York state through Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton, Lackawanna County and Harrisburg
Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
to Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
and Interstate 476, which begins north of the Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
border, in Chester, Pennsylvania, Chester, Delaware County and travels to Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Clarks Summit, where it joins I-81. All but of I-476 is the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The highway south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike is officially called the "Veterans Memorial Highway", but is commonly referred to colloquially as the "Blue Route".
Rail
SEPTA is the sixth-largest transit agency in the United States and operates the commuter rail, commuter, heavy rail, heavy and light rail transit, and transit bus service in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Pittsburgh Regional Transit is the 25th-largest transit agency and provides transit bus and light rail service in and around Pittsburgh.
Intercity passenger rail transit is provided by Amtrak, with the majority of traffic occurring on the ''Keystone Service'' in the high-speed Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station before heading north to New York City, and the ''Northeast Regional'', which provides regular high-speed service up and down the Northeast Corridor. The ''Pennsylvanian (train), Pennsylvanian'' follows the same route from New York City to Harrisburg, but extends out to Pittsburgh. The ''Capitol Limited (Amtrak train), Capitol Limited'' also passes through Pittsburgh, as well as Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Connellsville, on its way from Chicago to Washington, D.C. Traveling between Chicago and New York City, the ''Lake Shore Limited'' passes through Erie once in each direction. There are 67 short-line railroad, short-line, freight railroads operating in Pennsylvania, the highest number in any U.S. state.["Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Fact Book", p. 10.] With more than four million inter-city rail passengers in 2018, Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is Amtrak's third-busiest train station in the nation after Pennsylvania Station (New York), Penn Station in Manhattan and Washington Union Station, Union Station in Washington, D.C., and North America's List of busiest railway stations in North America, 12th-busiest train station overall.
Water
The Port of Pittsburgh is the second-largest inland port in the United States and the 18th-largest port overall; the Port of Philadelphia is the 24th-largest port in the United States. Pennsylvania's only port on the Great Lakes is located in Erie. The Allegheny River Lock and Dam Two is the most-used Lock (water transport), lock operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers of its 255 nationwide. The dam impounds the Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...
near Downtown Pittsburgh.
Culture
Food
In 2008, author Sharon Hernes Silverman wrote in the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' that Pennsylvania was the snack food capital of the world. It leads all other states in the manufacture of pretzel
A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baking, baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twi ...
s and potato chip
Potato chips (North American English and Australian English; often just chip) or crisp (British English and Hiberno-English) are thin slices of potato (or a thin deposit of potato paste) that has been deep frying, deep fried, baking, baked, ...
s. In 1861, as the American Civil War, Civil War was beginning, Sturgis Pretzel House in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Lititz was first to introduce the pretzel to American consumers. Two other Pennsylvania-based companies, Immergut Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, Intercourse and Snyder's of Hanover in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Hanover, are leading national pretzel manufacturers. Two of the nation's three leading potato chip companies are based in Pennsylvania: Utz Brands, which started making chips in Hanover in 1921, and Wise Foods, which started making chips in Berwick, Pennsylvania, Berwick the same year; the third, Frito-Lay is owned by Plano, Texas-based PepsiCo. Additional Pennsylvania-based companies, including Herr's Snacks in Nottingham, Pennsylvania, Nottingham, Martin's Potato Chips in Thomasville, Pennsylvania, Thomasville, are popular chip manufacturers.
The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. T ...
in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Hershey is a nearly $9 billion a year company and one of the world's leading manufacturers of chocolate; the company was founded in Hershey by Milton S. Hershey
Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.
Trained in the confectionery business, Hershey pioneered the manufacture of caramel, using fresh milk. He launched ...
in 1894. Gertrude Hawk Chocolates is based in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Dunmore. Other notable companies include Just Born in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
, makers of Hot Tamales, Mike and Ikes, the Easter favorite marshmallow Peeps, and Boyer Brothers of Altoona, which manufacturers Mallo Cups. The pretzel company Auntie Anne's began as a market-stand in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Downingtown, and now has corporate headquarters in Lancaster
Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
*House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
. Traditional Pennsylvania Dutch foods include chicken pot pie, ham pot pie, schnitz un knepp (dried apples, ham, and dumplings), Fasnacht (doughnut), fasnachts (raised doughnuts), scrapple, pretzels, bologna, chow-chow, and Shoofly pie. Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, based in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, specializes in potato bread, another Cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch, traditional Pennsylvania Dutch food. D.G. Yuengling & Son, America's oldest brewery, has been brewing beer in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville since 1829.
Among the regional foods associated with Philadelphia are cheesesteaks, hoagies, soft pretzels, Italian water ice, Irish potato candy, scrapple, Tastykake, and Stromboli (food), strombolis. In Pittsburgh, tomato ketchup was improved by H. J. Heinz Company, Henry John Heinz from 1876 to the early 20th century. Famous to a lesser extent than Heinz ketchup is the Pittsburgh's Primanti Brothers Restaurant sandwiches, pierogies, and city chicken. In northeastern Pennsylvania, Italian heritage has popularized a variety of pizza styles. Outside of Scranton, in Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Old Forge, there are dozens of Italian restaurants specializing in pizza made with thick, light crust, and American cheese. New York–style pizza is popular in Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
. Erie also has its share of foods, including Greek sauce and sponge candy. Sauerkraut along with pork and mashed potatoes is a traditional meal on New Year's Day in Pennsylvania; its tradition began with the Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...
who believe the meal leads to good luck in the new year to come. Among other Cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch, foods and drinks commonly found in Pennsylvania Dutch Country are chicken pot pie (a type of soup made with egg noodles and unrelated to the more commonly found baked pie), shoofly pie, scrapple, sand tarts (a type of thin cookie), and birch beer. Whoopie pie, Whoopie pies, an American favorite, are also said to trace their roots back to Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
Sports
Professional sports
Pennsylvania is home to eight major league professional sports teams: the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, NBA, the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, NFL, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, NHL, and the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Among them, these teams have accumulated sevenWorld Series championships (with the Pirates winning five and Phillies winning two), 16 National League (baseball), National League pennants (with the Pirates winning nine and Phillies winning seven), three pre-Super Bowl era NFL championships (all won by the Eagles), eight Super Bowl championships (with the Steelers winning six and the Eagles two), two NBA championships (both won by the 76ers), and seven Stanley Cup championships (with the Penguins winning five and Flyers winning two).
With Sports in Philadelphia, five professional sports teams and some of the most passionate sports fans in the nation, Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
is often described as the “nation's best sports city.”
In addition to its two Major League Baseball franchises, Pennsylvania is home to two Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A-level teams, the highest level of Minor League Baseball play. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies, are based in Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, where they play at Coca-Cola Park. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, affiliated with the New York Yankees, are based in Moosic, Pennsylvania, Moosic, where they play at PNC Field.
Pennsylvania is home to four Double-A (baseball), Double-A level baseball teams: the Altoona Curve, Erie SeaWolves, Harrisburg Senators, and Reading Fightin Phils. Pennsylvania has two collegiate summer baseball teams affiliated with the MLB Draft League: the State College Spikes and Williamsport Crosscutters. In independent baseball, the state has three teams, the Lancaster Stormers, Washington Wild Things, and York Revolution.
In addition to its two National Hockey League teams, Pennsylvania has three American Hockey League ice hockey teams: the Hershey Bears affiliated with the Washington Capitals, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins affiliated with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It also has an ECHL-level ice hockey team, the Reading Royals, and an Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul. These Pennsylvania-based developmental-level professional teams have accumulated 12 Triple-A National Championship Game, Triple-A and Double-A baseball league titles (Altoona Curve (1) Reading Fightin Phils (4), and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Senators (6)), 3 ArenaBowl championships (Soul), and 11 Calder Cups (Bears).
In addition to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, Pennsylvania has two United States soccer league system, lower level professional soccer teams: Philadelphia Union II of MLS Next Pro and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC of the USL Championship.
Since 1959, the Little League World Series has been held annually in August in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, South Williamsport near where Little League Baseball was founded in Williamsport.
In professional golf, Arnold Palmer, one of the 20th century's most accomplished professional golfers, comes from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Latrobe, and Jim Furyk, a current Professional Golfers' Association of America, PGA player grew up near in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Lancaster. PGA tournaments in Pennsylvania include the 84 Lumber Classic played at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania, Farmington and the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic played at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, Pennsylvania, Moosic.
Philadelphia is home to Love Park, located across from Philadelphia City Hall, City Hall, which is a popular skateboard location that hosted ESPN's X Games in 2001 and 2002.
Motorsports
In motorsports, the Mario Andretti dynasty of race drivers hails from Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
in the Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
. Pennsylvania racetracks include Jennerstown Speedway in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania, Jennerstown, Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pennsylvania, North East, Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania, Sarver, and Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Long Pond, which is home to two NASCAR Cup Series races and an IndyCar Series race. The state is also home to Maple Grove Raceway, near Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, which hosts major National Hot Rod Association-sanctioned drag racing events each year.
There are also two motocross race tracks that host a round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championships in Pennsylvania. High Point Raceway is located in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, and Steel City is located in Delmont, Pennsylvania.
Horse racing tracks in Pennsylvania include Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, The Meadows in North Strabane Township, Pennsylvania, North Strabane Township, Mohegan Pennsylvania in Wilkes-Barre, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Penn National in Grantville, Pennsylvania, Grantville, Presque Isle Downs & Casino, Presque Isle Downs in Summit Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, Summit Township, and Parx Casino and Racing, Parx Racing, Harrah's Philadelphia in Chester, which was the home course of Smarty Jones, winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and 2004 Preakness Stakes. Harrah's Philadelphia also hosts harness racing and Presque Isle Downs also hosts thoroughbred racing.
College sports
In college football, three Pennsylvania universities compete in NCAA Division I, the highest level of sanctioned collegiate play in the sport: Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn State in the Big Ten Conference, Pittsburgh Panthers football, Pitt in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Temple Owls football, Temple in the American Athletic Conference.
Over their respective college football histories, Penn State claims two College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS, national championships (1982 and 1986) and seven undefeated seasons (1887, 1912, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986, and 1994) and Pitt has won nine national championships (1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, and 1976) and had eight undefeated seasons (1904, 1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1937, and 1976). Penn State plays its home games at Beaver Stadium, a 106,572-capacity stadium that is the List of North American stadiums by capacity, second-largest stadium in the nation; the team is coached by James Franklin (American football coach), James Franklin. Pitt plays its home games at Acrisure Stadium, a 68,400-capacity stadium it shares with the Pittsburgh Steelers; the team is coached by Pat Narduzzi. Over their respective histories, four additional Pennsylvania universities and colleges have won national college football championships: Lafayette Leopards football, Lafayette in Easton (1896), Villanova Wildcats football, Villanova in Villanova, Pennsylvania, Villanova (2009), Penn Quakers football, Penn in Philadelphia (1895, 1897, 1904, and 1908), and Washington & Jefferson Presidents, Washington & Jefferson in Washington, Pennsylvania, Washington (1921).
In college basketball, five Philadelphia and Delaware Valley, Philadelphia-area universities, collectively known as the Philadelphia Big 5, Big Five, have a tradition in NCAA Division I basketball. National titles in college basketball have been won by La Salle Explorers men's basketball, La Salle (1954), Temple Owls men's basketball, Temple (1938), Penn Quakers men's basketball, Penn (1920 and 1921), Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball, Pitt (1928 and 1930), and Villanova Wildcats men's basketball, Villanova (1985, 2016, and 2018).
Pennsylvania has several universities and colleges known as national leaders in college wrestling. Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling, Penn State, coached by Cael Sanderson, has won ten NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in its history, second most among all universities and colleges after Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling, Oklahoma State. Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Lehigh in Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
has had 28 NCAA Division I individual champions over its history.
Nicknames
Since 1802, Pennsylvania has been known as the Keystone State, which remains the state's most popular and widely used nickname. The nickname "Keystone State" originates with the agricultural and architectural term "keystone (architecture), keystone", and is based on the central role that Pennsylvania played geographically and functionally among the original Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America.
The Thirteen C ...
from which the nation was established, the important founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, that were signed and ratified in Pennsylvania, and the central role that Pennsylvania played in the nation's early manufacturing and agricultural development.
Less often, Pennsylvania is referred to as the Coal State, the Oil State, and the Steel State, in recognition of the important role these respective industries played in the state in the 19th and 20th centuries. The State of Independence appears on several current day road signs entering Pennsylvania from bordering states.
Pennsylvania residents and those of surrounding states sometimes refer to Pennsylvania by the state's abbreviation, PA.
Pennsylvania was historically referred to by the nickname Quaker State during the Province of Pennsylvania, colonial era based on the influential role that William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...
and other Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
played in establishing the Frame of Government of Pennsylvania, first frame of government constitution for the Province of Pennsylvania that guaranteed Freedom (political), liberty of conscience, which was a reflection of Penn's knowledge of the hostility Quakers confronted when they opposed religious rituals, taking oaths, violence, war, and military service, and what they viewed as ostentatious wikt:frippery, frippery.
Notable people
Sister regions
* Kedah, Malaysia
* Matanzas Province, Cuba
* Rhône-Alpes, France
See also
* Index of Pennsylvania-related articles
* Outline of Pennsylvania
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
Web sources
*
*
*
Books
*
External links
Official state government site
Official state tourism site
Pennsylvania: State Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress
*
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