TheBattle of Gettysburg, fought in July 1863 aroundGettysburg, was the deadliest battle of theAmerican Civil War with over 50,000Union andConfederate fatalities, and resulted in a repulsion of the Confederacy's invasion of the North. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the state's steel production and manufacturing-based economy contributed to the development of much of the nation's early infrastructure, including key bridges, skyscrapers, and military hardware used in U.S.-led victories inWorld War I,World War II, and theCold War.
Pennsylvania's history of human habitation extends thousands of years before the foundation of the colonialProvince of Pennsylvania in 1681.Archaeologists believe the firstsettlement of the Americas occurred at least 15,000 years ago, during theLast 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 inNorth America.[12]Meadowcroft Rockshelter inJefferson Township includes the earliest known signs of human activity in Pennsylvania and perhaps all of North America,[13] including the remains of a civilization that existed over 10,000 years ago and possibly pre-dated theClovis culture.[14][13] By 1000 AD, in contrast to their nomadichunter-gathererancestors, the native population of Pennsylvania had developedagricultural techniques and a mixed food economy.[15]
By the timeEuropean colonization of the Americas began, at least two major Native American tribes inhabited Pennsylvania.[14] The first, theLenape, spoke anAlgonquian language and inhabited the eastern region of the state, then known asLenapehoking. It included most of present-dayNew Jersey and theLehigh Valley andDelaware Valley regions in eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. The Lenape's territory ended somewhere between theDelaware River in the east and theSusquehanna River in central Pennsylvania. The second tribe, theSusquehannock, spoke anIroquoian language and were based inEastern Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River.[16] European disease and constant warfare with several neighboring tribes and groups of Europeans weakened these two tribes, and they were grossly outpaced financially as theHurons andIroquois blocked them from proceeding west intoOhio during theBeaver Wars. 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 IroquoianPetun,[17][18] 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,[citation needed] which may have been part of theMonongahela culture.
In the 17th century, theDutch and theEnglish each claimed both sides of theDelaware River as part of their colonial lands in America.[19][20][21] The Dutch were the first to take possession.[21] By June 3, 1631, the Dutch began settling theDelmarva Peninsula by establishing theZwaanendael Colony on the site of present-dayLewes, Delaware.[22] In 1638, Sweden established theNew Sweden Colony in the region ofFort Christina on the site of present-dayWilmington, Delaware. 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.[23][24]
On March 12, 1664,King Charles II of England gaveJames, Duke of York 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 forNew Netherland, which included parts of today's Pennsylvania.[25]
On June 24, 1664, the Duke of York sold the portion of his large grant that included present-dayNew Jersey toJohn Berkeley andGeorge Carteret 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, whenNew Amsterdam was coerced to surrender while facing cannons on British ships inNew York Harbor.[26][27] The conquest was completed in October 1664, when the British capturedFort Casimir in what today isNew Castle, Delaware. TheTreaty of Breda between England, France, and the Netherlands confirmed the English conquest on July 21, 1667,[28][29] although there were temporary reversions.
On September 12, 1672, during theThird Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch reconqueredNew York Colony/New Amsterdam, establishing three County Courts, which went on to become original Counties in present-dayDelaware and Pennsylvania. The one that later transferred to Pennsylvania was Upland.[30] This was partially reversed on February 9, 1674, when theTreaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War and reverted all political situations to thestatus quo ante bellum. The British retained the Dutch Counties with their Dutch names.[31] 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.[32] Upland was partitioned on November 12, 1674, producing the general outline of the current border between Pennsylvania and Delaware.[33]
On February 28, 1681, Charles II granted a land charter[34] toQuaker leader William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000[35] (around £2,100,000 in 2008, adjusting for retail inflation)[36] owed to William's father. The transaction represents one of the largest land grants to an individual in history.[37][38] Penn proposed that the land be called New Wales, but there were objections to that name, so he recommended Sylvania (from theLatinsilva: "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.[39] Penn established a government with two innovations, thecounty commission andfreedom of religion, which were subsequently replicated in many of theThirteen Colonies.[38]
What had been Upland on the Pennsylvania side of the Pennsylvania-Delaware border was renamedChester County when Pennsylvania instituted its colonial governments on March 4, 1681.[40][41] Penn signed a peace treaty withTamanend, leader of the Lenape, which began a long period of friendly relations between the Quakers and the Indians.[42] Additional treaties between Quakers and other tribes followed. TheTreaty of Shackamaxon of William Penn was never violated.[43][44][45]
Between 1730 and when the Pennsylvania Colony was shut down byParliament with theCurrency Act in 1764, the Pennsylvania Colony made its own paper money to account for the shortage of actual gold and silver. The paper money was calledColonial 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 had a hand in creating this currency, whose utility, he said, was never to be disputed. The currency also met with "cautious approval" byAdam Smith.[47]
In 1740, Franklin also founded theUniversity of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia. The university, one of ninecolonial colleges, was the first college established in Pennsylvania and one of the first in the nation. Today, it is anIvy League university, which is routinely ranked among the world's best universities.[48]Dickinson College inCarlisle, founded byBenjamin Rush and named after John Dickinson, was the first college founded afterRevolutionary War and the unification of the states.[48] Established in 1773, it was ratified on September 9, 1783, five days after theTreaty 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."[49] The ensuing hostilities became known asPontiac's War.
When theFounding Fathers convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to theFirst Continental Congress.[51] TheSecond Continental Congress, which began in May 1775, authored and signed theDeclaration of Independence in Philadelphia,[52] but when Philadelphia fell to theBritish in thePhiladelphia campaign, the Continental Congress moved west, where it met at theLancaster courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then toYork. In York, the Second Continental Congress adopted theArticles of Confederation, largely authored by Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, that formed 13 independent States[d] into a new union. Later, theConstitution was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new nation.[53] The Constitution was drafted and signed at thePennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known asIndependence Hall, the same building where the Declaration of Independence was previously adopted and signed in 1776.[54]
On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify theU.S. Constitution,[55] five days afterDelaware 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 spokeGerman, the Constitution was presented in German so those citizens could participate in the discussion about it.Reverend Frederick Muhlenberg, aLutheran minister and thefirst Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, acted as chairman of Pennsylvania's ratifying convention.[56]
For half a century, thePennsylvania General Assembly met at various places in the Philadelphia area before it began meeting regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years.[57] However, events such as thePaxton Boys massacres of 1763 had made the legislature aware of the need for a central capital. In 1799, the General Assembly moved to theLancaster Courthouse.[57]
ThePennsylvania General Assembly met in the oldDauphin County Court House until December 1821[57] when theFederal-style Hills Capitol, named for Lancaster architectStephen Hills, was constructed on a hilltop land grant of four acres set aside for a seat of state government inHarrisburg by the son and namesake ofJohn Harris, Sr., aYorkshire native who founded a trading post and ferry on the east shore of theSusquehanna River in 1705.[60] The Hills Capitol burned down on February 2, 1897, during a heavy snowstorm, presumably because of a faultyflue.[57]
The General Assembly met at a nearbyMethodist Church until a new capitol could be built. Following an architectural selection contest,Chicago architectHenry Ives Cobb 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 presentPennsylvania State Capitol that incorporated Cobb's building into a magnificent public work, finished and dedicated in 1907.[57]
From 1857 to 1861,James Buchanan, aFranklin County native, served as the 15th U.S. president, the first president to be born in Pennsylvania.[61]
Over three days, from July 1 to July 3, 1863, during theAmerican Civil War, theBattle of Gettysburg was fought nearGettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of both the Civil War and of any battle in American history. TheUnion army's victory at Gettysburg also proved theCivil War's turning point, leading to theUnion's victory two years later and the nation's preservation. Several months later, on November 19, 1863, thenU.S. presidentAbraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, where he participated in a ceremonial consecration of present-dayGettysburg National Cemetery and delivered theGettysburg Address, a 271-word speech that is one of the most famousspeeches inAmerican history.[62] During the Civil War, an estimated 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union army, including 8,600 African Americanmilitary volunteers.
The post-Civil War era, known as theGilded Age, saw the continued rise of industry in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was home to some of the largest steel companies in the world.Andrew Carnegie founded theCarnegie Steel Company inPittsburgh andCharles M. Schwab foundedBethlehem Steel inBethlehem. Other titans of industry, includingJohn D. Rockefeller andJay Gould, also operated in Pennsylvania. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S.oil industry was born inWestern Pennsylvania, which supplied the vast majority ofkerosene for years thereafter. As thePennsylvania oil rush developed, Pennsylvania's oil boom towns, such asTitusville, rose and later fell. Coal mining, primarily in the state'sCoal Region 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 began construction on a chocolate factory inHershey, Pennsylvania;The Hershey Company 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; asHenry Demarest Lloyd put it, oil baron John D. Rockefeller "had done everything with the Pennsylvania legislature except refine it".[64] Pennsylvania created a Department of Highways and engaged in a vast program of road-building, while railroads continued to see heavy usage.[citation needed]
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 ofunion busting with several private police forces springing up.[64] Pennsylvania was the location of the first documented organized strike in North America, and Pennsylvania was the location of two hugely prominent strikes, theGreat Railroad Strike of 1877 and theCoal Strike of 1902. The eight-hour day was eventually adopted, and the coal and iron police were banned.[65]
Bethlehem Steel inBethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 19th and 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003.
In the beginning of the 20th century, Pennsylvania's economy was centered on steel manufacturing,logging,coal mining,textile production, and other forms of industrialmanufacturing. 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 fromSouthern andEastern Europe.[citation needed] Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during theSpanish–American War. Pennsylvania was an important industrial center duringWorld War I. The state provided over 300,000 soldiers during the war. On May 31, 1918, thePittsburgh Agreement was signed inPittsburgh, signed byTomáš Masaryk and establishedCzechoslovakia as an independent nation.
In 1922, 310,000 Pennsylvania miners joined theUMW General coal strike, which lasted 163 days and shut down most of the state's coal mines.[66][67]
DuringWorld War II, Pennsylvania manufactured 6.6 percent of total U.S. military armaments for the war, the sixth-most of the 48 states.[70]Philadelphia Naval Shipyard served as an important naval base during the war, and Pennsylvania produced many of the war's most important military leaders, includingGeorge C. Marshall,Hap Arnold,Jacob Devers, andCarl Spaatz. During World War II, over a million Pennsylvanians served in the armed forces, and moreMedals of Honor were awarded to Pennsylvanians than to individuals from any other state.[citation needed]
On March 28, 1979, theThree Mile Island accident was the most significantnuclear accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.[71][72] 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 thetop ten most populous cities in the United States in 1950, and Philadelphia dropped to the fifth and is currently thesixth-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.[73] New ethnic groups, especiallyHispanics and Latinos, began entering the state to fill low-skill jobs in agriculture and service industries. For example, inChester County,Mexican immigrants brought theSpanish language, increasedCatholicism, 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.[74]
Stateside Puerto Ricans have built a large community in the state's third-largest city,Allentown, where they comprise over 40% of the city's population as of 2000.[75]
In the late 20th century, as Pennsylvania's historical national and even global leadership inmining largely ceased and itssteelmaking 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.[76] Philadelphia anchors theseventh-largestmetropolitan area 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, theLehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania is the nation's 69th-largest metropolitan area.[77] Pennsylvania also hassix additional metropolitan areas that rank among the nation's 200-most populous metropolitan areas. Philadelphia forms part of theNortheast megalopolis and is associated with theNortheastern United States. Pittsburgh is part of theGreat Lakes megalopolis and is often associated with theRust Belt.
During theSeptember 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the small town ofShanksville, Pennsylvania, received worldwide attention afterUnited Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field inStonycreek Township, located 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north of the town. All 40 civilians and 4Al-Qaeda hijackers on board were killed. The hijackers had intended to crash the plane into either theUnited States Capitol orThe White House.[78] After learning from family members via air phone of the earlier attacks on theWorld Trade Center, 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.[79]
Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west.[81] Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 km2)[2], 44,817 square miles (116,075 km2) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 km2) are inland waters, and 749 square miles (1,940 km2) are waters inLake Erie.[82] It is the33rd-largest state in the United States.[83] Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km)[84] of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km)[11] of shoreline along theDelaware Estuary. Of the originalThirteen Colonies, Pennsylvania is the only state that does not border theAtlantic Ocean.
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, can receive over 100 inches (250 cm) 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.[85]
Monthly Average High and Low Temperatures For Various Pennsylvania Cities (in °F)
As of the2020 U.S. census, Pennsylvania had a population of 13,011,844, up from 12,702,379 in 2010. Pennsylvania is thefifth-most populated state in the U.S. afterCalifornia,Texas,Florida, andNew York.[93] In 2019, netmigration to other states resulted in a decrease of 27,718, andimmigration 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.[94][95] Pennsylvania'scenter of population is inDuncannon inPerry County.[96]
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 inPuerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5.6% were foreign born.[99] 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, wereGerman 28.5%,Irish 18.2%,Italian 12.8%,African Americans 9.6%,English 8.5%,Polish 7.2%, andFrench 4.2%.[100][101] As of 2018, the top countries of origin for Pennsylvania's immigrants wereIndia, theDominican Republic,China,Mexico, andVietnam.[102]
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 theirAmish communities.Wyoming Valley, includingScranton andWilkes-Barre, 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 fromPuerto Rico, a U.S. territory, and to a lesser extent immigration from countries such as theDominican Republic,Mexico, and variousCentral andSouth American nations and a wave of Hispanic and Latinos leavingNew York City andNew Jersey for more affordable living.[citation needed]
The majority of Hispanic or Latino Americans in Pennsylvania are ofPuerto Rican descent.[104][105] Most of the remaining Hispanic or Latino population is made up ofMexicans andDominicans, and the majority of Hispanics and Latinos are concentrated in Philadelphia, theLehigh Valley, and South Central Pennsylvania.[106] The Hispanic or Latino population is greatest inBethlehem,Allentown,Reading,Lancaster,York, and around Philadelphia. As of 2010, the vast majority of Hispanics and Latino Americans in Pennsylvania, about 85%, live within a 150-mile (240 km) radius of Philadelphia, and about 20% live in the city itself.
The Asian population swelled by almost 60%[timeframe?], mostly Indian, Vietnamese, and Chinese immigrants, and many Asians moving toPhiladelphia 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%[timeframe?], which was the largest increase in that population among the state's peers ofNew York,New Jersey,Ohio,Illinois, andMichigan.[107] 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.[108][109]
Among the state's black population, the vast majority in the state are African American. There are also a growing number of black residents ofWest Indian,recent African, andHispanic or Latino origins.[110] Most Blacks live in the Philadelphia area, Pittsburgh, or South Central Pennsylvania.[citation needed] Additionally, in 2020, 31,052 identified as being Native American alone, and 158,112 did in combination with one or more other races.[111]
Racial and ethnic composition as of the2020 census
Note: data for births ofWhite Hispanic origin have not been collected, but included in oneHispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
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%.[127] 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.[128]
AnAmish family riding in a traditionalAmish buggy inLancaster County. As of 2024, Pennsylvania has an Amish population of 92,660, thelargest of any state in the nation.
As of 2010, 90.2% (10,710,239) of Pennsylvania residents age five and older spokeEnglish at home as aprimary language while 4.1% (486,058) spokeSpanish, 0.9% (103,502) spokeGerman, includingPennsylvania Dutch, and 0.5% (56,052) spokeChinese, includingMandarin. In total, 9.9% (1,170,628) of Pennsylvania's population age5 and older spoke amother tongue other than English.[129]
Pennsylvania German, spoken by nearly one percent of Pennsylvania's population as of 2010, is often misleadingly called Pennsylvania Dutch. The term Dutch was used to mean German,[130] including theNetherlands, before the Latin name for them replaced it. When referring to the language spoken by thePennsylvania Dutch people, Pennsylvania German, it meansGerman. In fact,Germans, in their own language, call themselves Deutsch, (Pennsylvania German: "Deitsch"). Pennsylvania Dutch is a descendant of German in theWest Central German dialect family and is closest toPalatine German. Pennsylvania German is still very vigorous as a first language amongOld Order Amish andOld Order Mennonites, principally in theLancaster County andBerks County areas; it is almost extinct as an everyday language outside theplain communities, though a few words have passed into English usage.
Of the originalThirteen Colonies, Pennsylvania andRhode Island had the most religious freedom.[132]Voltaire, writing ofWilliam Penn 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."[133] One result of this uncommon freedom was a wide religiousdiversity, which continues to the present.
Pennsylvania, especially theGreater Pittsburgh area, has one of the largest communities ofPresbyterians in the nation, the third-highest by percentage of population and the largest outright in membership asProtestant Christians.[136] TheAmerican Presbyterian Church, with about 250,000 members and 1,011 congregations, is the largest Presbyterian denomination, and thePresbyterian Church in America is also significant, with 112 congregations and approximately 23,000 adherents; theEPC has around 50 congregations, including theECO, according to 2010 estimates. The fourth-largestProtestant denomination, theUnited Church of Christ, has 180,000 members and 627 congregations in the state. TheAmerican Baptist Churches USA, also referred to as the Northern Baptist Convention is based inKing of Prussia.
Pennsylvania was the center state of theGerman Reformed denomination from the 1700s.[137]Bethlehem is one of the headquarters of theMoravian Church in the U.S. Pennsylvania also has a very largeAmish population, second only toOhio among U.S. states.[138] As of 2000, there was a total Amish population of 47,860 in Pennsylvania and an additional 146,416Mennonites and 91,200Brethren. The totalAnabapist population includingBruderhof was 232,631, about two percent of the population.[139] While Pennsylvania owes its existence toQuakers, and much of the historic character of Pennsylvania is ideologically rooted in the teachings of theReligious Society of Friends (as they are officially known), practicing Quakers are a small minority of about 10,000 adherents as of 2010.[140]
Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
As of 2024, Pennsylvania'sgross state product (GSP) is $1.017 trillion, thesixth-largest among all U.S. states, behindCalifornia,Texas,New York,Florida, andIllinois.[141]If Pennsylvaniawere an independent country, its economy, as of 2023, would rank as the 20th-largest in the world.[142] On a per capita basis, Pennsylvania's 2021 per capita income of $68,957 ranks 21st among the 50 states.[143] 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%.[144]
Pennsylvania is home to 23 of the nation's 500 largest companies that comprise theFortune 500, including two that rank in the top 100,Cencora (formerly AmeriSource Bergen) inConshohocken, which is the nation's 11th-largest company, andComcast in Philadelphia, which is the 29th-largest.[146] Philadelphia is home to six of theFortune 500 companies,[147] with more located in suburbs likeKing of Prussia; it is a leader in the financial[148] and insurance industries. Pittsburgh is home to eightFortune 500 companies, includingU.S. Steel,PPG Industries,Heinz, andGE Transportation.[147] Hershey is home toThe Hershey Company, 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 industry, includingwarehousing and theintermodal transport of goods.[149]
As of 2018, Pennsylvania ranks first in the nation in a few economic sectors and niches, including barrels ofbeer produced annually (3.9 million),farmers' markets (over 6,000),food processing companies (2,300), hardwoodlumber production (a billion board feet annually),mushroom farms (68),natural gas production,potato chip manufacturing (24 facilities manufacturing one-fourth of the nation's total), andpretzel manufacturing (80 percent of the nation's total).[151]
ThePennsylvania Department of Agriculture worked with private companies to establish "PA Preferred" as a way to brand agricultural products grown or made in the state.[154] The financial impact of agriculture in Pennsylvania[155] includes employment of more than 66,800 people employed by the foodmanufacturing industry and over $1.7 billion in food productexport as of 2011.
The first nationally chartered bank in the U.S., theBank of North America, was founded in 1781 in Philadelphia. After a series of mergers, the Bank of North America is now part ofWells Fargo. Pennsylvania is home to the first nationally chartered bank under the 1863National 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 asPNC and remains based in Pittsburgh. PNC is currently the state's largest and the nation's sixth-largest bank.
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.[158][159] 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 andWestmoreland counties alone account for over 550 abandoned sites. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for remediation of such problems.[160]
Pennsylvania has had fiveconstitutions during its statehood:[163]1776,1790,1838,1874, and1968. Before that the province of Pennsylvania was governed for a century by aFrame of Government, of which there were four versions: 1682, 1683, 1696, and 1701.[163] The capital of Pennsylvania isHarrisburg. The legislature meets there in theState Capitol.
In a 2020 study, Pennsylvania was ranked as the 19th-hardest state for citizens to vote.[164]
Pennsylvania is divided into 60 judicial districts.[170] With the exception ofPhiladelphia 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.[170] Most criminal and civil cases originate in the Courts of Common Pleas, which also serve asappellate court.[170] TheSuperior Court hears all appeals from the Courts of Common Pleas not expressly designated to theCommonwealth Court orSupreme Court. The Superior Court also has original jurisdiction to reviewprobable cause governmental requests forwarrants inwiretap surveillance.[170] The Commonwealth Court is limited to appeals from final orders of certain state agencies and certain designated cases from the Courts of Common Pleas.[170] TheSupreme Court of Pennsylvania is the state's final appellate court. All judges in Pennsylvania are elected, and thechief justice of the state's Supreme Court is determined by seniority.[170]
Pennsylvania is divided into 67counties.[171] Counties are further subdivided into municipalities that are either incorporated as cities,boroughs, ortownships.[172] The most populous county in Pennsylvania and24th-most populous county in the United States isPhiladelphia County, which includes the city ofPhiladelphia, with a 2020 population of 1,603,797; the state's least populous county isCameron with a population of 4,547.[108]
There are a total of 56 cities in Pennsylvania, which are classified by population as either first-class, second-class, or third-class cities.[171][173] Philadelphia, the state's largest city with a population exceeding 1.6 million, is Pennsylvania's only first-class city.[172]Pittsburgh (303,000) andScranton (76,000) are second-class and second-class 'A' cities, respectively.[172] All of the state's remaining cities includingAllentown, the state's third-largest city, andReading, its fourth-largest, toParker, the state's smallest city with a population of only 820, are designated as third-class cities.[174] First- and second-class cities are governed by a "strong mayor" form ofmayor–council government, whereas third-class cities are governed by either a "weak mayor" form of government or acouncil–manager government.[172]
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.[172] There are 958 boroughs in Pennsylvania, all of which are governed by the "weak mayor" form of mayor-council government.[171][172] The largest borough in Pennsylvania isState College (40,501) and the smallest isCentralia.
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.[175] Second-class townships can become first-class townships if they have a population density greater than 300 inhabitants per square mile (120/km2) and areferendum is passed supporting the change.[175] Pennsylvania's largest township isUpper Darby Township (85,681), and the smallest isEast Keating Township.
There is one exception to the types of municipalities in Pennsylvania:Bloomsburg was incorporated as a town in 1870 and is, officially, the only town in the state.[176] In 1975,McCandless Township adopted a home-rule charter under the name of "Town of McCandless", but is, legally, still a first-class township.[177] 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.
Pennsylvania had the 15th-highest state and local tax burden in the nation as of 2012, according to theTax Foundation.[178] 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.[179] Additional revenue prospects include trying to place tolls on interstate highways; specificallyInterstate 80, which is used heavily by out of state commuters with high maintenance costs.[180]
Sales taxes provide 39% of Pennsylvania's state revenue;personal income taxes 34%; motor vehicle taxes about 12%, and taxes oncigarettes and alcoholic beverages 5%.[181] 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 andlottery winnings (other thanPennsylvania Lottery winnings).[182]
Counties, municipalities, andschool districts levy taxes on real estate. In addition, some local bodies assess awage tax on personal income. Generally, the total wage tax rate is capped at 1% of income but some municipalities withhome rule charters may charge more than 1%. Thirty-two of Pennsylvania's sixty-seven counties levy apersonal property tax on stocks, bonds, and similar holdings. With the exception of the city ofPhiladelphia, 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).[183]
Philadelphia 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).[184]
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 totax 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 inNew York,Maryland,Indiana, andIowa, have been unsuccessful.[185]
Since the latter half of the 20th century, Pennsylvania has been perceived as a powerfulswing state, and winning Pennsylvania has since been deemed as essential toU.S. presidential candidates. Only thrice between1932 and1988 (1932, 1948, and1968, withFranklin D. Roosevelt,Harry S. Truman, andRichard Nixon, respectively) has a presidential candidate been able to win the White House while losing Pennsylvania.
In the2016 United States presidential election, however, RepublicanDonald Trump broke the Democratic streak in the state, winning by 2,970,733 (48%) votes to 2,926,441 (47%) votes.[187] The state returned to the Democratic column in2020 by voting forJoe Biden over Trump, 3,458,229 (50%) to 3,377,674 (49%). In2024, Pennsylvania swung back to Trump, with the former president winning 3,543,308 (50%) to Vice PresidentKamala Harris's 3,423,042 (49%). The state holds 19electoral votes.[188]
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 SenatorArlen 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 the2014 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, andJohnstown areas in the southwest, andScranton andWilkes-Barre 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 consultantJames 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,Lehigh, andWyoming Valleys) andGreater Pittsburgh 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 thedeath penalty, although there is currently a gubernatorial hold on executions.[189]
Pennsylvania has 500 public school districts, thousands of private schools, publicly funded colleges and universities, and over 100 private institutions of higher 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 arehomeschooled.[191] 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:[192]
Cohort
All Students
Male
Female
White
Hispanic
Black
Asian
Special Education
% graduating
86.09
84.14
88.13
90.48
72.83
73.22
91.21
74.06
Among Pennsylvania high school graduates as of 2009, 27.5% of them went on to obtain a bachelor's degree or higher degree.[193] 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.[194] In 1988, thePennsylvania General Assembly 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.[195]
There are nearly one million licensed hunters in Pennsylvania.White-tail deer,black bear,cottontail rabbit,squirrel,turkey, andgrouse are common game species. Pennsylvania is considered one of the finestwild turkey hunting states in the nation, alongsideTexas andAlabama. 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 thePennsylvania General Assembly, reported that hunting, fishing, and furtaking generated a total of $9.6 billion statewide.
TheBoone and Crockett Club reports that five of the ten largestblack bear entries came from the state.[210] The state also has a tied record for the largest hunter shot black bear in theBoone and Crockett record books at 733 lb (332 kg) and askull of 23 3/16, tied with a bear shot inCalifornia in 1993.[210] As of 2007, Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of Boone and Crockett-recorded record black bears at 183, behindWisconsin's 299.[210]
PennDOT owns 39,861 miles (64,150 km) of the 121,770 miles (195,970 km) of roadway in the state, making it the fifth-largest state highway system in the United States.[212] ThePennsylvania Turnpike system is 535 miles (861 km) long, with the mainline portion stretching fromOhio to Philadelphia andNew Jersey.[212] It is overseen by thePennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Another major east–west route isInterstate 80, which runs primarily in the northern tier of the state from Ohio to New Jersey at theDelaware Water Gap.Interstate 90 travels the relatively short distance between Ohio and New York throughErie County, in the extreme northwestern part of the state.
SEPTA is the sixth-largest transit agency in the United States and operates thecommuter,heavy andlight rail transit, andtransit 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.[213]
In professional golf,Arnold Palmer, one of the 20th century's most accomplished professional golfers, comes fromLatrobe, andJim Furyk, a currentPGA player grew up near inLancaster. PGA tournaments in Pennsylvania include the 84 Lumber Classic played at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort inFarmington and the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic played at Glenmaura National Golf Club inMoosic.
Over their respective college football histories, Penn State claims twonational 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).[226] Penn State plays its home games atBeaver Stadium, a 106,572-capacity stadium that is thesecond-largest stadium in the nation; the team is coached byJames Franklin. Pitt plays its home games atAcrisure Stadium, a 68,400-capacity stadium it shares with thePittsburgh Steelers; the team is coached byPat Narduzzi. Over their respective histories, four additional Pennsylvania universities and colleges have won national college football championships:Lafayette inEaston (1896),Villanova inVillanova (2009),Penn in Philadelphia (1895, 1897, 1904, and 1908),[227] andWashington & Jefferson inWashington (1921).
Incollege basketball, sixPhiladelphia-area universities (Drexel, La Salle, Penn, St. Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova), collectively known as theBig 5, have a rivalry tradition. National titles in college basketball have been won byLa Salle (1954),Temple (1938),Penn (1920 and 1921),Pitt (1928 and 1930), andVillanova (1985, 2016, and 2018).
Since 1802, Pennsylvania has been known as theKeystone State, which remains the state's most popular and widely used nickname.[228] The nickname "Keystone State" originates with the agricultural and architectural term "keystone", and is based on the central role that Pennsylvania played geographically and functionally among the originalThirteen Colonies 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.[229][230]
Less often, Pennsylvania is referred to asthe Coal State,the Oil State, andthe Steel State, in recognition of the important role these respective industries played in the state in the 19th and 20th centuries.[231]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.[232]
Pennsylvania was historically referred to by the nicknameQuaker State during thecolonial era[233] based on the influential role thatWilliam Penn and otherQuakers played in establishing thefirst frame of government constitution for the Province of Pennsylvania that guaranteedliberty ofconscience, 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 ostentatiousfrippery.[234][235][236]
^"On the Susquehannocks: Natives having used Baltimore County as hunting grounds – The Historical Society of Baltimore County". www.HSOBC.org. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
^"Early Indian Migration". GenealogyTrails.com. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
^Swindler, William F., ed. (1973–1979).Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions. Vol. 10. Dobbs Ferry, New York:Oceana Publications. pp. 17–23.
^abVan Zandt, Franklin K. (1976).Boundaries of the United States and the Several States. Geological Survey Professional Papers. Vol. 909. Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office. pp. 74, 92.
^Munroe, John A. (1978).Colonial Delaware: A History. Millwood, New York: KTO Press. pp. 9–12.
^Munroe, John A. (1978).Colonial Delaware: A History. Millwood, New York: KTO Press. p. 16.
^McCormick, Richard P. (1964).New Jersey from Colony to State, 1609–1789. New Jersey Historical Series, Volume 1. Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Company. p. 12.
^Swindler, William F., ed. (1973–1979).Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions. Vol. 4. Dobbs Ferry, New York:Oceana Publications. pp. 278–280.
^Swindler, William F., ed. (1973–1979).Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions. Vol. 6. Dobbs Ferry, New York:Oceana Publications. pp. 375–377.
^Farnham, Mary Frances (1901–1902).Farnham Papers (1603–1688). Volumes 7 and 8 of Documentary History of the State of Maine. Vol. 7. Portland, Maine: Collections of theMaine Historical Society, 2nd Series. pp. 311, 314.
^Parry, Clive, ed. (1969–1981).Consolidated Treaty Series; 231 Volumes. Vol. 13. Dobbs Ferry, New York:Oceana Publications. p. 136.
^Fernow, B., ed. (1853–1887).Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York; Volumes 12–15. Vol. 12. Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons and Co. p. 515.
^Armstrong, Edward, ed. (1860).Record of the Court at Upland, in Pennsylvania, 1676 to 1681. Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Volume 7. pp. 119, 198.
^Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania-1681Archived April 28, 2011, at theWayback Machine. This charter, granted by Charles II to William Penn, constituted him and his heirs proprietors of the province, which, in honor of his father, Admiral William Penn, whose cash advances and services were requited, was called Pennsylvania. On August 24, 1682, to perfect his title, William Penn purchased a quit-claim from theDuke of York to the lands west of the Delaware River embraced in his patent of 1664
^H. W. Brands,The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin,Anchor Books (2002) 2002ISBN0-385-49328-2 p.37:'Penn became the proprietor of what may have been the largest single piece of real estate every legally held by someone other than a monarch.'
^"Wales on Britannia: Facts About Wales & the Welsh". Britannia.com. Archived fromthe original on February 22, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 16, 2013.This day, my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a name the King would give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being as this, a pretty, hilly country, but Penn being Welsh for head as in Penmanmoire (sic), in Wales, and Penrith, in Cumberland, and Penn, in Buckinghamshire . . . called this Pennsylvania, which is the high or head woodlands; for I proposed, when the secretary, a Welshman, refused to have it called New Wales, Sylvania and they added Penn to it, and though I opposed it and went to the King to have it struck out and altered he said it was past . . nor could twenty guineas move the under-secretary to vary the name
^Armstrong, Edward, ed. (1860).Record of the Court at Upland, in Pennsylvania, 1676 to 1681. Vol. 7. Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. p. 196.
^Swindler, William F., ed. (1973–1979).Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions. 10 Volumes. Vol. 8. Dobbs Ferry, New York:Oceana Publications. p. 243.
^"History of John Harris". Mrs. Carlyle C. Browne (descendant of Sarah Ann Harris, fifth daughter of Alfred Bingham Harris, and granddaughter of Elisha John Harris of the Mansion, Harrisburg PA, USA). 2001.Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. RetrievedFebruary 14, 2011.
^William F. Stine, "Does State Aid Stimulate Public Library Expenditures? Evidence from Pennsylvania's Enhancement Aid Program"Library Quarterly (2006) 76#1 107–139.
^Victor M. Garcia, "The Mushroom Industry And The Emergence Of Mexican Enclaves In Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1960–1990"Journal of Latino-Latin American Studies (JOLLAS) (2005) 1#4 pp 67–88.
^Gilbert Marzan, "Still Looking for that Elsewhere: Puerto Rican Poverty and Migration in the Northeast."Centro Journal (2009) 21#1 pp 100–117online.
^Ashok K. Dutt, and Baleshwar Thakur,City, Society, and Planning (Concept Publishing Company, 2007) pp. 55–56
^"Local Income Tax Information".PA Department of Community & Economic Development.Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. RetrievedNovember 30, 2016.
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