: Pennsylvania (disambiguation).
- This article is about the U.S. State. For other uses, see Pennsylvania (disambiguation).
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (pronounced [pɛnsl̩ˈveɪnjə] or [pɛnsl̩ˈveɪniə]) is a state in the northeastern part of the United States.
Pennsylvania has been known as the Quaker State since 1776; prior to that, it was known as the Quaker Province,[The Quaker Province] in recognition of Quaker[William Penn, Quaker] William Penn's First Frame of Government[Frame of Government] constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed liberty of conscience. Penn knew of the hostility[Digital History: Persecution of the Quakers] Quakers faced when they opposed rituals, oaths, violence, and ostentatious frippery.[The Quaker Province 1681-1776]
Pennsylvania has also been known as the Keystone State since 1802,[PHMC: State Symbols] based in part upon its central location among the original Thirteen Colonies forming the United States.[Lowell Tribune, March 26, 2002] and rifles,[Lancaster rifle] and the agriculture common to the South, producing feed, fiber, food, and tobacco.[PHMC: Agriculture in Pennsylvania]
Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km)[National Parks Service: Our Fourth Shore] of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km)[NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources] of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Philadelphia is home to a major seaport and shipyards on the Delaware River.[Tour Philadelphia]
Geography
- Further information: Geography of Pennsylvania
- Further information: List of Pennsylvania counties
Pennsylvania is 180 miles (290 km) north to south and 283 miles east to west.[Pennsylvania geography] Of 46,055 square miles, 44817 square miles are land, 490 square miles are inland waters and 749 square miles are waters of Lake Erie.[2006 Statistical Abstract: Geography & Environment: Land and Land Use] It is the 33rd largest state in the United States.[2006 Statistical Abstract: Geography & Environment:Extreme and Mean Elevations ]
Pennsylvania is in the Eastern time zone.[Pennsylvania Time Zone]
The original southern boundary of Pennsylvania was supposed to be at 40° North latitude,[Penn's Charter] but as a result of a bad faith compromise by Lord Baltimore during Cresap's War, the king's courts moved the boundary 20 miles south[Cecil County, Maryland] to 39° 43' N.[Places Named: Philadelphia] would have been split in half by the original boundary. When a captive Cresap, a Marylander, was paraded through Philadelphia, he taunted the officers by announcing that Philadelphia was one of the prettiest towns in Maryland.[
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History
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- Further information: List of Pennsylvania firsts
Before the state existed, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehannock, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee, and other Native American tribes.[Pennsylvania Indian tribes]
In 1681, Charles II granted a land charter[Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania] to William Penn, to repay a large debt owed to William's father, Admiral Penn. This was one of the largest land grants to an individual in history.[Quakers and the political process] The land included present-day Delaware and Pennsylvania. It was called Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's Woods", in honor of Admiral Penn.
Penn established a government with two innovations that were much copied in the new world: the county commission, and freedom of religious conviction.[Pennsylvania's Anarchist Experiment]
After the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, delegate John Dickinson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. The Congress was the first meeting of the thirteen colonies, called at the request of the Massachusetts Assembly, but only 9 colonies sent delegates.[Library of Congress timeline 1764–1765] 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.[Dickinson Letters]
When the Founding Fathers of the United States were to convene in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 of the 13 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress.[Library of Congress timeline 1773–1774] The First Continental Congress drew up and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia,[Library of Congress: Primary documents — The Declaration of Independence] but when that city was captured by the British, the Continental Congress escaped westward, meeting at the Lancaster courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then to York. There they drew up the Articles of Confederation that formed the independent colonies into a new nation. Later, the Constitution was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new American Nation.[Nine Capitals of the United States]
Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787,[Pennsylvania ratifies the Constitution of 1787] five days after Delaware became the first.
 The "Redbrick Capitol", used from 1821 until it burned in 1897 For half a century, the state legislature met at various places in the general Philadelphia area before starting to meet regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years.[Pennsylvania's Capitals] But it needed a more central location, as for example the Paxton Boys massacres of 1763 had made them aware. So, in 1799 the legislature moved to the Lancaster Courthouse,[ and finally in 1812 to Harrisburg.][ when the Redbrick Capitol was finished. It burned down in 1897, presumably due to a faulty flue.][ The legislature met at Grace Methodist Church on State Street (still standing), until the present capitol was finished in 1907.][
] The new state Capitol drew rave reviews.[ Its dome was inspired by the domes of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and the United States Capitol.][ President Theodore Roosevelt called it the "the most beautiful state Capitol in the nation", and said "it's the handsomest building I ever saw" at the dedication. In 1989, the New York Times praised it as "grand, even awesome at moments, but it is also a working building, accessible to citizens... a building that connects with the reality of daily life."][
] James Buchanan, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was the only bachelor President of the United States.[James Buchanan White House biography] The Battle of Gettysburg — the major turning point of the Civil War — took place near Gettysburg.[Battle of Gettyburg]
Demographics
| Demographics of Pennsylvania (csv)
|
| By race
| White
| Black
| AIAN
| Asian
| NHPI
|
| AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native - NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
|
| 2000 (total population)
| 87.60%
| 10.71%
| 0.43%
| 2.04%
| 0.07%
|
| 2000 (Hispanic only)
| 2.74%
| 0.44%
| 0.06%
| 0.03%
| 0.02%
|
| 2005 (total population)
| 86.83%
| 11.20%
| 0.45%
| 2.46%
| 0.09%
|
| 2005 (Hispanic only)
| 3.52%
| 0.53%
| 0.07%
| 0.05%
| 0.02%
|
| Growth 2000-2005 (total population)
| 0.32%
| 5.83%
| 5.64%
| 22.23%
| 18.99%
|
| Growth 2000-2005 (non-Hispanic only)
| -0.64%
| 5.21%
| 2.77%
| 21.86%
| 14.13%
|
| Growth 2000-2005 (Hispanic only)
| 29.86%
| 20.24%
| 23.61%
| 45.64%
| 35.44%
|
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- Further information: List of people from Pennsylvania
The center of population of Pennsylvania is located in Perry County, in the borough of Duncannon [1].
As of 2005, Pennsylvania has an estimated population of 12,429,616,which is an increase of 20,958 from the previous year, and an increase of 131,888 since the year 2000. Migration from other states resulted in an increase of 32,200, and immigration from Latin American and Asian countries resulted in an increase of 399,100. Migration of native Pennsylvanians resulted in a decrease of 100,000 people. In 2006, 5.00% of Pennsylvanians were foreign born (621,480 people). [Components of Population Change]
The foreign-born Pennsylvanian population is largely from Asia (36.0%), Europe (35.9%), Latin America (30.6%), 5% coming from Africa, 3.1% coming from North America, and 0.4% coming from Oceania.
 Pennsylvania Population Distribution Pennsylvanian's reported population of Hispanics, especially among the Asian, Hawaiian and White races, has markedly increased in the last years.[Annual Estimates of the Population] It is not clear how much of this change reflects a changing population, and how much reflects increased willingness to self-identify minority status.
| Historical populations
|
| Census | Pop. | %±
|
| | 1790 | 434,373 | -
| | 1800 | 602,365 | 38.7%
| | 1810 | 810,091 | 34.5%
| | 1820 | 1,049,458 | 29.5%
| | 1830 | 1,348,233 | 28.5%
| | 1840 | 1,724,033 | 27.9%
| | 1850 | 2,311,786 | 34.1%
| | 1860 | 2,906,215 | 25.7%
| | 1870 | 3,521,951 | 21.2%
| | 1880 | 4,282,891 | 21.6%
| | 1890 | 5,258,113 | 22.8%
| | 1900 | 6,302,115 | 19.9%
| | 1910 | 7,665,111 | 21.6%
| | 1920 | 8,720,017 | 13.8%
| | 1930 | 9,631,350 | 10.5%
| | 1940 | 9,900,180 | 2.8%
| | 1950 | 10,498,012 | 6.0%
| | 1960 | 11,319,366 | 7.8%
| | 1970 | 11,793,909 | 4.2%
| | 1980 | 11,863,895 | 0.6%
| | 1990 | 11,881,643 | 0.1%
| | 2000 | 12,281,054 | 3.4%
| | 2005 (est.) | 12,429,616 |
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Pennsylvania's population was reported as 5.9% under 5 and 23.8% under 18, with 15.6% were 65 or older. Females made up 51.7% of the population.[FactFinder: Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights]
The five largest ancestry groups self-reported in Pennsylvania are: German (27.66%), Irish (17.66%), Italian (12.82%), English (8.89%) and Polish.[American Community Survey 2003 Multi-Year Survey for Pennsylvania]
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| 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. - Voltaire, speaking of William Penn[The Works of Voltaire, volume 19]
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Of all the colonies, only in Rhode Island was religious freedom so secure as in Pennsylvania - and one result was an incredible religious diversity, one which continues to this day.[Religious diversity in Pennsylvania]
Pennsylvania's population in 2000 was 12,281,054. Of these, 8,448,193 were estimated to belong to some sort of organized religion. According to the Association of religion data archives at Pennsylvania State University, reliable data exists for 7,116,348 religious adherents in Pennsylvania in 2000, following 115 different faiths. Their affiliations[The ARDA], including percentage of all adherents, were:
Note: These statistics are based on 7,116,348 of the estimated 8,448,193 religious adherents in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvannia is also noted for having the highest concentration of an Amish population in the United States[http://www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml].
Economy
Pennsylvania's 2005 total gross state product (GSP) of $430.31 billion[Bureau of Economic Analysis] ranks the state 6th in the nation. If Pennsylvania were an independent country, its economy would rank as the 17th largest in the world, ahead of Belgium, but behind the Netherlands. On a per-capita basis, though, Pennsylvania's per-capita GSP of $34,619 ranks 26th among the 50 states. Philadelphia in the southeast corner and Pittsburgh in the southwest corner are urban manufacturing centers, with the "t-shaped" remainder of the state being much more rural; this dichotomy affects state politics as well as the state economy.[Appeals court races wrap up with focus on voter mobilization] Philadelphia is home to 10 Fortune 500 companies,[Fortune 500] with more located in suburbs like King of Prussia; it's a leader in the financial[Philadelphia stock exchange] and insurance industry.[Tragedy of 9/11 pummels insurance industry] Pittsburgh is home to 6 Fortune 500 companies, including U.S. Steel, PPG Industries and H.J. Heinz.[
] The largest private employer in the state is Wal-Mart, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, United Parcel Service and Giant Food. The largest manufacturing employer is Merck.[Largest Employers in Pennsylvania]
Manufacturing
States cannot thrive by "taking in each other's laundry",[Community Economic Analysis] but manufacturing imports money and jobs from the rest of the world. Pennsylvania's factories and workshops manufacture 16.1% of the Gross State Product (GSP); only 10 states are more industrialized.[Northeast-Midwest Institute calculations based on data from the BEA] While Educational Services is only 1.8% of the state's GSP, that's twice the national average; only Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont outrank Pennsylvania.
Agriculture
Pennsylvania ranks 19th overall in agricultural production,[Agricultural Census 2002] but 3rd in christmas trees and layer chickens, 4th in nursery and sod, milk, corn for silage, and horse production. Only about 9,600 of the state's 58,000 farmers have sales of $100,000 or more, and with production expenses equalling 84.9% of sales, most not only have a net farming income below the $19,806 that marks poverty for a family of four,[Poverty levels] but are liable for a 12.4% self-employment tax as well.[IRS: Tax Guide for farmers] The average farmer is 53 and getting older, [Center for Rural Pennsylvania], as young Pennsylvanians find low farming income a tough row to hoe.[Mid-Atlantic Farm Policy Leadership Forum]
Tourism
Pennsylvania draws 2.1% of the Gross State Product from Accommodation and Food Services. Only Connecticut, Delaware and Iowa have lower numbers, and Nevada gets a whopping 14.2% of their GSP that way.[Philadelphia tourism] to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Franklin Institute and the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, while The Poconos[Poconos tourism] attract honeymooners, golfers and fishermen, and the Delaware Water Gap[Delaware Water Gap] appeals to boaters, hikers, and nature lovers. Fourteen slots casinos, the majority of which are either in the process of being awarded licenses from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board or are under construction. The casinos are expected to make up a good portion of tourism in the Commonwealth. [citation needed]
The state government launched an extensive tourism campaign in 2003 under the direction of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. An extensive website[[2]]has been established to promote visits to the state.
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