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Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Wilkes Barre, Scranton, Reading, Allentown, Lancaster, Valley Forge, Johnstown, York, Bethlehem, Levittown, Mc Keesport, New Castle, Camp Hill, Easton, Norristown, Warren, Boyers, Hanover, State College, Wayne, West Chester, Williamsport, Altoona, Butler, Concordville, Emmaus
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The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is one of four states of
the United States of America that is called a commonwealth,
the others being Massachusetts, Virginia, and Kentucky. It
has given its name to the Pennsylvanian time period in
geology. Pennsylvania is called the Keystone State.
Although Swedes and Dutch were the first European settlers,
the English Quaker William Penn named Pennsylvania for the
Latin phrase meaning "Penn's Woods", in honor of his father.
Penn's original choice of name had been "New Wales", as
descriptions of the terrain and climate reminded him of
Wales. The name was rejected due to protest from Welsh
members of Parliament, who objected to the name of their
region being applied to such a wild and uncivilized
territory, especially one founded by Quakers. William Penn
then suggested "Sylvania"- Latin for "woods" as an
alternative. Charles II amended that name to "Pennsylvania".
As the Quaker religion frowns on such acts of egotism,
William Penn objected to the idea, but was placated by the
King's proposal to name the state in honor of Admiral Sir
William Penn- Penn's father and national hero, rather than
William Penn himself. Today, two major cities dominate the
state—Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Independence
Hall, and a thriving metropolitan area, and Pittsburgh, a
busy inland river port and major center for educational and
technological advances. The Pocono Mountains and the
Delaware Water Gap provide popular recreational activities.
Pennsylvania is one of the U.S.'s most historic states.
Philadelphia is often called the cradle of the American
Nation. It was there that the Declaration of Independence,
Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution were drawn
up by the Founding Fathers.
The battleship USS Pennsylvania, damaged at Pearl Harbor,
was named in honor of this state, as were several other
naval vessels. It was repaired at the former Sun Ship Yard &
Dry Dock in Chester City.
Before the state existed, the area was home to the Delaware
(also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehanna, Iroquois, Eriez,
Shawnee, and other Native American tribes.
In 1643, the southeastern portion of the state, in the
vicinity of Philadelphia, was settled by Sweden as part of
New Sweden, with a capital city of New Gothenburg built on
Tinicum Island in the Delaware River, south of present-day
Philadelphia, but control later passed to the Netherlands as
part of New Netherland, and then to England (later Great
Britain).
On March 4, 1681, Charles II of England granted a land
charter to William Penn for the area that now includes
Pennsylvania. Penn then founded a colony there as a place of
religious freedom for the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers), and named it for the Latin phrase meaning "Penn's
woods".
Beginning in the early 1700's, large numbers of German
immigrants began settling throughout Pennsylvania and for
many generations, the German language dominated in many
rural areas of the state. Individuals claiming German
ancestry currently make up a majority of the ethnic
composite of Pennsylvania.
A large tract of land north and west of Philadelphia, in
Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties, was settled by
Welsh Quakers and called the "Welsh Tract". Even today many
cities and towns in that area bear the names of Welsh
municipalities.
The western portions of Pennsylvania were among disputed
territory between the colonial British and French during the
French and Indian War. The French established numerous
fortifications in the area, including the pivotal Fort
Duquesne on top of which the city of Pittsburgh was built.
The colony's reputation of religious freedom also attracted
significant populations of German and Scots-Irish settlers
who helped to shape colonial Pennsylvania and later went on
to populate the neighboring states further west.
In 1704 the "three lower counties" of New Castle, Kent, and
Sussex gained a separate legislature, and in 1710 a separate
executive council, to form the new colony Delaware.
Pennsylvania and Delaware were two of the thirteen colonies
that revolted against British rule in the American
Revolution of 1776. Pennsylvania became the second state to
ratify the U.S. Constitution on 12 December 1787 (five days
after Delaware became the first).
Pennsylvania also saw the Battle of Gettysburg, near
Gettysburg. Many historians consider this battle the major
turning point of the American Civil War. Dead from this
battle rest at Gettysburg National Cemetery, site of Abraham
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil
(kerosene) industry was born in western Pennsylvania, which
supplied the vast majority of U.S. kerosene for years
thereafter, and saw the rise and fall of oil boom towns.
During the 20th century Pennsylvania's existing iron
industries expanded into a major center of steel production.
Shipbuilding and numerous other forms of manufacturing
flourished in the eastern part of the state, and coal mining
was also extremely important in many regions. In the late
1800s and early 1900s, Pennsylvania received very large
numbers of immigrants from Europe seeking work; dramatic,
sometimes violent confrontations took place between
organized labor and the state's industrial concerns.
Pennsylvania was hard-hit by the decline of the steel
industry and other heavy U.S. industries during the late
20th century.
The Pennsylvania Dutch region in south-central Pennsylvania
is another favorite for sightseers. The Pennsylvania Dutch,
including the Old Order Amish, the Old Order Mennonites and
at least 15 other sects, are common in the rural areas
around the cities of Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg, with
smaller numbers extending northeast to the Lehigh Valley and
up the Susquehanna River valley. There are actually more Old
Order Amish in Holmes County, Ohio and there are plain sect
communities in at least 47 states but many Mennonites
remain, particularly in Lancaster County. Some adherents
eschew modern conveniences and use horse-drawn farming
equipment and carriages, while others are virtually
indistinguishable from non-Amish or Mennonites. Descendants
of the plain sect immigrants who do not practice the faith
may refer to themselves as Pennsylvania German.
Note: The term "Dutch" is, modernly, a misnomer. Originally,
all of the peoples of the Holy Roman Empire - including the
Belgians, Dutch, Austrians, Swiss, etc., were called "Dutch"
- from the Low German "Duutsch," meaning "German" (or, very
literally, "of the people"). The words "German" (which means
"related" or "similar") and "Dutch" were used
interchangeably in a generic ethno-cultural context until
the years following World War II.
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