Pennsylvania is a leading manufacturing and industrial center of the United States. It also ranks as one of the nation’s most historic states. Pennsylvania is one of four states officially called commonwealths. The other three are Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Harrisburg is the state capital, and Philadelphia is the largest city.
Pennsylvania’s chief manufacturing activities include the production of chemicals, processed foods, and steel. Service industries, such as banking, education, health care, and retail trade, also play a leading role in the state’s economy.
Eastern Pennsylvania supplies all the anthracite (hard coal) that is produced in the United States. Mines in western Pennsylvania produce huge quantities of bituminous (soft) coal. Bituminous coal is used in generating electric power and in making coke, an important fuel used in the steel industry.
Philadelphia, in southeast Pennsylvania, is one of the state’s leading manufacturing cities. It is one of the nation’s great cultural, educational, financial, and historical centers and also a chief port city. Pittsburgh, on the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania, is an important financial center. It is also a center of manufacturing. Hershey, in southeastern Pennsylvania, is the headquarters of a large chocolate and confectionery company.
Most of Pennsylvania is made up of hills, plateaus, ridges, and valleys. The northwestern and southeastern corners of the state are low and flat. The lowest point in the state is sea level along the Delaware River. Mount Davis, in southern Pennsylvania, rises 3,213 feet (979 meters) above sea level and is the highest point in the state. Forests cover about three-fifths of Pennsylvania. Much of the state has rich farmland. The southeastern section has some of the richest soil in the United States. Crops flourish there. Poultry and cattle are also raised in the southeast. Dairy farming thrives in southern Pennsylvania. The soil along Lake Erie in the northwest is good for growing fruits and vegetables.
Many tourists travel through the section of southeastern Pennsylvania in which the Pennsylvania Dutch people live. Most Pennsylvania Dutch people are descended from German immigrants. These immigrants were called Dutch because the word Deutsch, which means German, was misinterpreted. The Pennsylvania Dutch are known for fine cooking and for the colorful designs and decorations on many of their buildings and belongings. Some Pennsylvania Dutch groups, including the Amish and Mennonites, are called the Plain People. Many Plain People live and dress as their ancestors did and do not believe in using electricity, automobiles, telephones, or modern machinery.
King Charles II of England gave the Pennsylvania region to William Penn in 1681. The word Pennsylvania means Penn’s Woods. Penn was a Quaker. He established the Pennsylvania colony as a place where Quakers and people of other faiths could enjoy religious freedom.
The First and Second Continental Congresses met in Philadelphia before and during the Revolutionary War. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Pennsylvania’s State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. British troops captured Philadelphia in September 1777, and held the city until June 1778. General George Washington and his troops spent the winter and spring of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge, northwest of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the site of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and served as the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800. On Dec. 12, 1787, Pennsylvania ratified (approved) the U.S. Constitution and became the second state. 
During the Civil War, Gettysburg, in southern Pennsylvania, was the site of the historic Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). The battle marked a turning point in the fighting. Union forces broke the strength of General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army. On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the battlefield, now a national military park.
Pennsylvania is nicknamed the Keystone State because it was the center, or keystone, of the “arch” formed by the original 13 American states. It is sometimes called the Quaker State because William Penn and many of his followers were Quakers.
People
Population.
The 2020 United States census reported that Pennsylvania had 13,002,700 people. The population had increased about 21/2 percent over the 2010 census figure, 12,702,379. According to the 2020 census, Pennsylvania ranks 5th in population among the 50 states.
About 85 percent of Pennsylvania’s people live in the state’s 17 metropolitan areas (see Metropolitan area). About half of the people live in the Philadelphia-Camden (New Jersey)-Wilmington (Delaware) and the Pittsburgh metropolitan areas.
Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest city and one of the largest cities in the United States. Other large cities in Pennsylvania, in order of population, are Pittsburgh, Allentown, Reading, Erie, Scranton, Bethlehem, and Lancaster.
Pennsylvania’s largest population groups include people of English, German, Irish, Italian, and Polish descent. About 10 percent of the people are African Americans. Other large groups include people of Dutch, Russian, Scottish, or Slovak descent. Several groups of Pennsylvanians are the descendants of Germans who came to the area in the 1600’s and 1700’s. They are often called Pennsylvania Dutch and include such religious groups as the Amish, Dunkers, and Mennonites. Some of them still speak a mixture of English and German. Others speak English, but with an accent. See Pennsylvania Dutch.
Schools.
Most of the early teaching in Pennsylvania was controlled by churches. During the 1640’s, Swedish Lutheran ministers taught in Tinicum, near what is now Essington. Pennsylvania’s first colonial constitution, adopted in 1682, provided that children should know how to read and write by the age of 12. The Friends’ public school, founded in Philadelphia by Quakers in 1689, still exists as the William Penn Charter School.
The state Constitution of 1790 stated that the legislature should provide schools for the children of poor parents. In 1834, the legislature passed the Free School Act. This act provided for the establishment of school districts throughout the state.
The State Board of Education sets policies for Pennsylvania’s public schools. The governor appoints 17 board members, and another 4 belong to the state legislature. A state secretary of education, appointed by the governor, serves as chief executive officer of the board and administers its policies. The secretary also heads the state’s Department of Education. In addition, Pennsylvania has local school districts, which elect local school boards. Children from age 8 through age 17 must attend school. For the number of students and teachers in Pennsylvania, see Education (table: U.S. students, teachers, and school expenditures).
Libraries.
Benjamin Franklin and some of his friends founded the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731. It was the first subscription library in the American Colonies. Members contributed money to buy books for it and could then use the books without charge. In 1876, more than a hundred librarians gathered in Philadelphia for the first meeting of the American Library Association. In the late 1800’s, industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated money to build public libraries in five communities.
Today, the state has thousands of public, school, academic, and special libraries. The Free Library of Philadelphia is one of the state’s largest libraries. Other large libraries include the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, and the State Library of Pennsylvania.
Museums.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, founded in 1805, operates the nation’s oldest art museum. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, also in Philadelphia, is the oldest institution of natural sciences in the United States. The Academy of Natural Sciences was founded in 1812.
The nation’s first institute of applied sciences and mechanical arts, the Franklin Institute, opened in Philadelphia in 1824. The Franklin Institute Science Museum includes the Fels Planetarium. The State Museum of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Archives are in Harrisburg.
Other museums in Pennsylvania include the Mercer Museum of the Bucks County Historical Society in Doylestown; Drake Well Museum in Titusville; the Hershey Story in Hershey; the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg; the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum near Lancaster; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Rodin Museum, both in Philadelphia. Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh includes the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Science Center, and the Andy Warhol Museum.
Visitor’s guide
Pennsylvania’s wide variety of activities and diverse experiences attract thousands of visitors each year. Vacationers can enjoy such activities as hiking, biking, fishing, white-water rafting, hunting, and skiing. They may also experience the outdoors at one of the many state parks scattered throughout Pennsylvania. The state is also home to more than 1,000 museums and hundreds of historical sites that help to illustrate Pennsylvania’s rich history. Thrill seekers will want to visit one of the numerous amusement parks in the state
One of Pennsylvania’s most popular annual events is the Mummers Parade, held on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia. People celebrate the New Year by dressing in costumes and marching through the streets.
Land and climate
Land regions.
During the Pleistocene Epoch, which ended about 11,500 years ago, glaciers spread into what is now northern Pennsylvania. They formed some of the state’s striking natural features.
Pennsylvania has seven main land regions: (1) the Erie Lowland, (2) the Appalachian Plateau, (3) the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, (4) the Blue Ridge, (5) the Piedmont, (6) the New England Upland, and (7) the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
The Erie Lowland
covers parts of Pennsylvania and New York. It is a narrow strip in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie’s shores. The region’s flat land was once part of the lake bed. Vegetables and fruits, especially grapes, thrive in its sandy soil.
The Appalachian Plateau
extends from New York to Alabama. In Pennsylvania, it is also called the Allegheny Plateau. It covers the entire northern and western portions of Pennsylvania, except for the narrow Erie Lowland region. The Appalachian Plateau consists of deep, narrow valleys and broad-topped plateaulike divides (land ridges from which rivers flow in opposite directions). Glacial rocks and boulders dot the northern part of the region. Plateaus rise 2,000 feet (610 meters) or more in the north-central section, and slope gradually to the east, west, and southwest. The Allegheny Mountains, at the plateau’s eastern edge, extend from north-central Pennsylvania to West Virginia and Virginia (see Allegheny Mountains). Chestnut Ridge and Laurel Hill, in southwestern Pennsylvania, form some of the higher and more rugged parts of the region. Mount Davis, the state’s highest point, rises 3,213 feet (979 meters) in Somerset County near the southern boundary. The western Appalachian Plateau has many coal, gas, and oil fields. The Pocono Mountains are in the northeastern part of the plateau.
The Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region
extends from New York to Alabama. In Pennsylvania, it forms a wide strip of land that curves south and east of the Appalachian Plateau. The area where the ridge and valley region and the plateau meet is called the Allegheny Front. It forms a large physical barrier.
An area called the Great Valley sweeps along the southern and eastern boundary of Pennsylvania’s ridge and valley region. The Great Valley is divided into the Cumberland, Lebanon, and Lehigh valleys. All these valleys have fertile farmland. North and west of the Great Valley, the region consists of a series of long, parallel ridges and valleys that curve from southwest to northeast. The ridges include Blue, Jacks, and Tuscarora mountains, which belong to the Appalachian Mountain system. The ridges consist of folded layers of sedimentary rock (rock formed from deposits laid down by ancient rivers and lakes). Erosion has worn down the softer rock layers, forming the valleys. The Delaware Water Gap opens through the Kittatinny Mountains along the Pennsylvania-New Jersey boundary. Hard-coal fields and slate formations are in the eastern part of the region.
The Blue Ridge,
named for the Blue Ridge Mountains, stretches from southern Pennsylvania to Georgia. In Pennsylvania, it forms a narrow, finger-shaped region at the state’s south-central border. Beautiful South Mountain, scenic Buchanan Valley, and part of Gettysburg National Military Park are in this region. See Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Piedmont
extends from New Jersey to Alabama. In Pennsylvania, it covers most of the southeastern part of the state. The region has rolling plains, and low hills with irregular ridges and fertile valleys. The Pennsylvania Dutch areas of Lancaster and York counties have some of the richest farmland in the United States. See Piedmont Region.
The New England Upland
extends from Pennsylvania to Maine. In Pennsylvania, it forms a narrow rectangular ridge in the eastern section. The ridge crosses portions of Berks, Bucks, Lehigh, and Northampton counties.
The Atlantic Coastal Plain
stretches from New York to southern Florida. In Pennsylvania, it is a narrow strip of land that crosses the southeastern corner. The region is low, level, and fertile. It drops to sea level along the Delaware River. Philadelphia is near the region’s center.
Rivers, waterfalls, and lakes.
Eastern and central Pennsylvania are drained by the Delaware, Juniata, Lehigh, Schuylkill, and Susquehanna rivers. The Ohio River system drains western Pennsylvania. The Ohio begins where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet at Pittsburgh. The waters that form or feed the Ohio River include the Allegheny, Monongahela, Beaver, Conemaugh, and Youghiogheny rivers. The Ohio flows to the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Mississippi River.
Some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Eastern United States plunge over cliffs in the Pocono Mountains. Falls include Bushkill, Raymondskill, and Winona falls. Other waterfalls in the state are Beaver, Buttermilk, Dingmans, and Silver Thread.
Lake Conneaut is the largest natural lake entirely within Pennsylvania. It covers about 11/2 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) in the northwestern section. The largest body of water in the state is artificially created Raystown Lake. It covers 13 square miles (34 square kilometers) in southwestern Pennsylvania. Pymatuning Reservoir covers almost 26 square miles (67 square kilometers). It extends into Ohio. Many glacial lakes dot the northeastern Appalachian Plateau. Lake Erie touches the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania.
Plant and animal life.
Forests cover about three-fifths of Pennsylvania. Mixtures of hardwood and softwood trees are found in the north and on the higher ridges in the south. They consist mainly of beeches, birches, hemlocks, maples, and pines. Hardwoods, including hickories, oaks, and walnuts, grow chiefly in the lowland sections of the southeast and southwest. These trees may also be found in some of the northern valleys of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region. Other common trees include the ash, aspen, basswood, black cherry, sycamore, and yellow-poplar.
Rhododendrons, wild azaleas, wild berries, wild ginger, and wintergreen grow throughout Pennsylvania. Shrubbery of mountain laurel, the state flower, spreads over much of the countryside. Colorful clusters of bouncing Bet, hound’s-tongue, milkweed, sundew, and viper’s bugloss brighten the riverbanks. Greenbriers and ferns grow in the western valleys. Common spring flowers include the anemone, bloodroot, dog-tooth violet, hepatica, and wild honeysuckle.
Animal life includes deer, moles, muskrats, opossums, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, snakes, and squirrels. Black bears, the state’s most prized game animals, roam the mountains and wooded areas of northern Pennsylvania. The ruffed grouse, the state bird, feeds along woodland streams. Wild turkeys live in some parts of the state. Other common game birds include gray partridges and ring-necked pheasants. Fishes in the lakes, rivers, and streams include bass, brown trout, carp, chubs, and pickerels. Pennsylvania has some of the best-known trout streams for fly-fishing in the eastern United States.
Climate.
Pennsylvania has a moist climate with cold winters and warm summers. The northern and western parts of Pennsylvania are generally colder than the southern and eastern portions. January temperatures average 23 °F (–5 °C) in the north, 27 °F (–3 °C) in the Erie Lowland, and 32 °F (0 °C) in the southeast. Average July temperatures average 72 °F (22 °C) in the northwest and 76 °F (24 °C) in the southeast. Pennsylvania’s record low temperature, –42 °F (–41 °C), occurred in Smethport in McKean County on Jan. 5, 1904. Phoenixville, in southeastern Pennsylvania, had the record high, 111 °F (44 °C), on July 9 and 10, 1936. 
The state’s yearly precipitation averages about 42 inches (107 centimeters). The northwest has 34 to 44 inches (86 to 112 centimeters) a year. Snowfall averages from 20 inches (51 centimeters) in southeastern Pennsylvania to 90 inches (230 centimeters) in the northwestern part of the state.
Economy
Until the 1970’s, Pennsylvania’s economy relied heavily on manufacturing steel and machinery. Factories in most parts of the state made these products. Pennsylvania still ranks among the leading producers of steel and machinery, but these items are now much less important to the economy. The most important manufactured goods in the state are now chemicals and food products. The Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas are Pennsylvania’s leading manufacturing centers. Other important manufacturing cities in Pennsylvania include Allentown, Bethlehem, Erie, Lancaster, Reading, Williamsport, and York.
Despite Pennsylvania’s importance as a manufacturing state, service industries make up the largest part of the economy. Several of the service industries benefit from tourism. Tourism is especially important in Philadelphia, along Lake Erie, in the Pocono Mountains, and in the Pennsylvania Dutch area.
Agriculture and mining each contribute only a small portion of Pennsylvania’s gross domestic product—the total value of goods and services produced in the state in a year. Milk is the state’s leading agricultural product. Coal is one of the most important mined products. Western Pennsylvania produces large amounts of bituminous coal from both surface and underground mines. Mines in the eastern part of the state provide all of the nation’s anthracite (hard coal).
Natural resources
of Pennsylvania include rich soils, great mineral wealth, good water supplies, and plentiful timber.
Soil.
Pennsylvania has many kinds of soil. Much of the Piedmont, the New England Upland, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain regions are covered with well-drained, gray-brown to reddish-brown soils. These soils are some of the most fertile in the eastern United States. Rich shale and limestone soils cover the valleys of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region. Stony soils cover much of the hard, sandstone-capped ridges. Gravelly and sandy loams, formed by glacial lake deposits, cover the Erie Lowland in extreme northwestern Pennsylvania. Infertile sandstone and shale soils cover much of the Appalachian Plateau.
Minerals.
Large deposits of anthracite occur in Carbon, Luzerne, Schuylkill, and other counties in eastern Pennsylvania. The western part of the state has huge amounts of bituminous (soft) coal. The state also has deposits of limestone, sandstone, and shale. Deposits of iron ore lie near Reading. Other mined products found in Pennsylvania include cement, clays, natural gas, petroleum, and sand and gravel.
Service industries,
taken together, account for the largest portion of both Pennsylvania’s employment and its gross domestic product. Service industries are concentrated in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas. 
Finance, insurance, and real estate are important to the state’s economy. The Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas are important national financial centers. Several large holding companies and banks have headquarters in the two areas. Philadelphia is the headquarters of the Third Federal Reserve District Bank, one of the 12 federal banks established by Congress. Philadelphia also has a major stock exchange.
Harrisburg, the state capital, is the center of government activities. Philadelphia is home to some of the nation’s leading law firms. Pittsburgh has many engineering firms. Hotels, restaurants, and gambling casinos benefit especially from the billions of dollars tourists and business travelers spend in the state each year. Many hotels, restaurants, and retail trade establishments operate in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas.
Manufacturing.
Pennsylvania is among the top manufacturing states. Many types of manufactured products make important contributions to the state’s economy.
Chemicals rank among Pennsylvania’s leading manufactured products. Pharmaceuticals (medicinal drugs) are the most important part of the state’s chemical industry. Much of Pennsylvania’s chemical manufacturing occurs in the Philadelphia area. One of the world’s largest producers of prescription drugs is based near Philadelphia. A leading aspirin producer has operations in Pittsburgh.
Processed foods and beverages are also important to Pennsylvania’s economy. The leading products include bread and cakes, chocolate and cocoa products, dairy products, and sausages and prepared meats. Pennsylvania is a leading food-processing state. It leads the United States in mushroom canning and ranks among the leaders in the manufacture of potato chips and pretzels. The Hershey Company, a large chocolate manufacturer, is headquartered in the state. The Philadelphia area is the state’s principal food-processing center.
Fabricated metal products, machinery, and primary metals also rank as leading manufactured products. Machine shop products, metal valves, and sheet metal are among the chief fabricated metal products. The Pittsburgh area is the main machinery manufacturing center. Leading products include construction machinery, heating and cooling equipment, and metalworking machinery. Steel is, by far, the chief primary metal. United States Steel Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is one of the world’s largest steelmakers.
Other manufactured products include computer and electronic equipment, paper products, and transportation equipment. Pennsylvania makes communications equipment, scientific instruments for industry, and semiconductors and other electronic components. Paper mills chiefly operate in the eastern half of the state, especially in the Philadelphia and Scranton areas. Transportation equipment includes aircraft, cargo ships, motor vehicle parts, and railroad cars.
Pennsylvania is a leading producer of clothing, glass products, plastics, and refined petroleum. The southeastern part of Pennsylvania is the major producer of clothing. Glass is made in the Pittsburgh area. Plastic products are manufactured in the Erie, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh areas. The Philadelphia area has a large oil refinery.
Agriculture.
Farmland covers about a fourth of Pennsylvania’s land area. Livestock and livestock products earn over half of Pennsylvania’s total farm income. Milk is the state’s leading agricultural product. Pennsylvania is among the leading states in milk production. Dairy farming flourishes in southern Pennsylvania. Poultry products and beef cattle are also important livestock products. The southeastern part of the state has many poultry farms, and Pennsylvania ranks among the leading egg-producing states. Cattle graze throughout the southern part of the state, especially in the valleys along the Susquehanna River in the southeast. Pennsylvania farmers also raise hogs and turkeys.
Crops also account for much of the state’s farm income. Mushrooms are among the leading crops, and the state ranks first in mushroom production. Most of the mushrooms are grown in Chester County in special houses that are damp and cool. Corn is the chief field crop. The Piedmont region leads in corn production. Other field crops include barley, hay, oats, soybeans, and wheat. Leading vegetable crops include potatoes, sweet corn, and tomatoes.
Greenhouse and nursery products are another important source of agricultural income in the state. The leading fruit crops are apples, grapes, and peaches. Apples and peaches are grown in southern Pennsylvania. Grapes are grown mainly in Erie County.
Mining.
Pennsylvania ranks among the leading states in coal production. The state’s eastern counties mine the nation’s only anthracite (hard coal). The western counties and other parts of Pennsylvania mine tens of millions of tons of bituminous coal each year. Pennsylvania is also a leading producer of dolomite, limestone, and natural gas. Other mined products include lime, petroleum, portland cement, and sand and gravel.
Electric power and utilities.
Nuclear power plants and plants that burn coal or natural gas produce the majority of Pennsylvania’s electric power. Water and wind power are also important.
Transportation.
Pennsylvania has been a transportation leader since colonial times. One famous early road, Queen’s Road, linked Philadelphia and Chester. It was completed in 1706. The Old York Road was built between Philadelphia and New York City in the early 1700’s. The nation’s first major hard-surfaced road opened between Philadelphia and Lancaster in 1794. The Pennsylvania Railroad was chartered in 1846. The first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, between Middlesex and Irwin, was completed in 1940. The turnpike was later extended east to New Jersey, west to Ohio, and north between Philadelphia and Scranton (see Pennsylvania Turnpike). East-west and north-south interstate highways were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Today, Pennsylvania has an extensive system of roads and highways. Carlisle is a center of the trucking industry.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh both have major international airports. Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, and Scranton also have international airports.
Many Pennsylvania communities are served by water transportation. Pittsburgh is the center of the state’s inland waterway system. From Pittsburgh, boats can travel on the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers. Oceangoing ships can travel up the Delaware River as far as Philadelphia and beyond to Morrisville. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are important port cities.
Communication.
Pennsylvania’s first newspaper, the American Weekly Mercury, was established in Philadelphia in 1719. It was the fourth newspaper published in the American Colonies, and the first published outside of Boston. Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia published the Pennsylvania Gazette from 1729 until 1766, and Poor Richard’s Almanac for the years from 1733 through 1758 (see Poor Richard’s Almanac). In 1741, Andrew Bradford established America’s first magazine, in Philadelphia. Bradford called his publication The American Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies.
Today, Pennsylvania’s leading newspapers include The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, and The Morning Call of Allentown. The Philadelphia Tribune is one of the nation’s most widely circulated African American newspapers.
Government
Constitution.
Pennsylvania’s Constitution was adopted in 1968. The state had adopted earlier constitutions in 1776, 1790, 1838, and 1874.
Constitutional amendments (changes) may be proposed by the state legislature. An amendment must be approved by a majority of both houses of the state legislature. It must then be approved in a similar manner by the next legislature. Finally, it must be approved by a majority of the people voting on the amendment in the next general election.
Amendments also can be proposed by a constitutional convention. Before a constitutional convention can meet, it must be approved by a majority of both legislative houses and by the voters in a regular election.
Executive.
Pennsylvania’s governor is elected by the people to a four-year term. The governor may not serve more than two terms in a row.
The governor appoints the secretary of the commonwealth (secretary of state), adjutant general, and several other administrative officials. The people of Pennsylvania elect the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the state treasurer, and the auditor general. Like the governor, these elected officials serve four-year terms. They may serve an unlimited number of terms, but not more than two terms in a row.
Legislature,
called the General Assembly, consists of a 50-member Senate and a 203-member House of Representatives. Voters in each of the state’s 50 senatorial districts elect one senator. Voters in each of the 203 representative districts elect one representative. Senators serve four-year terms, and representatives serve two-year terms. Regular sessions begin on the first Tuesday in January and last until all business is completed or until November 30 of an even-numbered year, whichever occurs first. The governor may call special sessions of the General Assembly. By law, the General Assembly must be reapportioned (redivided) after each United States census to provide equal representation based on population.
Courts.
Pennsylvania’s highest court is the state Supreme Court. It has seven justices, who are elected to 10-year terms. The justices may be retained (approved for an additional 10-year term in a noncontested election). The justice with the longest continuous time in office serves as the chief justice.
Pennsylvania’s Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court are intermediate appellate courts. The Supreme Court, Superior Court, and Commonwealth Court meet at fixed times each year in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. The Superior Court has 15 active judges, and the Commonwealth Court has nine. These judges are elected to 10-year terms and may be retained.
The trial courts of Pennsylvania are divided into 60 judicial districts, each with a Court of Common Pleas. Other courts include the Philadelphia Municipal Court and the Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
Local government.
Pennsylvania has four kinds of local government units: (1) counties, (2) townships, (3) cities, and (4) boroughs. Most of the state’s 67 counties are governed by a board of three commissioners, elected to four-year terms. Philadelphia is a consolidated city and county. It has a mayor and a 17-member council, who govern both the city and the county. Delaware County is governed by five council members, who serve four-year terms. Other counties elect executives, who serve four-year terms.
Most rural and suburban communities operate as townships. Most of the larger townships are called first-class townships. They are governed by boards made up of at least five commissioners who are elected to four-year terms. Other townships, especially the smaller ones, are called second-class townships. These townships are governed by boards made up of at least three supervisors elected to six-year terms.
Many of Pennsylvania’s cities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, use the mayor-council form of government. A few cities use the council-manager form. Many of Pennsylvania’s smaller cities use the commission form of government.
Pennsylvania is one of the few states that has boroughs. These are incorporated units of municipal government that generally are smaller than cities. Most of Pennsylvania’s boroughs are governed by a mayor and by councils elected to four-year terms.
Units of local government can adopt home rule (self-government) to the extent of selecting or changing their form of government. They can also merge with other units.
Revenue.
Taxes account for about half of the state government’s general revenue (income). Most of the rest comes from federal grants and other U.S. government programs. A personal income tax and a general sales tax are the major sources of tax revenue. Other important sources of tax revenue include taxes on corporate income, motor fuels, motor vehicle licenses, public utilities, and tobacco products.
Politics.
Pennsylvania favored Republican candidates in most state and national elections between the 1860’s and the 1930’s. Democrats have gained strength since the early 1930’s, especially in the larger cities. Since 1932, Democratic presidential candidates have won the state’s electoral votes more often than Republican candidates (see Electoral College).
History
Early days.
Indigenous (native) Americans lived in the Pennsylvania region thousands of years before Europeans came. The Europeans called these people Indians. Early European explorers found Algonquian- and Iroquoian-speaking peoples there. The Algonquian tribes included the Conoy, Lenape (Delaware), Nanticoke, and Shawnee. The Iroquoian tribe, the Susquehannock, lived along the Susquehanna River.
Exploration and settlement.
In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into Delaware Bay. He was trying to find a trade route to the Far East for the Dutch East India Company. Hudson soon left the Pennsylvania region, but his reports led the Dutch to send other explorers. In 1615, a Dutch explorer, Cornelius Hendricksen, sailed up the Delaware River to what is now Philadelphia.
The Swedes made the first permanent settlements in the Pennsylvania region. In 1643, they made Tinicum Island, near what is now Philadelphia, the capital of their colony of New Sweden. In 1655, Dutch troops led by Peter Stuyvesant came from New Netherland and captured New Sweden (see Stuyvesant, Peter). The Dutch held the Pennsylvania region until 1664, when the English captured it.
The English Duke of York controlled the Pennsylvania region until 1681. That year, King Charles II of England granted the region to William Penn in payment of a debt to Penn’s father. Penn wanted to name the region New Wales. But a Welsh member of England’s Privy Council objected to the name. So Penn decided to call the region Sylvania, which means woods. King Charles added Penn to the name in honor of Penn’s father, an English admiral. 
Colonial days.
William Penn, a Quaker, wanted his fellow Quakers to have freedom of worship in Pennsylvania. He also desired religious freedom for people of other faiths. Penn wanted Pennsylvanians to enjoy personal and property rights, and to have self-government. Penn came to Pennsylvania in 1682. As governor, he wrote and brought with him the colony’s first constitution, called the Frame of Government. It provided for a deputy governor, and an elected legislature. The legislature consisted of a provincial council (upper house) and a general assembly (lower house).
Penn made a treaty of friendship with Indigenous groups shortly after he arrived in the Pennsylvania region. He paid Indigenous people for most of the land King Charles had given him, although he did not have to do so. According to legend, Penn and Tamenend, the chief of the Lenape people, exchanged wampum belts under the now famous Shackamaxon elm near Philadelphia. 
The general assembly did not fully approve of the Frame of Government. In 1683, the legislature drafted and adopted a second Frame of Government. This constitution gave the people more voice in the government by reducing the powers of rich landowners.
Penn went to England in 1684, leaving control of the government in the hands of a deputy governor. Troubles developed during Penn’s absence. Members of the general assembly resented the provincial council’s power to originate laws. The assembly rejected or delayed action on much legislation that had originated in the council. When Penn learned about the trouble, he placed most of the powers of government in the hands of the provincial council. But the council failed to restore order. In 1688, Penn appointed another deputy governor.
In 1688, King James II, a close friend of Penn’s, was overthrown. King James’s daughter Mary and her husband, Prince William of Orange, became joint rulers of England in 1689. William and Mary did not trust Penn because of his friendship with King James. In 1692, they deprived Penn of his right to govern Pennsylvania. The royal governor of New York was made governor of Pennsylvania as well. In 1693, Penn convinced William and Mary of his loyalty. They restored him as governor of Pennsylvania in 1694.
Troubles still existed in the Pennsylvania legislature. In 1696, Penn’s deputy governor, William Markham, suggested some constitutional changes. He wanted both legislative houses to have the power to originate laws. But this change still did not satisfy many members of the legislature.
Penn returned to Pennsylvania in 1699. In 1701, he granted a new constitution, called the Charter of Privileges. This constitution made the general assembly the only lawmaking body in the colony. It gave the provincial council an advisory role. It also gave greater control of the government to the people.
Penn returned to England again in 1701, and died there in 1718. Penn’s family governed Pennsylvania until the Revolutionary War began in 1775. See Penn, William.
Colonial wars.
From the late 1600’s to the middle 1700’s, the English colonists fought several wars against the French colonists and France’s Indigenous allies. In the French and Indian War, which began in western Pennsylvania in 1754, they fought for control of the Ohio River region and interior of the continent. One of the most brutal battles of the war took place in 1755. French soldiers and Indigenous warriors ambushed General Edward Braddock’s troops on the banks of the Monongahela River near present-day Pittsburgh. About two-thirds of Braddock’s soldiers were killed or wounded. Fighting continued in Pennsylvania until 1758, when the French withdrew from the colony as British General John Forbes led a large army through the region. The war ended in 1763, with a British victory.
Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, led an uprising against the British later in 1763. He lost the Battle of Bushy Run, near present-day Greensburg. Pennsylvania bought land from Indigenous groups in the Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1768. This treaty settled most of the conflicts between the colony’s white and Indigenous residents.
The American Revolution.
In the mid-1700’s, the United Kingdom found itself in debt. To raise money, the United Kingdom imposed new taxes and trade restrictions on its colonies in America. The colonies united to oppose these measures. Colonial leaders met to discuss how to resist the British restrictions. The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on Sept. 5, 1774. The Congress voted to stop all trade with the United Kingdom. See Continental Congress (The First Continental Congress). 
The American Revolution began in April 1775. That May, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. The delegates voted for independence from the United Kingdom. On July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania’s first state convention was held in the State House at the same time. See Continental Congress (Second Continental Congress).
British troops in New York and New Jersey threatened Philadelphia in December 1776. Congress moved to Baltimore for safety. But the British were turned away, and Congress returned to Philadelphia in March 1777. British troops marched into Pennsylvania in September 1777. They defeated General George Washington’s forces in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11. The British then marched toward Philadelphia. Congress moved first to Lancaster, and then to York. On September 20 and 21, the British killed many American soldiers in the Paoli Massacre, outside Philadelphia. On September 26, the British marched across the Schuylkill River and captured Philadelphia. Washington led a sudden attack against the British on October 4, hoping to force them out of the city. But the attack failed. Washington led his troops to Whitemarsh, and then to Valley Forge where they spent a difficult winter and spring. 
In spite of their victories in Pennsylvania, the war was beginning to go badly for the British. In June 1778, they withdrew from Philadelphia. The Continental Congress returned to the city. While in York, the Congress had adopted the Articles of Confederation. Pennsylvania approved the Articles on July 9, 1778.
Meanwhile, settlers in the Wyoming Valley, in present-day Luzerne County, were in danger of attack by British and Indigenous forces. In the summer of 1778, the settlers fled to a fort near what is now Wilkes-Barre. That July, an army of about 800 British soldiers and Indigenous warriors attacked the fort, killing about two-thirds of the settlers. The incident became known as the Wyoming Valley Massacre. See Wyoming Valley Massacre.
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia from May to September 1787. Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify (approve) the United States Constitution, on Dec. 12, 1787. Philadelphia served as the nation’s capital from 1790 until 1800, when the government was moved to Washington, D.C. 
Industrial growth.
As early as 1750, Pennsylvania had become a leader in the colonial iron and grain milling industries. After the Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania became a center of the nation’s industrial growth. In 1787, John Fitch demonstrated the first workable steamboat in the United States. It sailed on the Delaware River, near Philadelphia. In 1811, a steamboat built by Robert Fulton was launched at Pittsburgh. It became the first to travel on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The Schuylkill Canal connected Philadelphia and Reading in 1825. In 1826, the state began building the Pennsylvania Canal System. The main line of the system, a series of connecting canals and railroads, linked Philadelphia with Pittsburgh by 1834.
By 1840, the use of anthracite as a fuel led to improvements in Pennsylvania’s iron industry. By the 1850’s, many railroads carried coal from northeast Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. In 1859, Edwin Drake drilled the nation’s first commercially successful oil well, near Titusville. By 1860, Philadelphia was a leading producer of textile, leather, and iron goods. Pittsburgh, a center of iron and glass production, was known as the Gateway to the West.
The Civil War.
Many Pennsylvanians were among the leaders of the abolitionist (antislavery) movement in the United States. Some Pennsylvanians helped enslaved people escape to freedom through a system called the underground railroad (see Underground railroad). During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Pennsylvania gave strong support to the Union. The state sent 340,000 troops to the Union Army. Only New York sent more troops.
Several raids and one major Civil War battle took place in Pennsylvania. The Confederate cavalry generals Jeb Stuart and Wade Hampton led raids through the Cumberland Valley in October 1862. In June 1863, General Robert E. Lee led his powerful Confederate Army of about 75,000 men into Pennsylvania. On July 1, Union forces under General George G. Meade met the Confederates at Gettysburg, in southern Pennsylvania. The three-day battle that followed was one of the bloodiest in history. It broke the strength of the Confederacy, and Lee retreated to Virginia. On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated part of the Gettysburg battlefield as a cemetery for those who had died there. He delivered his famous Gettysburg Address at the ceremonies. See Gettysburg Address. 
Confederate General John McCausland invaded Pennsylvania in July 1864. McCausland’s forces attacked and burned Chambersburg, and then they quickly left the state.
Progress as a state.
Pennsylvania prospered after the Civil War. Existing agricultural, lumber, and mining industries expanded, and many new industries developed. Pennsylvania became a leading producer of oil, cement, electrical equipment, and aluminum. Pittsburgh became the largest steel producer in the United States. Thousands of immigrants came to the state, and cities and towns grew. 
But industrial growth brought labor problems. Workers in many industries formed unions and demanded higher wages. Railroad workers went on strike in 1877. Riots broke out, and strikers destroyed valuable railroad property. In Pittsburgh, a violent clash between strikers and soldiers of the state militia left several people dead.
In 1892, the Carnegie Steel Company reduced wages at its plant in Homestead, and the workers went on strike. In a fight between strikers and guards hired by the steel company, several people were killed.
In 1889, Johnstown, in southern Pennsylvania, suffered one of the state’s worst disasters—a flood that killed more than 2,200 people (see Johnstown).
Continued industrial growth.
In the early 1900’s, for the first time, more than half the people of Pennsylvania lived in cities and towns. Pennsylvania mined a large share of the coal in the United States. The state also produced most of the nation’s coke and about 60 percent of its steel. Many large industrial companies made their headquarters in Pennsylvania.
Manufacturing and mining in Pennsylvania achieved even greater growth after the United States entered World War I in 1917. In addition to production of military goods, the state contributed about 8 percent of the personnel of the U.S. armed forces.
The Great Depression.
During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians lost their jobs. The state passed welfare laws in cooperation with the federal government to help ease the hardship. In addition, Pennsylvania set up programs of highway building, reforestation, and conservation, and passed laws that included a minimum wage for women and children, and a 44-hour workweek.
In 1936, floodwaters swept across many parts of the state. Pittsburgh and Johnstown were particularly hard hit. The floods killed more than 100 people and caused over $40 million in damage.
Urban renewal.
Pennsylvania’s economy recovered during World War II (1939-1945). The industries of the state produced huge quantities of cement, clothing, coal, petroleum, ships, steel, and weapons for the armed services.
Pennsylvania began to modernize in many fields during the mid-1900’s. The first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940. By 1956, the highway was completed across the state. During the 1940’s, Pennsylvania cities began urban redevelopment programs. Pittsburgh rebuilt nearly all its downtown area, and Philadelphia modernized portions of its central city. In the 1950’s, the state built hundreds of new schools and reorganized its welfare programs.
Economic decline.
During the 1950’s, serious economic problems developed. Pennsylvania’s giant steel industry was hurt by competition from other products, and by a 116-day strike in 1959. The state’s coal production fell sharply as the demand for anthracite and bituminous coal declined in the United States. Many mines closed, putting miners out of work. Thousands of Pennsylvanians also lost their jobs because of a decline in railroading. Thousands of other Pennsylvanians became jobless as textile mills were automated or moved to the South, where costs were lower.
In 1967, Pennsylvania called its first constitutional convention in 94 years. In 1968, voters approved a new constitution to replace the one that had been adopted in 1874.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, Pennsylvania, especially its older cities, faced several difficulties. Many traditional manufacturing industries shut down or reduced the number of employees. The steel industry continued to decline because of foreign competition and other problems. Many more coal mines closed. Thousands of workers, especially steelworkers, lost their jobs, and many small industrial towns faced hard times.
The state’s population growth leveled off. The average age of the population increased because many young adults left the state. The central cities of metropolitan areas faced such issues as high unemployment and loss of people to growing suburbs. Revenues of local governments declined.
These problems challenged Pennsylvanians to attract new industries, stabilize the older cities, and work to maintain such public structures as roads and bridges. In 1971, the state legislature approved an individual income tax to help pay state operating expenses. It also established a state-operated lottery, which supported social programs for the elderly.
In 1972, Tropical Storm Agnes swept across the Eastern United States. The storm and floods that it caused resulted in 55 deaths and about $3 billion in damage in Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg suffered the most damage among Pennsylvania cities.
In 1979, an accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant located near Harrisburg threatened the release of deadly levels of radiation into the area. Scientists and technicians prevented a major disaster from occurring. The accident raised concerns about the safety of nuclear power production.
Recovery.
Pennsylvania’s economy became more balanced and healthy during the 1990’s. With the support of the state government, the state’s strong educational, financial, medical, and cultural institutions led the shift from older manufacturing activities to an economy based on service industries. Although Pennsylvania remained a leading steelmaking state, service industries transformed the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and other Pennsylvania cities. Workers found employment in such areas as medical research, health care, and interstate banking and in industries using new technology.
Pennsylvania worked to preserve and restore many historic sites and buildings, especially in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The state also established several heritage parks. These areas highlight the history of various regions and the role each played in the state’s industrial development. These activities created thousands of jobs and attracted millions of dollars in new investment. They also contributed to the growth of the state’s tourism industry.
Recent developments.
The gambling industry became an important part of Pennsylvania’s economy in the early 2000’s. The state legalized gambling in 2004, and its first gaming casinos opened in 2006.
In 2020, Pennsylvania faced a public health crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (global epidemic). COVID-19, a sometimes-fatal respiratory disease, emerged in China in late 2019. It quickly spread throughout the world. Cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania rose sharply in mid-March 2020. To limit the spread of the disease, authorities closed so-called nonessential businesses in five populous Pennsylvania counties. Governor Tom Wolf issued a stay-at-home order for all counties on April 1. Later in 2020, officials raised or lowered such restrictions based on the severity of local infection rates.
COVID-19 vaccines became available in late 2020 and early 2021. By early summer 2021, an increase in vaccination rates had led to lower rates of infection and death in the state. But in the following months, the spread of new, more contagious variants of COVID-19 contributed to further outbreaks. By early 2023, about 3.5 million infections had been recorded in Pennsylvania, and about 50,000 people there had died from the disease.
