The Vernon Formation is a geologic formation in the Appalachian Basin . It is the lowest unit of the Salina Group . It is made up of red and green shales , siltstone , dolomite , anhydrite and halite . It is made up of three distinct units starting at the bottom (oldest) A, B and C units. These units correspond to units of the same name in its parent group the Salina.
173-680: The Vernon Formation mostly is within the Salina Group. However, in Central Pennsylvania and Central New York onward East the Vernon is part of both the Wills Creek and Bloomsburg due to erosional deposits migrating from the east. Lower Vernon (or Unit A) is the base of both the Vernon and Salina in western Pennsylvania and New York, continuing into Ohio and Michigan. In north central Pennsylvania and central New York it
346-560: A Swedish Empire colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system , and religious pluralism . Pennsylvania played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire , hosting
519-827: A European power during the remainder of the nineteenth century, and that war did not lead to territorial changes in the Americas. However, the British Empire continued to engage in wars such as the First Opium War against China; it also put down rebellions such as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , the Canadian Rebellions of 1837–1838 , and the Jamaican Morant Bay rebellion of 1865. A strong abolition movement had emerged in
692-1045: A Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies , which were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between December 2, 1767, and February 15, 1768. When the Founding Fathers convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress . The Second Continental Congress , which began in May 1775, authored and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, but when Philadelphia fell to
865-692: A Puritan leader who was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after he advocated for a formal split with the Church of England . As New England was a relatively cold and infertile region, the New England Colonies relied on fishing and long-distance trade to sustain the economy. In 1632, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore founded the Province of Maryland to the north of Virginia. Maryland and Virginia became known as
1038-549: A base for the privateers. After Gilbert's death, Walter Raleigh took up the cause of North American colonization, sponsoring an expedition of 500 men to Roanoke Island . In 1584, the colonists established the first permanent English colony in North America, but the colonists were poorly prepared for life in the New World, and by 1590, the colonists had disappeared. There are a variety of theories as to what happened to
1211-766: A century, the Pennsylvania General Assembly met at various places in the Philadelphia area before it began meeting regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years. However, events such as the Paxton Boys massacres of 1763 had made the legislature aware of the need for a central capital. In 1799, the General Assembly moved to the Lancaster Courthouse. The Pennsylvania General Assembly met in
1384-764: A colony in Guiana in 1604 lasted only two years and failed in its main objective to find gold deposits. Colonies in St Lucia (1605) and Grenada (1609) also rapidly folded. Encouraged by the success of Virginia, in 1627 King Charles I granted a charter to the Barbados Company for the settlement of the uninhabited Caribbean island of Barbados . Early settlers failed in their attempts to cultivate tobacco, but found great success in growing sugar . The success of colonization efforts in Barbados encouraged
1557-905: A crown colony in 1752. In 1754, the Ohio Company started to build a fort at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River . A larger French force initially chased the Virginians away, but was forced to retreat after the Battle of Jumonville Glen . After reports of the battle reached the French and British capitals, the Seven Years' War broke out in 1756; the North American component of this war
1730-598: A head with the Nootka Crisis in 1789. Both sides mobilised for war, and Spain counted on France for support but when France refused, Spain had to back down and capitulated to British terms leading to the Nootka Convention . The outcome of the crisis was a humiliation for Spain and a triumph for Britain, for the former had practically renounced all sovereignty on the North Pacific coast. This opened
1903-451: A heavy snowstorm, presumably because of a faulty flue . The General Assembly met at a nearby Methodist Church until a new capitol could be built. Following an architectural selection contest, Chicago architect Henry 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,
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#17327870859832076-457: A leader in technology and healthcare. Similarly, Philadelphia has a concentration of university expertise. Healthcare, retail, transportation, and tourism are some of the state's growing industries of the postindustrial era. As in the rest of the nation, most residential population growth has occurred in suburban rather than central city areas, although both major cities have had significant revitalization in their downtown areas. Philadelphia anchors
2249-832: A permanent break with Britain, the delegates adopted a Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776 for the United States of America. The French formed a military alliance with the United States in 1778 following the British defeat at the Battle of Saratoga . Spain joined France in order to regain Gibraltar from Britain. A combined Franco-American operation trapped a British invasion army at Yorktown, Virginia , forcing them to surrender in October 1781. The surrender shocked Britain. The king wanted to keep fighting, but he lost control of Parliament and peace negotiations began. In
2422-715: A second company, the Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles (better known as The Somers Isles Company ) was spun-off from the London Company in 1615, and continued to administer Bermuda after the London Company's Royal Charter was revoked in 1624 (The Somers Isles Company's Royal Charter was similarly revoked in 1684). Bermuda pioneered tobacco cultivation as the engine for its economic growth, but as Virginia's tobacco agriculture outstripped it in
2595-610: A third after the Patience returned again, then departed for England (it had been meant to return to Jamestown after gathering more food in Bermuda), ensuring that Bermuda remained settled, and in the possession of England and the London Company from 1609 to 1612, when more settlers and the first Lieutenant-Governor arrived from England following the extension of the Royal Charter of the London Company to officially add Bermuda to
2768-546: Is a part of the Bloomsburg. The Bloomsburg is an ancient delta system carrying sediment westward from the Taconic Highlands slowly filling the basin. In the west the basin was filled with carbonates and shales. The Base of the Vernon is marked in the west typically by a sharp drop in gamma logs. This is due to the disappearance of shale and moving into a crystalline near pure carbonite unit. The would be either
2941-706: Is an accepted version of this page Pennsylvania ( / ˌ p ɛ n s ɪ l ˈ v eɪ n i ə / PEN -sil- VAY -nee-ə , lit. ' Penn's forest country ' ), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( Pennsylvania Dutch : Pennsilfaani ), is a U.S. state spanning the Mid-Atlantic , Northeastern , Appalachian , and Great Lakes regions of the United States . It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and
3114-440: Is centered in and around Pittsburgh , the state's second-largest city. The state's subsequent five most populous cities are Allentown , Reading , Erie , Scranton , and Bethlehem . Pennsylvania's history of human habitation extends thousands of years before the foundation of the colonial Province of Pennsylvania in 1681. Archaeologists believe the first settlement of the Americas occurred at least 15,000 years ago, during
3287-849: Is in Duncannon in Perry County . According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report , there were an estimated 12,691 homeless people in Pennsylvania. Among Pennsylvania residents, as of 2020, nearly three out of four, 74.5%, are native to the state and were born in Pennsylvania, 18.4% were born in a different U.S. state, 1.5% were born in Puerto Rico , U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 5.6% were foreign born. Foreign-born Pennsylvanians are largely from Asia (36.0%), Europe (35.9%), and Latin America (30.6%) with
3460-578: Is known as the French and Indian War . After the Duke of Newcastle returned to power as Prime Minister in 1757, he and his foreign minister, William Pitt , devoted unprecedented financial resources to the transoceanic conflict. The British won a series of victories after 1758, conquering much of New France by the end of 1760. Spain entered the war on France's side in 1762 and promptly lost several American territories to Britain. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended
3633-408: Is marked by a general overall rise in gamma. The Upper Vernon, is composed of shale and siltstone. Red and green shale to the east with grey and green to the west. In western Pennsylvania dolomite and anhydrite appear. Generally evaporites are not common in this section. The base is marked by a sharp drop in gamma, due to a salt bed in the west and dolomite to the east. Pennsylvania This
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#17327870859833806-464: Is the fifth-most populated state in the U.S. after California , Texas , Florida , and New York . In 2019, net migration to other states resulted in a decrease of 27,718, and immigration from other countries resulted in an increase of 127,007. Net migration to Pennsylvania was 98,289. Migration of native Pennsylvanians resulted in a decrease of 100,000 people. 7.2% of the population was foreign-born as of 2021. Pennsylvania's center of population
3979-750: The Anglo-Spanish War . Spain acknowledged English possession of Jamaica and the Caiman Islands in the 1670 Treaty of Madrid . England captured Tortola from the Dutch in 1670, and subsequently took possession of the nearby islands of Anegada and Virgin Gorda ; these islands would later form the British Virgin Islands . During the 17th century, the sugar colonies adopted the system of sugar plantations successfully used by
4152-865: The British in the Philadelphia campaign , the Continental Congress moved west, where it met at the Lancaster courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then to York . In York, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation , largely authored by Pennsylvania delegate John Dickinson, that formed 13 independent States into a new union. Later, the Constitution was written, and Philadelphia
4325-597: The Chesapeake Colonies , and experienced similar immigration and economic activities. Though Baltimore and his descendants intended for the colony to be a refuge for Catholics, it attracted mostly Protestant immigrants, many of whom scorned the Calvert family's policy of religious toleration. In the mid-17th century, the Chesapeake Colonies, inspired by the success of slavery in Barbados, began
4498-524: The Clovis culture . By 1000 CE, in contrast to their nomadic hunter-gatherer ancestors , the native population of Pennsylvania had developed agricultural techniques and a mixed food economy. By the time European colonization of the Americas began, at least two major Native American tribes inhabited Pennsylvania. The first, the Lenape , spoke an Algonquian language and inhabited the eastern region of
4671-538: The Cold War . Pennsylvania's geography is highly diverse. The Appalachian Mountains run through the center of the state; the Allegheny and Pocono mountains span much of Northeastern Pennsylvania ; close to 60% of the state is forested . While it has no ocean shoreline, it has 140 miles (225 km) of waterfront along Lake Erie and the tidal Delaware River. Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in
4844-548: The Colony of Virginia . Virgineola —settled unintentionally by the shipwreck of the Virginia Company's Sea Venture in 1609, and renamed The Somers Isles —is still known by its older Spanish name, Bermuda . In 1620, a group of mostly Pilgrim religious separatists established a second permanent colony on the mainland, on the coast of Massachusetts. Several other English colonies were established in North America during
5017-787: The Council for New England sponsored several colonization projects, including a colony established by a group of English Puritans , known today as the Pilgrims . The Puritans embraced an intensely emotional form of Calvinist Protestantism and sought independence from the Church of England . In 1620, the Mayflower transported the Pilgrims across the Atlantic, and the Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony on Cape Cod . The Pilgrims endured an extremely hard first winter, with roughly fifty of
5190-545: The Delaware River to the east, 80°31' W to the west, and the 42° N to the north, except for a short segment on the western end where a triangle extends north to Lake Erie . The state has five geographical regions: Allegheny Plateau , Ridge and Valley , Atlantic Coastal Plain , Piedmont , and Erie Plain . Pennsylvania's diverse topography produces a variety of climates, though the entire state experiences cold winters and humid summers. Straddling two major zones,
5363-580: The Dominican Republic , China , Mexico , and Vietnam . British colonization of the Americas The British colonization of the Americas is the history of establishment of control, settlement, and colonization of the continents of the Americas by England , Scotland , and, after 1707, Great Britain . Colonization efforts began in the late 16th century with failed attempts by England to establish permanent colonies in
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5536-544: The First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia , which formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander in 1775, and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution . In July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg , fought over three days in and around Gettysburg ,
5709-425: The French Revolution , a Royal Naval Dockyard was established at Bermuda in 1795, which was to alternate with Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax (Bermuda during the summers and Halifax during the winters) as the Royal Navy headquarters and main base for the River St. Lawrence and Coast of America Station (which was to become the North America Station in 1813, the North America and Lakes of Canada Station in 1816,
5882-444: The French Revolutionary Wars and then in the Napoleonic Wars . During the wars, Britain took control of many French, Spanish, and Dutch Caribbean colonies. Tensions between Britain and the United States escalated during the Napoleonic Wars, as the United States took advantage of its neutrality to undercut the British embargo on French-controlled ports, and Britain tried to cut off that American trade with France. The Royal Navy, which
6055-466: The Last Glacial Period , though it is unclear when humans first inhabited present-day Pennsylvania. Between 10,000 and 16,000 years ago, Native Americans crossed the two continents, arriving in North America . Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Jefferson Township includes the earliest known signs of human activity in Pennsylvania and perhaps all of North America, including the remains of a civilization that existed over 10,000 years ago and possibly pre-dated
6228-405: The Massachusetts Bay Colony , and by 1635 roughly ten thousand English settlers lived in the region between the Connecticut River and the Kennebec River . After defeating the Pequot in the Pequot War , Puritan settlers established the Connecticut Colony in the region the Pequots had formerly controlled. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was founded by Roger Williams ,
6401-426: The New Sweden Colony in the region of Fort Christina on the site of present-day Wilmington, 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. On March 12, 1664, King Charles II of England gave James, Duke of York a grant that incorporated all lands included in
6574-412: The New World , beginning the European colonization of the Americas . France and England , the two other major powers of 15th-century Western Europe , employed explorers soon after the return of Columbus's first voyage. In 1497, King Henry VII of England dispatched an expedition led by John Cabot to explore the coast of North America, but the lack of precious metals or other riches discouraged both
6747-401: The Nine Years' War , while the powerful Iroquois declared their neutrality. War between France and England continued in Queen Anne's War , the North American component of the larger War of the Spanish Succession . In the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht , which ended the War of Spanish Succession, the British won possession of the French territories of Newfoundland and Acadia , the latter of which
6920-457: The North American fur trade . During mid-1585 Bernard Drake launched an expedition to Newfoundland which crippled the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets there from which they never recovered. This would have consequences in terms of English colonial expansion and settlement. In the Caribbean Sea , English sailors defied Spanish trade restrictions and preyed on Spanish treasure ships . The English colonization of America had been based on
7093-457: The Northeast megalopolis and is associated with the Northeastern United States . Pittsburgh is part of the Great Lakes megalopolis and is often associated with the Rust Belt . During the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States , the small town of Shanksville, Pennsylvania , received worldwide attention after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township , located 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north of
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7266-411: The Northwest Territories ), British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island joined Canada by the end of 1873, but Newfoundland would not join Canada until 1949. Like other British dominions such as Australia , New Zealand , and South Africa , Canada enjoyed autonomy over its domestic affairs but recognized the British monarch as head of state and cooperated closely with Britain on defense issues. After
7439-411: The Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie . Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn , the son of the state's namesake . Prior to that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden ,
7612-456: The Plymouth Company and the London Company for the purpose of establishing permanent settlements in North America. In 1607, the London Company established a permanent colony at Jamestown on the Chesapeake Bay , but the Plymouth Company's Popham Colony proved short-lived. Approximately 30,000 Algonquian peoples lived in the region at the time. The colonists at Jamestown faced extreme adversity, and by 1617 there were only 351 survivors out of
7785-406: The Province of Canada . Responsible government was first granted to Nova Scotia in 1848, and was soon extended to the other British North American colonies. With the passage of the British North America Act, 1867 by the British Parliament , Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were formed into the confederation of Canada . Rupert's Land (which was divided into Manitoba and
7958-509: The Royal African Company in West Africa , though others came from Madagascar . These slaves soon came to form the majority of the population in Caribbean colonies like Barbados and Jamaica, where strict slave codes were established partly to deter slave rebellions . Following the success of the Jamestown and Plymouth Colonies, several more English groups established colonies in the region that became known as New England . In 1629, another group of Puritans led by John Winthrop established
8131-526: The Sea Venture , flagship of the English London Company , a division of the Virginia Company , bearing Admiral Sir George Somers and the new Lieutenant-Governor for Jamestown, Sir Thomas Gates , was deliberately driven onto the reef off the archipelago of Bermuda to prevent its foundering during a hurricane on the 25th of July. The 150 passengers and crew built two new ships, the Deliverance and Patience and most departed Bermuda again for Jamestown on 11 May 1610. Two men remained behind, and were joined by
8304-403: The Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln . Control of the machine was subsequently passed on to Cameron's son J. Donald Cameron , whose ineffectiveness resulted in a transfer of power to the more shrewd Matthew Quay and finally to Boies Penrose . The post-Civil War era, known as the Gilded Age , saw the continued rise of industry in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was home to some of
8477-485: The Spanish–American War . Pennsylvania was an important industrial center in World War I , and the state provided over 300,000 soldiers for the military. On May 31, 1918, the Pittsburgh Agreement was signed in Pittsburgh to declare the formation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia with future Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk . In 1922, 310,000 Pennsylvania miners joined the UMW General coal strike , which lasted 163 days and shut down most coal mines within
8650-422: The Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic , ensured that England and its colonies would come into conflict with the French empire of Louis XIV after 1689. Under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain , the French had established Quebec City on the St Lawrence River in 1608, and it became the center of French colony of Canada . France and England engaged in a proxy war via Native American allies during and after
8823-437: The Third Anglo-Dutch War , but surrendered its claim to the territory in the 1674 Treaty of Westminster , ending the Dutch colonial presence in North America. In 1664, the Duke of York , later known as James II of England , was granted control of the English colonies north of the Delaware River. He created the Province of New York out of the former Dutch territory and renamed New Amsterdam as New York City . He also created
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#17327870859838996-415: The United States . Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary . Of the original Thirteen Colonies , Pennsylvania is the only state that does not border the Atlantic Ocean . The boundaries of the state are the Mason–Dixon line (39°43' N) to the south, Twelve-Mile Circle on the Pennsylvania- Delaware border,
9169-445: The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia . The university, one of nine colonial colleges , was the first college established in Pennsylvania and one of the first in the nation. Today, it is an Ivy League university, which is routinely ranked among the world's best universities. Dickinson College in Carlisle , founded by Benjamin Rush and named after John Dickinson, was the first college founded after Revolutionary War and
9342-431: The county commission and freedom of religion , which were subsequently replicated in many of the Thirteen Colonies . What had been Upland on the Pennsylvania side of the Pennsylvania-Delaware border was renamed Chester County when Pennsylvania instituted its colonial governments on March 4, 1681. Penn signed a peace treaty with Tamanend , leader of the Lenape, which began a long period of friendly relations between
9515-447: The seventh-largest metropolitan 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, the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania is the nation's 69th-largest metropolitan area. Pennsylvania also has six additional metropolitan areas that rank among the nation's 200-most populous metropolitan areas. Philadelphia forms part of
9688-417: The "first" and "second" empires, in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific, and later Africa. Influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith , Britain also shifted away from mercantile ideals and began to prioritize the expansion of trade rather than territorial possessions. During the nineteenth century, some observers described Britain as having an "unofficial" empire based on
9861-514: The 15th U.S. president and was the first president to be born in Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg , the major turning point of the American Civil War , took place near Gettysburg in July 1863. An estimated 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the Union Army forces, including 8,600 African American military volunteers . The politics of Pennsylvania were for decades dominated by the financially conservative Republican -aligned Cameron machine , established by U.S. Senator Simon Cameron , later
10034-506: The 1620s, and new colonies in the West Indies also emulated its tobacco industry, the price of Bermudian tobacco fell and the colony became unprofitable for many of the company's shareholders, who mostly had remained in England while managers or tenants farmed their land in Bermuda with the labour of indentured servants. Bermuda's House of Assembly held its first session in 1620 (Virginia's House of Burgesses having held its first session in 1619), but with no landowners resident in Bermuda there
10207-400: The 1690s. Between immigration, the importation of slaves, and natural population growth, the colonial population in British North America grew immensely in the 18th century. According to historian Alan Taylor, the population of the Thirteen Colonies (the British North American colonies which would eventually form the United States) stood at 1.5 million in 1750. More than ninety percent of
10380-461: The 1700 colonists who had been transported to Jamestown. After the Virginians discovered the profitability of growing tobacco , the settlement's population boomed from 400 settlers in 1617 to 1240 settlers in 1622. The London Company was bankrupted in part due to frequent warring with nearby American Indians, leading the English crown to take direct control of the Colony of Virginia , as Jamestown and its surrounding environs became known. In 1609,
10553-422: The 1783 Treaty of Paris , Britain ceded all of its North American territory south of the Great Lakes , except for the two Florida colonies, which were ceded to Spain. With their close ties of blood and trade with the continental colonies, especially Virginia and South Carolina, Bermudians leaned towards the rebels during the American War of Independence , supplying them with privateering ships and gunpowder, but
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#173278708598310726-439: The 17th and 18th centuries. With the authorization of a royal charter, the Hudson's Bay Company established the territory of Rupert's Land in the Hudson Bay drainage basin . The English also established or conquered several colonies in the Caribbean , including Barbados and Jamaica . England captured the Dutch colony of New Netherland in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the mid-17th century, leaving North America divided amongst
10899-471: The 1815 defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars . In the mid- 19th century , Britain began the process of granting self-government to its remaining colonies in North America. Most of these colonies joined the Confederation of Canada in the 1860s or 1870s, though Newfoundland would not join Canada until 1949 . Canada gained full autonomy following the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931 , though it retained various ties to Britain and still recognizes
11072-426: The 1846 Oregon Treaty , the United States and Britain agreed to split Oregon Country along the 49th parallel north with the exception of Vancouver Island , which was assigned in its entirety to Britain. After warring throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in both Europe and the Americas, the British and French reached a lasting peace after 1815. Britain would fight only one war (the Crimean War ) against
11245-417: The 45th President of the United States Donald Trump occurred. Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west. Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 km ), 44,817 square miles (116,075 km ) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 km ) are inland waters, and 749 square miles (1,940 km ) are waters in Lake Erie . It is the 33rd-largest state in
11418-428: The 48 states. The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard served as an important naval base, and Pennsylvania produced important military leaders, including George C. Marshall , Hap Arnold , Jacob Devers , and Carl Spaatz . During the war, over a million Pennsylvanians served in the armed forces, and more Medals of Honor were awarded to Pennsylvanians than to individuals from any other state. The Three Mile Island accident
11591-426: The Americas was established by Norse people around 1000 AD in what is now Newfoundland , called Vinland by the Norse. Later European exploration of North America resumed with Christopher Columbus 's 1492 expedition sponsored by Spain. English settlement began almost a century later. Sir Walter Raleigh established the short-lived Roanoke Colony in 1585. The 1607 settlement of the Jamestown colony grew into
11764-620: The Atlantic coast supplied the Atlantic market with beaver fur and deerskins, and sought to preserve their independence by maintaining a balance of power between the French and English. By 1770, the economic output of the Thirteen Colonies made up forty percent of the gross domestic product of the British Empire. Prior to 1660, almost all immigrants to the English colonies of North America had migrated freely, though most paid for their passage by becoming indentured servants . Improved economic conditions and an easing of religious persecution in Europe made it increasingly difficult to recruit labor to
11937-414: The Atlantic coast. Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, and Maryland all lay claim to the land in the Ohio River valley, and the colonies engaged in a scramble to expand west. Following the 1684 revocation of the Somers Isles Company's Royal Charter, seafaring Bermudians established an inter-colonial trade network, with Charleston, South Carolina (settled from Bermuda in 1670 under William Sayle, and on
12110-539: The British Empire after 1783 as the "Second British Empire"; this period saw Britain increasingly focus on Asia and Africa instead of the Americas, and increasingly focus on the expansion of trade rather than territorial possessions. Nonetheless, Britain continued to colonize parts of the Americas in the 19th century, taking control of British Columbia and establishing the colonies of the Falkland Islands and British Honduras . Britain also gained control of several colonies, including Trinidad and British Guiana , following
12283-461: The British Empire. Meanwhile, seeking to avoid another expensive war with Native Americans, Britain issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which restricted settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains . However, it was effectively replaced five years later thanks to the Treaty of Fort Stanwix . The Thirteen Colonies became increasingly divided between Patriots , opposed to parliamentary taxation without representation, and Loyalists , who supported
12456-451: The British monarch as head of state . Following the onset of the Cold War , most of the remaining British colonies in the Americas gained independence between 1962 and 1983. Many of the former British colonies are part of the Commonwealth of Nations , a political association chiefly consisting of former colonies of the British Empire. Following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Spain and Portugal established colonies in
12629-561: The British were saddled with huge debts following the French and Indian War. As much of the British debt had been generated by the defense of the colonies, British leaders felt that the colonies should contribute more funds, and they began imposing taxes such as the Sugar Act of 1764. Increased British control of the Thirteen Colonies upset the colonists and upended the notion many colonists held: that they were equal partners in
12802-588: The Caribbean, Britain retained Grenada , St. Vincent , Dominica , and Tobago , but returned control of Martinique , Havana , and other colonial possessions to France or Spain. The British subjects of North America believed the unwritten British constitution protected their rights and that the governmental system—with the House of Commons , the House of Lords , and the monarch sharing power—found an ideal balance among democracy, oligarchy, and tyranny. However,
12975-718: The Commander-in-Chief in Halifax, and naval and ecclesiastic links between Bermuda the Maritimes also remained; The military links were severed by Canadian confederation at the end of the 1860s, which resulted in the removal of the British Army from Canada and its Commander-in-Chief from Halifax when the Canadian Government took responsibility for the defence of Canada; The naval links remained until
13148-634: The Crown and were subjected to the measures laid out in An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego until Parliament was able to force them to acknowledge its sovereignty. Bermudian anger at the policies of the Somers Isles Company ultimately saw them take their complaints to the Crown after The Restoration , leading to the Crown revoking the Royal Charter of
13321-621: The Dutch colony of New Netherland , with a capital at New Amsterdam . In 1657, New Netherland expanded through conquest of New Sweden , a Swedish colony centered in the Delaware Valley . Despite commercial success, New Netherland failed to attract the same level of settlement as the English colonies. In 1664, during a series of wars between the English and Dutch, English soldier Richard Nicolls captured New Netherland. The Dutch briefly regained control of parts of New Netherland in
13494-750: The English colonization of Ireland, specifically the Munster Plantation, England's first colony, using the same tactics as the Plantations of Ireland . Many of the early colonists of North America had their start in colonizing Ireland, including a group known as the West Country Men . When Sir Walter Raleigh landed in Virginia, he compared the Native Americans to the wild Irish. Both Roanoke and Jamestown had been based on
13667-553: The English, Spanish , and French empires . After decades of warring with France, Britain took control of the French colony of Canada and France's territory east of the Mississippi River , as well as several Caribbean territories, in 1763. Many of the North American colonies gained independence from Britain through victory in the American Revolutionary War , which ended in 1783. Historians refer to
13840-545: The French and British communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with the intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution. The British also expanded their mercantile interests in the North Pacific. Spain and Britain had become rivals in the area which came to
14013-511: The French. In 1695, the Parliament of Scotland granted a charter to the Company of Scotland , which established a settlement in 1698 on the Isthmus of Panama . Besieged by neighbouring Spanish colonists of New Granada , and afflicted by malaria , the colony was abandoned two years later. The Darien scheme was a financial disaster for Scotland—a quarter of Scottish capital was lost in
14186-480: The General Assembly refused to occupy the building. In 1901, political and popular indignation prompted a second contest that was restricted to Pennsylvania architects; Joseph Miller Huston of Philadelphia was chosen to design the present Pennsylvania State Capitol that incorporated Cobb's building into a magnificent public work, finished and dedicated in 1907. James Buchanan , a Franklin County native, served as
14359-1015: The Hurons abandoned much of their western territory and moved closer to the Susquehanna River, and the Iroquois and Mohawk tribes moved further north. Northwest of the Allegheny River was the Iroquoian Petun , 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
14532-553: The Irish plantation model. In the late sixteenth century, Protestant England became embroiled in a religious war with Catholic Spain. Seeking to weaken Spain's economic and military power, English privateers such as Francis Drake and Humphrey Gilbert harassed Spanish shipping. Gilbert proposed the colonization of North America on the Spanish model, with the goal of creating a profitable English empire that could also serve as
14705-515: The Islands of Bermuda, where the spin-off Somers Isles Company still administered, the company and its shareholders in England only earned profits from the export of tobacco, placing them increasingly at odds with Bermudians for whom tobacco had become unprofitable to cultivate. As only those landowners who could attend the company's annual meetings in England were permitted to vote on company policy,
14878-732: The Islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda were under the Command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke . Below Sherbrooke, the Bermuda Garrison was under the immediate control of the Lieutenant- Governor of Bermuda , Major-General George Horsford (although the Lieutenant-Governor of Bermuda was eventually restored to a full civil Governorship, in his military role as Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda he remained subordinate to
15051-581: The Jerseys. Penn named this land the Province of Pennsylvania . Penn was also granted a lease to the Delaware Colony , which gained its own legislature in 1701. A devout Quaker , Penn sought to create a haven of religious toleration in the New World. Pennsylvania attracted Quakers and other settlers from across Europe, and the city of Philadelphia quickly emerged as a thriving port city. With its fertile and cheap land, Pennsylvania became one of
15224-739: The Lockport or the Guelph dolomites, depending on location. Within the Michigan Basin and Ohio the Lower Vernon is further into two units the A1 and A2. Each unit has a lower division of evaporite (salt or anhydrite) and the upper section is a carbonate, typically dolomite. In the east the Lower Vernon contains predominantly red shale. Moving west this is gradually replaced with green shale, then grey shale. Finally dolomite, anhydrite and halite in
15397-479: The Massachusetts Bay Colony were reorganized as royal colonies, with a governor appointed by the king. Maryland, which had experienced a revolution against the Calvert family, also became a royal colony, though the Calverts retained much of their land and revenue in the colony. Even those colonies that retained their charters or proprietors were forced to assent to much greater royal control than had existed before
15570-541: The Netherlands confirmed the English conquest on July 21, 1667, although there were temporary reversions. On September 12, 1672, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , the Dutch reconquered New York Colony / New Amsterdam , establishing three County Courts, which went on to become original Counties in present-day Delaware and Pennsylvania. The one that later transferred to Pennsylvania was Upland. This
15743-545: The North. The first of the permanent English colonies in the Americas was established in Jamestown, Virginia , in 1607. Colonies were established in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Though most British colonies in the Americas eventually gained independence, some colonies have remained under Britain's jurisdiction as British Overseas Territories . The first documented settlement of Europeans in
15916-510: The Portuguese in Brazil , which depended on slave labour. The English government valued the economic importance of these islands over that of New England. Until the abolition of its slave trade in 1807, Britain was responsible for the transportation of 3.5 million African slaves to the Americas, a third of all slaves transported across the Atlantic . Many of the slaves were captured by
16089-804: The Quakers and the Indians. Additional treaties between Quakers and other tribes followed. The Treaty of Shackamaxon of William Penn was never violated. Between 1730 and when the Pennsylvania Colony was shut down by Parliament with the Currency 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 called Colonial Scrip . The Colony issued bills of credit, which were as good as gold or silver coins because of their legal tender status. Since they were issued by
16262-779: The Royal Navy withdrew from Halifax in 1905, handing its dockyard there over to the Royal Canadian Navy ; The established Church of England in Bermuda , within which the Governor held office as Ordinary , remained linked to the colony of Newfoundland under the same Bishop until 1919). In response to the Rebellions of 1837–1838, Britain passed the Act of Union in 1840, which united Upper Canada and Lower Canada into
16435-472: The Sea Venture were thriving, before moving to St. George's Island where they established the town of New London , which was soon renamed to St. George's Town (the first actual town successfully established by the English in the New World as Jamestown was really James Fort , a rudimentary defensive structure, in 1612). Bermuda was soon more populous, self-sufficient and prosperous than Jamestown and
16608-471: The Somers Isles Company and taking over direct administration of Bermuda in 1684. From that date, Bermudians abandoned agriculture, diversifying their maritime industry to occupy many niches of inter-colonial trade between North America and the West Indies. Bermudians limited landmass and high birth rate meant that a steady outflow from the colony contributed about 10,000 settlers to other colonies, notably
16781-614: The Spanish and English from permanently settling in North America during the early 17th century. Later explorers such as Martin Frobisher and Henry Hudson sailed to the New World in search of a Northwest Passage between the Atlantic Ocean and Asia, but were unable to find a viable route. Europeans established fisheries in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland , and traded metal, glass, and cloth for food and fur, beginning
16954-614: The United Kingdom in the late-eighteenth century, and Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807. In the mid-nineteenth century, the economies of the British Caribbean colonies would suffer as a result of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 , which abolished slavery throughout the British Empire, and the 1846 Sugar Duties Act , which ended preferential tariffs for sugar imports from the Caribbean. To replace
17127-444: The United States , with over 13 million residents as of the 2020 United States census . The state is the 33rd-largest by area and has the ninth-highest population density among all states. The largest metropolitan statistical area is the southeastern Delaware Valley , which includes and surrounds Philadelphia, the state's largest and nation's sixth-most populous city. The second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Pittsburgh ,
17300-620: The United States began the American War of 1812 with the invasion of the Canadas, but the British Army mounted a successful defence with minimal regular forces, supported by militia and native allies, while the Royal Navy blockaded the United States of America's Atlantic coastline from Bermuda, strangling its merchant trade, and carried out amphibious raids including the Chesapeake Campaign with its Burning of Washington . As
17473-407: The United States failed to make any gains before British victory against France in 1814 freed British forces from Europe to be wielded against it, and as Britain had no aim in its war with its former colonies other than to defend its remaining continental territory, the war ended with the pre-war boundaries reaffirmed by the 1814 Treaty of Ghent , ensuring Canada's future would be separate from that of
17646-501: The United States to Canada. The 14,000 Loyalists who went to the Saint John and Saint Croix river valleys, then part of Nova Scotia , felt too far removed from the provincial government in Halifax, so London split off New Brunswick as a separate colony in 1784. The Constitutional Act of 1791 created the provinces of Upper Canada (mainly English-speaking) and Lower Canada (mainly French-speaking ) to defuse tensions between
17819-567: The United States. Following the final defeat of French Emperor Napoleon in 1815, Britain gained ownership of Trinidad , Tobago, British Guiana , and Saint Lucia, as well as other territories outside of the Western Hemisphere. The Treaty of 1818 with the United States set a large portion of the Canada–United States border at the 49th parallel and also established a joint U.S.–British occupation of Oregon Country . In
17992-529: The West Indies where colonies like Barbados grew tobacco to the exclusion of subsistence crops. As the company's magazine ship would not carry their food exports to the West Indies, Bermudians began to build their own ships from Bermuda cedar , developing the speedy and nimble Bermuda sloop and the Bermuda rig . Between the late 1610s and the American Revolution, the British shipped an estimated 50,000 to 120,000 convicts to their American colonies. Meanwhile,
18165-635: The advent of metal hulls and steam engines, were to slowly strangle Bermuda's maritime economy, while its newfound importance as a Royal Navy and British Army base from which the North America and West Indies Station could be controlled meant increasing interest from the British Government in its governance. Bermuda was grouped with British North America, especially Nova Scotia and Newfoundland (its closest British neighbours), following United States Independence. When war with France followed
18338-540: The apparent weakness of Spanish rule in Florida , Barbadian planter John Colleton and seven other supporters of Charles II of England established the Province of Carolina in 1663. Settlers in the Carolina Colony established two main population centers, with many Virginians settling in the north of the province and many English Barbadians settling in the southern port city of Charles Town . In 1712, Carolina
18511-429: The city's population as of 2000. In the 20th century, as Pennsylvania's historical national and even global leadership in mining largely ceased and its steelmaking 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
18684-606: The colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Partly due to this shortage of free labor, the population of slaves in British North America grew dramatically between 1680 and 1750; the growth was driven by a mixture of forced immigration and the reproduction of slaves. In the Southern Colonies, which relied most heavily on slave labor, the slaves supported vast plantation economies lorded over by increasingly wealthy elites. By 1775, slaves made up one-fifth of
18857-506: The colonists lived as farmers, though cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Boston flourished. With the defeat of the Dutch and the imposition of the Navigation Acts, the British colonies in North America became part of the global British trading network. The colonists traded foodstuffs, wood, tobacco, and various other resources for Asian tea, West Indian coffee, and West Indian sugar, among other items. Native Americans far from
19030-587: The colonists there. The most popular theory is that the colonists left in search of a new area to settle in the Chesapeake, leaving stragglers to integrate with local Native American tribes. A separate colonization attempt in Newfoundland also failed. Despite the failure of these early colonies, the English remained interested in the colonization of North America for economic and military reasons. In 1606, King James I of England granted charters to both
19203-531: The company worked to suppress the developing maritime economy of the colonists and to force the production of tobacco, which required unsustainable farming practices as more was required to be produced to make up for the diminished value. As many of the class of moneyed businessmen who were adventurers in the company were aligned to the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War , Bermuda
19376-417: The continental colonies were confederated into Canada ) than to the West Indies, and the nearest landfall is North Carolina. Following the independence of the United States, this would make Bermuda of supreme importance to Britain's strategic control of the region, including its ability to protect its shipping in the area and its ability to project its power against the Atlantic seaboard of the United States, as
19549-619: The crown's authority over colonial affairs. James was deposed by the new joint monarchy of William and Mary in the Glorious Revolution , but William and Mary quickly reinstated many of the James's colonial policies, including the mercantilist Navigation Acts and the Board of Trade . The Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony and the Province of Maine were incorporated into the Province of Massachusetts Bay , and New York and
19722-551: The development of labor unions helped them gain living wages. However, the rise of unions also led to a rise of union busting with several private police forces springing up. Pennsylvania was the location of the first documented organized strike in North America, and Pennsylvania was the location of two hugely prominent strikes, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Coal Strike of 1902 . The eight-hour day
19895-444: The early 1800s and pushed into the wilderness territories of the Rocky Mountains and Interior Plateau and all the way to the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Coast expanding British North America Westward. In 1815, Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost was Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Upper-Canada, Lower-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New~Brunswick, and their several Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of
20068-455: The enterprise—and ended Scottish hopes of establishing its own overseas empire. The episode also had major political consequences, persuading the governments of both England and Scotland of the merits of a union of countries, rather than just crowns. This occurred in 1707 with the Treaty of Union , establishing the Kingdom of Great Britain . After succeeding his brother in 1685, King James II and his lieutenant, Edmund Andros , sought to assert
20241-428: The establishment of more Caribbean colonies, and by 1660 England had established Caribbean sugar colonies in St. Kitts , Antigua , Nevis , and Montserrat , English colonization of the Bahamas began in 1648 after a Puritan group known as the Eleutheran Adventurers established a colony on the island of Eleuthera . England established another sugar colony in 1655 following the successful invasion of Jamaica during
20414-413: The export of goods and financial investments around the world, including the newly independent republics of Latin America. Though this unofficial empire did not require direct British political control, it often involved the use of gunboat diplomacy and military intervention to protect British investments and ensure the free flow of trade. From 1793 to 1815, Britain was almost constantly at war, first in
20587-417: The fifth and currently the sixth-largest city after decades of being among the top three. After 1990, as information-based industries became more important in the economy, state and local governments put more resources into the old, well-established public library system. Some localities, however, used new state funding to cut local taxes. New ethnic groups, especially Hispanics and Latinos , began entering
20760-553: The first starting out in 1792, and a year a later he became the first European to reach the Pacific overland north of the Rio Grande reaching the ocean near present-day Bella Coola . This preceded the Lewis and Clark Expedition by twelve years. Shortly thereafter, Mackenzie's companion, John Finlay , founded the first permanent European settlement in British Columbia , Fort St. John . The North West Company sought further explorations firstly by David Thompson , starting in 1797, and later by Simon Fraser . More expedition took place in
20933-463: The first. At the time, Pennsylvania was the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen colonies. Because a third of Pennsylvania's population spoke German , the Constitution was presented in German so those citizens could participate in the discussion about it. Reverend Frederick Muhlenberg , a Lutheran minister and the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives , acted as chairman of Pennsylvania's ratifying convention. For half
21106-515: 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" by Adam Smith . In 1740, Franklin also founded
21279-619: The king. In the British colonies nearest to the Thirteen Colonies, however, protests were muted, as most colonists accepted the new taxes. These provinces had smaller populations, were largely dependent on the British military, and had less of a tradition of self-rule. At the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the Patriots repulsed a British force charged with seizing militia arsenals. The Second Continental Congress assembled in May 1775 and sought to coordinate armed resistance to Britain. It established an impromptu government that recruited soldiers and printed its own money. Announcing
21452-468: The labor of former slaves, British plantations on Trinidad and other parts of the Caribbean began to hire indentured servants from India and China. Despite its defeat in the American Revolutionary War and shift towards a new form of imperialism during the nineteenth century, the British Empire retained numerous colonies in the Americas after 1783. During and after the American Revolutionary War, between 40,000 and 100,000 defeated Loyalists migrated from
21625-433: The land be called New Wales, but there were objections to that name, so he recommended Sylvania (from the Latin silva : "forest, woods"). The King named it Pennsylvania (literally "Penn's Woods") in honor of Admiral Penn. The younger Penn was embarrassed at this name, fearing that people would think he had named it after himself, but King Charles would not rename the grant. Penn established a government with two innovations,
21798-567: The largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Heinz Company was also founded during this period. These huge companies exercised a large influence on the politics of Pennsylvania; as Henry Demarest Lloyd put it, oil baron John D. Rockefeller "had done everything with the Pennsylvania legislature except refine it". Pennsylvania created a Department of Highways and engaged in a vast program of road-building, while railroads continued to see heavy usage. The growth of industry eventually provided middle class incomes to working-class households after
21971-399: The largest steel companies in the world. Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh and Charles M. Schwab founded Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem . Other titans of industry, including John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould , also operated in Pennsylvania. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil industry was born in Western Pennsylvania , which supplied
22144-417: The majority of the state, except for the southeastern corner, has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ). The southern portion of the state has a humid subtropical climate. The largest city, Philadelphia , has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ). Summers are generally hot and humid. Moving toward the mountainous interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder,
22317-399: The mass importation of African slaves . Though many early slaves eventually gained their freedom, after 1662 Virginia adopted policies that passed enslaved status from mother to child and granted slave owners near-total domination of their human property. 640 miles (1,030 km) East-South-East of Cape Hatteras , in the Virginia Company's other former settlement, the Somers Isles, alias
22490-422: The most attractive destinations for immigrants in the late 17th century. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware became known as the Middle Colonies . In 1670, Charles II incorporated by royal charter the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), granting it a monopoly on the fur trade in the area known as Rupert's Land . Forts and trading posts established by the HBC were frequently the subject of attacks by
22663-441: The north to West Virginia in the southwest, including the Susquehanna, Allegheny , and Monongahela rivers near present-day Pittsburgh . European disease and constant warfare with several neighboring tribes and groups of Europeans weakened these two tribes, and they were grossly outpaced financially as the Hurons and Iroquois blocked them from proceeding west into Ohio during the Beaver Wars . As they lost numbers and land,
22836-442: The north-central region with York , Carlisle , and the state capital Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River in the east-central region of the state. Altoona and Johnstown are in the state's west-central region. The state's three-most populated cities, in order of size, are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown. As of the 2020 U.S. census , Pennsylvania had a population of 13,011,844, up from 12,702,379 in 2010. Pennsylvania
23009-627: 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; generally speaking, these tornadoes do not cause significant damage. Cities in Pennsylvania include Philadelphia , Reading , Lebanon , and Lancaster in
23182-473: The old Dauphin County Court House until December 1821 when the Federal -style Hills Capitol, named for Lancaster architect Stephen Hills , was constructed on a hilltop land grant of four acres set aside for a seat of state government in Harrisburg by the son and namesake of John Harris, Sr. , a Yorkshire native who founded a trading post and ferry on the east shore of the Susquehanna River in 1705. The Hills Capitol burned down on February 2, 1897, during
23355-540: The one hundred colonists dying. In 1621, Plymouth Colony was able to establish an alliance with the nearby Wampanoag tribe, which helped the Plymouth Colony adopt effective agricultural practices and engaged in the trade of fur and other materials. Farther north, the English also established Newfoundland Colony in 1610, which primarily focused on cod fishing. The Caribbean would provide some of England's most important and lucrative colonies, but not before several attempts at colonization failed. An attempt to establish
23528-408: The original Virginia Company of Plymouth Grant and other lands. This grant was in conflict with the Dutch claim for New Netherland , which included parts of today's Pennsylvania. On June 24, 1664, the Duke of York sold the portion of his large grant that included present-day New Jersey to John Berkeley and George Carteret for a proprietary colony. The land was not yet in British possession, but
23701-529: The passage of the 1931 Statute of Westminster , Canada and other dominions were fully independent of British legislative control; they could nullify British laws and Britain could no longer pass laws for them without their consent. United States independence, and the closure of its ports to British trade, combined with growing peace in the region which reduced the risk to shipping (resulting in smaller evasive merchantmen, such as those that Bermudian shipbuilders turned out, losing favour to larger clippers ), and
23874-439: The population of the Thirteen Colonies but less than ten percent of the population of the Middle Colonies and New England Colonies. Though a smaller proportion of the English population migrated to British North America after 1700, the colonies attracted new immigrants from other European countries, including Catholic settlers from Ireland and Protestant Germans. As the 18th century progressed, colonists began to settle far from
24047-435: The power of the Royal Navy on the surrounding Atlantic left no possibility of their joining the rebellion, and they eventually availed themselves of the opportunities of privateering against their former kinsmen. Although often mistaken for being in the West Indies, Bermuda is nearer to Canada (and was initially grouped within British North America , retaining close links especially with the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland until
24220-402: The provinces of West Jersey and East Jersey out of former Dutch land situated to the west of New York City, giving the territories to John Berkeley and George Carteret . East Jersey and West Jersey would later be unified as the Province of New Jersey in 1702. Charles II rewarded William Penn , the son of distinguished Admiral William Penn , with the land situated between Maryland and
24393-429: The remainder from Africa (5%), North America (3.1%), and Oceania (0.4%). The state's largest ancestry groups, expressed as a percentage of total people who responded with a particular ancestry for the 2010 census, were German 28.5%, Irish 18.2%, Italian 12.8%, African Americans 9.6%, English 8.5%, Polish 7.2%, and French 4.2%. As of 2018, the top countries of origin for Pennsylvania's immigrants were India ,
24566-422: The role, including religious Independent and Parliamentarian William Sayle ) by force of arms and elected John Trimingham to replace him. Many of Bermuda's religious Independents, who had sided with Parliament, were forced into exile. Although some of the newer continental colonies settled largely by anti-Episcopalian Protestants sided with Parliament during the war, Virginia and other colonies like Bermuda supported
24739-437: The sale boxed in the portion of New Netherland on the West side of the Delaware River. The British conquest of New Netherland began on August 29, 1664, when New Amsterdam was coerced to surrender while facing cannons on British ships in New York Harbor . The conquest was completed in October 1664, when the British captured Fort Casimir in what today is New Castle, Delaware . The Treaty of Breda between England, France, and
24912-442: The same latitude as Bermuda, although Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, is the nearest landfall to Bermuda) forming a continental hub for their trade (Bermuda itself produced only ships and seamen). The widespread activities and settlement of Bermudians has resulted in many localities named after Bermuda dotting the map of North America. The Glorious Revolution and the succession of William III, who had long resisted French hegemony as
25085-425: The same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the said Provinces of Lower Canada and Upper-Canada, Nova-Scotia and New-Brunswick, and their several Dependencies, and in the islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton and the Bermudas, &c. &c. &c. Beneath Prevost, the staff of the British Army in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including
25258-404: The southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, and the tri-cities of Allentown , Bethlehem , and Easton in the central east, known as the Lehigh Valley . The northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining cities of Scranton , Wilkes-Barre , Pittston , Nanticoke , and Hazleton . Erie is located in the northwest. State College is located in the central region. Williamsport is in
25431-410: The southeast. Generally, however it is predominantly green shale, with interbedded dolomite and siltstone. Moving west dolomite replaces shale and anhydrite becomes prevalent. Within the Salina parts of the formation there may be up to seven distinct salt beds. The base of the Middle Vernon is marked in the Salina by the last salt bed, and a slight overall rise in gamma. With in the Wills Creek area, it
25604-406: The southern continental colonies (including Carolina Province , which was settled from Bermuda in 1670), as well as West Indian settlements, including the Providence Island colony in 1631, the Bahamas (settled by Eleutheran Adventurers , Parliament-allied Civil War exiles from Bermuda, under William Sayle in the 1640s), and the seasonal occupation of the Turks Islands from 1681. Encouraged by
25777-464: The state to fill low-skill jobs in agriculture and service industries. For example, in Chester County , Mexican immigrants brought the Spanish language , increased Catholicism , high birth rates, and cuisine when they were hired as agricultural laborers; in some rural localities, they made up half or more of the population. Stateside Puerto Ricans built a large community in the state's third-largest city, Allentown , where they comprise over 40% of
25950-449: The state, then known as Lenapehoking . It included most of present-day New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley and Delaware Valley regions in eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. The Lenape's territory ended somewhere between the Delaware River in the east and the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania. The second tribe, the Susquehannock , spoke an Iroquoian language and were based in Western Pennsylvania from New York state in
26123-525: The state. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge established the Allegheny National Forest under the authority of the Weeks Act of 1911. The forest is located in the northwest part of the state in Elk , Forest , McKean , and Warren Counties for the purposes of timber production and watershed protection in the Allegheny River basin. The Allegheny is the state's only national forest. Pennsylvania manufactured 6.6 percent of total U.S. military armaments produced during World War II , ranking sixth among
26296-404: The state." The ensuing hostilities became known as Pontiac's War . After the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, delegate John Dickinson of Philadelphia wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances . The Congress was the first meeting of the Thirteen Colonies , which convened at the request of the Massachusetts assembly; nine of the 13 colonies sent delegates. Dickinson then wrote Letters from
26469-406: The territory of Virginia. The archipelago was officially named Virgineola , though this was soon changed to The Somers Isles , which remains an official name though the archipelago had already long been infamous as Bermuda , and the older Spanish name has resisted replacement. The Lieutenant-Governor and settlers who arrived in 1612 briefly settled on Smith's Island, where the three left behind by
26642-409: The town. All 40 civilians and 4 Al-Qaeda hijackers on board were killed. The hijackers had intended to crash the plane into either the United States Capitol or The White House . After learning from family members via air phone of the earlier attacks on the World Trade Center , however, Flight 93's passengers revolted against the hijackers and fought for control of the plane, causing it to crash. It
26815-426: The unification of the states. Established in 1773, it was ratified on September 9, 1783, five days after the Treaty of Paris . James Smith wrote that in 1763, "the Indians again commenced hostilities, and were busily engaged in killing and scalping the frontier inhabitants in various parts of Pennsylvania. This state was then a Quaker government, and at the first of this war the frontiers received no assistance from
26988-462: The vast majority of kerosene for years thereafter. As the Pennsylvania oil rush developed, Pennsylvania's oil boom towns, such as Titusville , rose and later fell. Coal mining, primarily in the state's Coal 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 in Hershey, Pennsylvania ; The Hershey Company grew to become
27161-414: The war, and France surrendered almost all of the portion of New France to the east of the Mississippi River to the British. France separately ceded its lands west of the Mississippi River to Spain, and Spain ceded Florida to Britain. With the newly acquired territories, the British created the provinces of East Florida , West Florida , and Quebec , all of which were placed under military governments. In
27334-443: The way to British expansion in that area, and a number of expeditions took place; firstly a naval expedition led by George Vancouver which explored the inlets around the Pacific NorthWest, particularly around Vancouver Island . On land, expeditions took place hoping for a discovery of a practicable river route to the Pacific for the extension of the North American fur trade (the North West Company ). Sir Alexander Mackenzie led
27507-403: The western extent. The Middle Vernon (Unit B) is within the Salina from western Pennsylvania and New York on west. In the central part of theses states on east in is the lowest member of the Wills Creak. This difference again is due to erosional clastic material moving westward from the Taconic Highlands. In the East or Wills Creak area, the Middle Vernon has occasional red shales, particularly in
27680-463: Was a nation known as Calicua, which may have been part of the Monongahela culture . In the 17th century, the Dutch and the English each claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their colonial lands in America. The Dutch were the first to take possession. By June 3, 1631, the Dutch began settling the Delmarva Peninsula by establishing the Zwaanendael Colony on the site of present-day Lewes, Delaware . In 1638, Sweden established
27853-411: Was consequently no property qualification , unlike the case with the House of Commons . As the bottom fell out of tobacco, many absentee shareholders (or Adventurers ) sold their shares to the occupying managers or tenants, with the agricultural industry quickly shifting towards family farms that grew subsistence crops instead of tobacco. Bermudians soon found they could sell their excess foodstuffs in
28026-626: Was desperately short of trained seamen and constantly losing deserters who sought better-paid work under less draconian discipline aboard American merchant vessels, boarded American ships to search for deserters, sometimes resulting in the Impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy. The United States, at the same time, coveted the acquisition of Canada, which Britain could ill afford to lose as its naval and merchant fleets had been constructed largely from American timber before United States independence, and from Canadian timber thereafter. Taking advantage of Britain's absorption in its war with France,
28199-417: Was divided into the crown colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina . The colonies of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina (as well as the Province of Georgia , which was established in 1732) became known as the Southern Colonies . Beginning in 1609, Dutch traders had established fur trading posts on the Hudson River , Delaware River , and Connecticut River , ultimately creating
28372-550: Was eventually adopted, and the coal and iron police were banned. At the beginning of the 20th century, Pennsylvania's economy centered on steel production, logging , coal mining , textile production, and other forms of industrial manufacturing . A surge in immigration to the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided a steady flow of cheap labor for these industries, which often employed children and people who could not speak English from Southern and Eastern Europe . Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during
28545-407: Was once again chosen to be cradle to the new nation. The Constitution was drafted and signed at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall , the same building where the Declaration of Independence was previously adopted and signed in 1776. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution , five days after Delaware became
28718-420: Was one of the colonies that sided with the Crown during the war , being the first to recognise Charles II after the execution of his father. With control of their Assembly and the militia and volunteer coastal artillery , the Royalist majority deposed the company-appointed Governor (by the 1630s, the company had ceased sending Governors to Bermuda and had instead appointed a succession of prominent Bermudians to
28891-419: Was partially reversed on February 9, 1674, when the Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War and reverted all political situations to the status quo ante bellum . The British retained the Dutch Counties with their Dutch names. By June 11, 1674, New York reasserted control over the outlying colonies, including Upland, and the names started to be changed to British names by November 11, 1674. Upland
29064-439: Was partitioned on November 12, 1674, producing the general outline of the current border between Pennsylvania and Delaware. On February 28, 1681, Charles II granted a land charter to Quaker leader William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000 (around £2,100,000 in 2008, adjusting for retail inflation) owed to William's father. The transaction represents one of the largest land grants to an individual in history. Penn proposed that
29237-437: Was renamed Nova Scotia . In the 1730s, James Oglethorpe proposed that the area south of the Carolinas be colonized to provide a buffer against Spanish Florida, and he was part of a group of trustees that were granted temporary proprietorship over the Province of Georgia . Oglethorpe and his compatriots hoped to establish a utopian colony that banned slavery, but by 1750 the colony remained sparsely populated, and Georgia became
29410-510: Was the bloodiest and most decisive battle of the American Civil War , claiming over 50,000 Union and Confederate fatalities and repelling Robert E. Lee 's invasion of the North, leading to the Union's preservation . Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, the state's 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 in World War I , World War II , and
29583-441: Was the most significant nuclear accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history. The state was hard-hit by the decline and restructuring of the steel industry and other heavy industries during the late 20th century. With job losses came heavy population losses, especially in the state's largest cities. Pittsburgh lost its place among the top ten most populous cities in the United States by 1950, and Philadelphia dropped to
29756-497: 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. Since 2003, the Tekko anime convention has been held annually in Pittsburgh. In October 2018, the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation , a conservative Jewish synagogue, experienced the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting , which resulted in 11 fatalities. On July 13, 2024, near Butler, Pennsylvania , an assassination attempt on
29929-406: Was to be shown during the American War of 1812 . Having defeated a combined Franco-Spanish naval force at the decisive 1782 Battle of the Saintes , Britain retained control of Gibraltar and all its pre-war Caribbean possessions except for Tobago. Economically, the new nation became a major trading partner of Britain. The loss of a large portion of British America defined the transition between
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