Everything about Pennsylvania totally explained
The
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, often colloquially referred to as
PA (its abbreviation) by natives and Northeasterners, is a
state located in the
Northeastern and
Middle Atlantic regions of the
United States of America.
Pennsylvania has been known as the
Keystone State since 1802, based in part upon its central location among the original
Thirteen Colonies forming the United States. and
rifles, and the agriculture common to the
South, producing feed, fiber, food, and
tobacco.
Another one of Pennsylvania's nicknames is the
Quaker State; in colonial times, it was known officially as the
Quaker Province, in recognition of Quaker
William Penn's
First Frame of Government constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed
liberty of
conscience. He knew of the hostility Quakers faced when they opposed religious ritual, taking oaths, violence, war and military service, and what they viewed as ostentatious .
Pennsylvania has of coastline along
Lake Erie and of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.
Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's largest city and is home to a major seaport and shipyards on the
Delaware River.
Geography
Pennsylvania is north to south and east to west. Of a total, are land, are inland waters and are waters in Lake Erie. It is the
33rd largest state in the
United States. Pennsylvania is in the
Eastern time zone.
Pennsylvania borders six other states:
New York to the north;
New Jersey to the east;
Delaware and
Maryland southeast;
West Virginia southwest, and finally
Ohio to the west.
The original southern boundary of Pennsylvania was supposed to be at 40° North latitude, but as a result of a bad faith compromise by
Lord Baltimore during
Cresap's War, the king's courts moved the boundary south to 39° 43' N. would have been split in half by the original boundary. While he was a captive,
Cresap, a Marylander, was paraded through Philadelphia. He taunted the officers by announcing that Philadelphia was one of the prettiest towns in Maryland.
In 1681,
Charles II granted a land charter to
William Penn, to repay a debt of £20,000 ($20,000,000 in today’s money) owed to William's father,
Admiral Penn. This was one of the largest land grants to an individual in history. It was called Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's Woods", in honor of Admiral Penn.
Penn established a government with two innovations that were much copied in the New World: the county commission, and freedom of religious conviction. Dickinson then wrote
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, which were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between
December 2,
1767, and
February 15,
1768.
When the
Founding Fathers of the United States were to convene in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the
First Continental Congress. The First Continental Congress drew up and signed the
Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, but when that city was captured by the British, the Continental Congress escaped westward, meeting at the
Lancaster courthouse on Saturday,
September 27,
1777, and then to
York. There they drew up the
Articles of Confederation that formed 13 independent colonies into a new nation. Later, the
Constitution was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new American Nation.
Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the
U.S. Constitution on
December 12,
1787, five days after
Delaware became the first.
Dickinson College of
Carlisle was the first college founded in the United States. Established in 1773, the college was ratified five days after the
Treaty of Paris on
September 9,
1783. The school was founded by
Benjamin Rush and named after John Dickinson.
For half a century, the Commonwealth's legislature met at various places in the general Philadelphia area before starting to meet regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years. But it needed a more central location, as for example the
Paxton Boys massacres of 1763 had made them aware. So, in 1799 the legislature moved to the
Lancaster Courthouse, The
Battle of Gettysburg — the major turning point of the Civil War — took place near
Gettysburg. An estimated 350,000 Pennsylvanians served in the
Union Army forces along with 8,600
African American military volunteers.
The five largest ancestry groups self-reported in Pennsylvania are:
German (27.66%),
Irish (17.66%),
Italian (12.82%),
English (8.89%) and
Polish (7.23%).
Religion
Of all the colonies, only in
Rhode Island was religious freedom as secure as in Pennsylvania - and one result was an incredible religious
diversity, one which continues to this day.
Pennsylvania's population in 2000 was 12,281,054. Of these, 8,448,193 were estimated to belong to some sort of organized religion. According to the
Association of religion data archives at
Pennsylvania State University, reliable data exists for 7,116,348 religious adherents in Pennsylvania in 2000, following 115 different faiths. Their affiliations, including percentage of all adherents, were:
Pennsylvania is also noted for having the highest concentration of an
Amish population in the United States.
While Pennsylvania owes its existence to
Quakers and many of the older trappings of the Commonwealth are rooted in the teachings of the
Religious Society of Friends (as they're officially known), practicing Quakers are a small minority today.
Economy
Pennsylvania's 2006 total
gross state product (GSP) of $510.31 billion ranks the state 6
th in the nation. If Pennsylvania were an independent country, its economy would rank as the 17
th largest in the world, ahead of
Belgium and behind the
Netherlands. On a per-capita basis, Pennsylvania's per-capita GSP of $34,619 ranks 26
th among the 50 states. Philadelphia is home to eight Fortune 500 companies, with more located in suburbs like
King of Prussia; it's a leader in the financial and insurance industry. Pittsburgh is home to seven Fortune 500 companies, including
U.S. Steel,
PPG Industries,
H.J. Heinz, and
Alcoa.
Manufacturing
Pennsylvania's factories and workshops manufacture 16.1% of the Gross State Product (GSP); only 10 states are more industrialized. While
Educational Services is only 1.8% of the Commonwealth's GSP, that's twice the national average; only
Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and
Vermont outrank Pennsylvania. but 1
st in
mushrooms, 3
rd in
Christmas trees and
layer chickens, 4
th in
nursery and
sod,
milk,
corn for
silage,
grapes grown (including
juice grapes), and
horses production. It is also 8
th in the nation for
wine production, has the two highest
wineries east of the
Rocky Mountains and was home to the nation's first commercial grapevine
nursery in
Montgomery County. but are liable for a 12.4% self-employment tax as well. The average farmer is 53 and getting older, as young Pennsylvanians find low farming income a tough row to hoe.
Many farms in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth have been sold to housing developers in the past years. This is largely due to rising taxes and land prices, reflecting high demand for land in the nation's fifth largest metropolitan area. Bucks and Montgomery counties were the first to suburbanize, but this trend is now extending to Chester, Lancaster, Berks, and Lehigh counties.
Tourism
Pennsylvania draws 2.1% of the Gross State Product from
Accommodation and Food Services. Only
Connecticut,
Delaware and
Iowa have lower numbers. Philadelphia draws tourists to see the
Liberty Bell,
Independence Hall, the
Franklin Institute and
the steps of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, while
the Poconos attract honeymooners, golfers, and fishermen, and the
Delaware Water Gap and
Allegheny National Forest appeal to boaters, hikers, and nature lovers. Another attraction are the many
covered bridges in the state, as Pennsylvania has more covered bridges than any other state. Fourteen slots casinos, the majority of which are either in the process of being awarded licenses from the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board or are under construction, are expected to make up a good portion of tourism in the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth launched an extensive tourism campaign in 2003 under the direction of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. An extensive website has been established to promote visits to the state and new license plates feature the VisitPA.com website.
The
Pennsylvania Dutch region in south-central Pennsylvania is a favorite for sightseers. The Pennsylvania Dutch, including the
Old Order Amish, the
Old Order Mennonites and at least 35 other sects, are common in the rural areas around the cities of
Lancaster,
York, and Harrisburg, and
Hershey with smaller numbers extending northeast to the
Lehigh Valley and up the Susquehanna River valley.
The term "Dutch," when referring to the Pennsylvania Dutch, means "German" or "Teutonic" rather than "Netherlander." Germans, in their own language, call themselves "Deutsch," which in English became, misleadingly, "Dutch." The
Pennsylvania Dutch language is a descendant of
German, in the
West Central German dialect family. The language is only very rarely used as a first language among Pennsylvanians; however, in eastern and south central areas of the state it's a common second language and greatly influences dialect and accent.
Politics
Government of the Commonwealth
Pennsylvania has had five
constitutions during its statehood: 1776, 1790, 1838, 1874, and
1968
. Prior to that, the province of Pennsylvania was governed for a century by a
Frame of Government, of which there were four versions: 1682, 1683, 1696, and 1701. The other elected officials composing the executive branch are the Lieutenant Governor
Catherine Baker Knoll, Attorney General
Tom Corbett, Auditor General
Jack Wagner, and State Treasurer
Robin Weissman.
Pennsylvania has a
bicameral legislature set up by Commonwealth's constitution in 1790. The original Frame of Government of William Penn had a unicameral legislature. The
General Assembly includes 50
Senators and 203
Representatives.
Joseph B. Scarnati III is currently
President Pro Tempore of the State Senate,
Dominic Pileggi the
Majority Leader, and
Robert J. Mellow the
Minority Leader.
Dennis M. O'Brien is
Speaker of the House of Representatives, with
H. William DeWeese as Majority Leader and
Samuel Smith as Minority Leader. The 2006 election resulted in the Democrats regaining control of the House and the balance remaining unchanged in Republicans' favor in the Senate.
Pennsylvania is divided into 60 judicial districts, most of which (except
Philadelphia and
Allegheny Counties) have magisterial district judges (formerly called district justices and justices of the peace), who preside mainly over minor criminal offenses and small civil claims.
Sales tax provides 39% of Commonwealth's revenue; personal income tax 34%; motor vehicle taxes about 12%, and taxes on cigarettes and alcohol beverage 5%.
Counties, municipalities, and
school districts levy taxes on real estate. In addition, some local bodies assess a
wage tax on personal income. Generally, the total wage tax rate is capped at 1% of income but some municipalities with
home rule charters may charge more than 1%. Thirty-two of the Commonwealth's sixty-seven counties levy a
personal property tax on stocks, bonds, and similar holdings.
Representation in the 110th Congress
Pennsylvania's two
U.S. Senators in the
110th Congress are
Arlen Specter and
Bob Casey, Jr.
Pennsylvania's
U.S. Congressmen for the term beginning January 2007 are
Robert Brady (
1st),
Chaka Fattah (
2nd),
Phil English (
3rd),
Jason Altmire (
4th),
John E. Peterson (
5th),
Jim Gerlach (
6th),
Joe Sestak (
7th),
Patrick Murphy (
8th),
Bill Shuster (
9th),
Chris Carney (
10th),
Paul E. Kanjorski (
11th),
John Murtha (
12th),
Allyson Schwartz (
13th),
Michael F. Doyle (
14th),
Charlie Dent (
15th),
Joe Pitts (
16th),
Tim Holden (
17th),
Tim Murphy (
18th), and
Todd Russell Platts (
19th).
See map of congressional districts
Regional strength
In the past decade, no
political party has been clearly dominant in Pennsylvania. This, combined with Pennsylvania's rank of 6th in the country in population, has made it one of the most important
swing states. Democrats are strong in urban
Philadelphia and the areas of
Pittsburgh,
Reading,
Allentown,
Erie,
Johnstown, and
Scranton/
Wilkes-Barre. Republicans are generally dominant in the vast rural areas that make up the balance of the Commonwealth. Traditionally, Republicans have also fared well in the densely populated and wealthy suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but in the 1990s and 2000s many of these suburbs began to associate more with the Democratic Party.
Since 1992, Pennsylvania has been trending Democratic in Presidential elections, voting for Bill Clinton twice by large margins, and slightly closer in 2000 for Al Gore. Most recently, in the 2004 Presidential Election, Senator
John F. Kerry beat President
George W. Bush in Pennsylvania 2,938,095 (50.92%) to 2,793,847 (48.42%).
Important cities and municipalities
Municipalities in Pennsylvania are incorporated as
cities of several classes, as
boroughs, as
townships of several classes, or under home rule charters. A "village," often identified by a roadside sign, is unincorporated, and is merely a locale without distinct boundaries. There are 2,567 municipalities in the state. However, in 1975,
McCandless Township, in
Allegheny County adopted a home rule charter under the name "Town of McCandless".
The ten most populated cities in Pennsylvania, in order are:
Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh,
Allentown,
Erie,
Reading,
Scranton,
Bethlehem,
Lancaster,
Altoona, and
Harrisburg.
Image:Allentown_Pennsylvania_downtown.jpg|Allentown
Image:Cathedral_of_the_Blessed_Sacrament.jpg|Altoona
Image:Beaver Falls.jpg|Beaver Falls
Image:Bethlehem_Pennsylvania_downtown.jpg|Bethlehem
Image:Butler skyline.jpg|Butler
Image:Easton_Skyline.jpg|Easton
Image:Eriesky2.jpg|Erie
Image:Harrisburg,_Pennsylvania_State_Capital_Building.jpg|Harrisburg
Image:Downtown hazleton pa.jpg|Hazleton
Image:Johnstownview.jpg|Johnstown
Image:Rock Ford Plantation Lancaster Front 1456px.jpg|Lancaster
Image:Kennedy_Square.jpg|New Castle
Image:Philadelphia_skyline.JPG|Philadelphia
Image:Clementebridge.JPG|Pittsburgh
Image:Pottsville.jpg|Pottsville
Image:Pagoda_reading_pa.jpg|Reading
Image:DowntownScranton2003.jpg|Scranton
Image:WilkesBarreDowntown.jpg|Wilkes-Barre
Image:192_9259_(Large).JPG|Williamsport
Image:110-1068_IMG.jpg|York
Recreation
Pennsylvania is home to the nation's first zoo, the
Philadelphia Zoo.
(External Link) Other notable zoos include the Allentown Zoo,
Claws 'n Paws,
Erie Zoo,
Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, and
ZOOAMERICA. The Commonwealth boasts some of the finest museums in the country. One of the unique museums is the
Houdini Museum (External Link) in Scranton, the only building in the world devoted to the legendary magician. It is also home to the
National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh.
All 121
state parks in Pennsylvania feature free admission.
Pennsylvania offers a number of notable amusement parks, including
Camel Beach,
Conneaut Lake Park,
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom,
Dutch Wonderland,
DelGrosso Amusement Park,
Hershey Park,
Idlewild Park,
Kennywood,
Knoebels,
Lakemont Park,
Sandcastle Waterpark,
Sesame Place,
Great Wolf Lodge and
Waldameer Park. Pennsylvania also is home to the largest indoor waterpark resort on the East Coast,
Splash Lagoon in Erie.
There are also notable music festivals that take place in Pennsylvania. These include
Musikfest in
Bethlehem (which featured the rock band
The Black Crowes in 2007 and routinely draws major music acts), the
Philadelphia Folk Festival,
Creation Festival, the Great Allentown Fair (which lasts slightly longer than a week in Allentown annually in early September) and
Purple Door.
There are nearly one million licensed hunters in Pennsylvania. Whitetail deer, cottontail rabbits, squirrel, turkey, and grouse are common game species. Pennsylvania is considered one of the finest wild turkey hunting states in the Union, alongside Texas and Alabama. Sport hunting in Pennsylvania is a massive boost for the Commonwealth's economy. A report from The Center for Rural Pennsylvania (A Legislative Agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly) reported that hunting, fishing, and furtaking generated a total of $9.6 billion statewide.
The
Boone and Crockett Club shows that five of the ten largest (skull size)
black bear entries came from the state. The state also has a tied record for the largest
hunter shot black bear in the Boone & Crockett books at and a
skull of 23 3/16 tied with a bear shot in
California in 1993.
Sports
Pennsylvania is home to many professional sports teams, including the
Philadelphia Phillies and
Pittsburgh Pirates of
Major League Baseball, the
Philadelphia Eagles and
Pittsburgh Steelers of the
National Football League, the
Philadelphia 76ers of the
National Basketball Association, the
Philadelphia Flyers and
Pittsburgh Penguins of the
National Hockey League, and the
Philadelphia Soul of the
Arena Football League. Among them, these teams have accumulated 6
World Series Championships (Pirates 5, Phillies 1), 14
National League Pennants, 3 pre-
Super Bowl era NFL Championships (Eagles), 5 Super Bowl Championships (Steelers), 2 NBA Championships (76ers), and 4
Stanley Cup winners (Flyers 2, Penguins 2).
In baseball, the Phillies moved their Triple A-level team from
Ottawa, Ontario, in
Canada, to a newly-constructed stadium,
Coca-Cola Park in
Allentown, beginning with the 2008 season. Because the Lehigh Valley is a core fan base for both the Phillies and the
Philadelphia Eagles (who conduct their pre-season training camp on the practice fields of
Lehigh University), there are understandably lofty expectations that the new team, called the
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (after
pig iron, which is an instrumental part in the construction of
steel which has been a large part of the local economy for decades), is likely to prove hugely popular among Allentown and Lehigh Valley Phillies fans. The Phillies' AA team is located in
Reading, and one of their A-level affiliates is also located in
Williamsport. The Pirates' AA team is located in
Altoona, and the Nationals' AA affiliate is in the capital of
Harrisburg. The Yankees' AAA team is also located in
Scranton, in the northeastern part of the state. Two independent-league teams, the
Lancaster Barnstormers and
York Revolution of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, are located in south-central Pennsylvania.
College football is also very popular in Pennsylvania. The
Penn State University Nittany Lions are coached by
Joe Paterno who led Penn State to two national championships (1982 & 1986) as well as five undefeated seasons (1968, 1969, 1973, 1986 and 1994). Penn State plays its home games in the second largest stadium in the United States,
Beaver Stadium, that seats 107,282. In addition, the
University of Pittsburgh Panthers have won nine national championships (1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937 and 1976) and have played eight undefeated seasons (1904, 1910, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1937 and 1976).
(External Link) Pitt plays its home games at
Heinz Field, a facility it shares with the
Pittsburgh Steelers. Other Pennsylvania schools that have won national titles in football include
Lafayette College (1896) and the
University of Pennsylvania (1895, 1897, 1904 and 1908).
(External Link)
College basketball is also popular in the state, especially in the Philadelphia area where five universities, collectively termed the
Big Five, have a rich tradition in
NCAA Division I basketball. National titles in college basketball have been won by the following Pennsylvania universities:
La Salle University (1954),
Temple University (1938),
University of Pennsylvania (1920 and 1921),
University of Pittsburgh (1928 and 1930) and
Villanova University (1985).
(External Link)(External Link)
In motorsports, the
Mario Andretti dynasty of race drivers is from
Nazareth. Notable Racetracks in Pennsylvania include the
Jennerstown Speedway in
Jennerstown, the
Lake Erie Speedway in
North East, the
Mahoning Valley Speedway in
Lehighton, the
Motordome Speedway in
Smithton, the
Mountain Speedway in
St. Johns, the
Nazareth Speedway in
Nazareth; and the
Pocono Raceway in
Long Pond, which is home both the
Pennsylvania 500 and the
Pocono 500.
Also, the
Little League World Series is held in
Williamsport, where it was founded. Also the first
World Series between the Boston Pilgrims (now
Boston Red Sox) and
Pittsburgh Pirates was played in
Pittsburgh.
There are also two motocross race tracks that host a round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championships in Pennsylvania. [HighPoint Raceway]
High Point in located in Mt. Morris, PA, and Steel City is located in Delmont, PA.
Race courses for horses in Pennsylvania consist of
The Meadows Racetrack, south of
Pittsburgh,
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, in
Wilkes-Barre and
Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack in
Chester which offer
harness racing, and
Penn National Race Course in
Grantville and
Philadelphia Park, in
Bensalem which offer
thoroughbred racing.
Smarty Jones, the 2004
Kentucky Derby winner, had Philadelphia Park as his home course.
Arnold Palmer, one of the leading 20th century pro golfers, comes from
Latrobe, and
Jim Furyk, one of the leading 21-century pro golfers, grew up near in
Lancaster. PGA tournaments in Pennsylvania include the 84 Lumber Classic, played at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, in
Farmington and the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, played at Glenmaura National Golf Club, in
Moosic.
Philadelphia is home to
LOVE Park, once a
skateboarding mecca, and across from City Hall, host to
ESPN's
X Games in 2001 and 2002.
Food
In his book
Yo Mama Cooks Like a Yankee, author Sharon Hernes Silverman calls Pennsylvania the snack food capital of the world. It leads all other states in the manufacture of
pretzels and potato chips. The
Sturgis Pretzel House introduced the pretzel to America, and companies like Anderson Bakery Company, Intercourse Pretzel Factory, and Snyder's of Hanover are leading manufacturers in the Commonwealth. The three companies that define the U.S. potato chip industry are
Utz Quality Foods, Inc., which started making chips in
Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1921,
Wise Snack Foods which started making chips in
Berwick in 1921, and
Lay's Potato Chips, a
Texas company. Other companies such as Herr Foods, Martin's Potato Chips, and Troyer Farms Potato Products are popular chip manufacturers. The U.S. chocolate industry is centered in
Hershey, Pennsylvania, with
Mars and
Wilbur Chocolate Company nearby, and smaller manufacturers such as Asher's near
Lansdale and
Gertrude Hawk of
Dunmore. Other notable companies include
Just Born in
Bethlehem, PA, makers of
Hot Tamales,
Mike and Ikes, and the
Easter favorite marshmallow
Peeps,
Benzel's Pretzels and
Boyer Candies of
Altoona, PA, which is well known for its
Mallow Cups. Auntie Anne's Pretzels originated in Gap, but their corporate headquarters is now located in Lancaster, PA. Traditional Pennsylvania Dutch foods include chicken potpie, schnitz un knepp (dried apples, hame, and dumplings),
fasnachts (raised doughnuts), scrapple, pretzels, bologna, and chochow. Shoofly is another traditional Pennsylvanian Dutch food. Yuengling Brewery, America's Oldest Brewery, has been brewing beer in Pottsville, PA since 1829.
Among the regional foods associated with Pennsylvania are the
pierogies,
cheesesteak and the
hoagie, the
soft pretzel, the
lemur on a stick,
Italian water ice,
scrapple,
Tastykake, and the
stromboli. In Pittsburgh, tomato ketchup was improved by
Henry John Heinz from 1876 to the early 1900s. Famous to a lesser extent than Heinz ketchup are the Pittsburgh's
Primanti Brothers Restaurant sandwiches. Outside the city of
Scranton, in the Borough of
Old Forge there are dozens of Italian restaurants specializing in pizza made unique by thick, light crust and American cheese.
Sauerkraut along with pork and mashed potatoes is a common meal on New Year's Day in Pennsylvania.
Multi-ethnic cuisine is common, especially in the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and
Coal Region areas.
Amish,
Chinese,
Italian,
Indian,
Japanese,
Korean,
Mexican,
Pakistani,
Persian,
Polish,
Russian,
Thai,
Turkish cuisine and many others can be found not only in specialty restaurants but at hundreds of community or religious festivals.
State symbols
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pennsylvania'.
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