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Pennsylvania
Capital:
Harrisburg
State abbreviation/Postal code:
Pa./PA
Nickname:
Keystone State
Origin of name:
Named in honor of Admiral William Penn,
father of the state's founder, William Penn.
Briefs on
Pennsylvania:
This first capital of the United States has
acquired the title of ‘the Keystone State’ due to its key position
amongst America’s first thirteen states. With a total land area of 72,
916 square kilometers Pennsylvania is a state that is bordered by the
significant states of New York, New Jersey Delaware, Maryland, West
Virginia and Ohio. The approximate population of the state is
12,100,000 and its capital is Harrisburg, a city that played a crucial
role in the American history during the Westward Migration, the
American Civil War and the Industrial Revolution.
 The largest city of the state is Philadelphia.
Philadelphia and the city of Pittsburgh are the major historic cities
of the state. Philadelphia is also the fifth largest city in the
country ad is known as the City of Brotherly Love due to its settler
Captain William Markham. The city of Pittsburgh is a home to the
strategic fort, Fort Pitt that formed the foundation for the creation
of a city around it.
Apart from well-known cities and sites
Pennsylvania delights its visitors with wonderful landscape, which is
one of hills, plateaus, ridges, valleys, rivers and lakes. This
accounts for beguiling natural attractions like the vast Allegheny
National Forest and the Pocono Mountains. Pennsylvania is also known
for being the home of Pennsylvania Dutch such as the Amish and
Mennonite sects.
Pennsylvania has a proud history too. The name
has its origins in the Latin phrase that means Penn’s Woods. The name
was coined by English Quaker William Penn in the honor of his father.
Pennsylvania is known as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
History of the state reveals that Native American
tribes inhabited the region for a long time. Besides these the
Delaware, Susquehannock, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee also occupied a part
of the land.
On 4th march 1681 Charles II of
England granted a land charter to William Penn for the area that is
currently inclusive of Pennsylvania. At that place Penn established a
colony and named it after the Latin phrase that meaning Penn’s Woods.
The purpose of this colony was to serve as a place for religious
freedom.
There was an influx of German settlers in the
region around 1700. The Germans brought with them their language as
well as culture.
Under the Welsh Tract a large part of part of
Pennsylvanian land i.e. the north and west of Philadelphia, in
Montgomery, Chester and Delaware Counties were settled by Welsh
speaking Quakers. The western part of Pennsylvania later became the
bone of contention between the British and the French. It was one of
the factors of dispute during the French and Indian War.
In 1776 Pennsylvania along with Delaware formed
one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against the British rule
during the American Revolution.
On 12th December 1787 Pennsylvania
became the second state to ratify the US Constitution.
In the 19th and 20th
centuries Pennsylvania earned recognition for kerosene production,
steel production, ship building and coal mining. With all this and
much more the state is advancing incredibly.
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