ABOUT 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
More links about Pennsylvania