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HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- Pre-Columbian Period
Prior to European contact, several Native American tribes lived in the state we know today as Pennsylvania, many of which were related (especially through language) to the powerful Iroquois to the north. Europeans arrived first as explorers, then as traders, and finally as settlers and colonists during the 16th and early 17th centuries.
- Colonial Period
In 1638, Peter Minuit established the colony of New Sweden along the southern Delaware River and built the first log cabins of Pennsylvania. However, in 1655, the Dutch captured New Sweden. The Dutch and English fought over this territory in the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars before the English consolidated their rule over the land in 1674. Meanwhile, the French had settled Western Pennsylvania as part of their larger colony of New France.
The official history of Pennsylvania begins in 1681 when English King Charles II grants the Province of Pennsylvania (Penn's Woods) to William Penn, who used Pennsylvania as a place of religious freedom for the Quakers. A year later, he landed in Pennsylvania and founded the capital of Philadelphia. Several other religious and ethnic minorities settled in Pennsylvania and quickly diversified the population of the state. Pennsylvania also held joint rule with the state of Delaware over its three counties. William Penn was also very fair in his dealings with the Native Americans such as the Lenape, but relations deteriorated after his death in 1718 when his descendants weren't as friendly with the Native Americans. The British gained Western Pennsylvania from the French in the French and Indian War of 1754 to 1763.
- Revolutionary Period
The British, having incurred heavy debts from the war, began to tax the colonists more and more. The colonists were outraged with these taxes and contributed to tensions that led to the first and second Continental Congresses in Philadelphia which brought together delegates from the 13 British colonies. The Declaration of Independence was written in Philadelphia's Independence Hall and ratified on 4 July, 1776. It is here when Benjamin Franklin rose to prominence as one of the founding fathers of the nation, as he fought tirelessly for revolution. Pennsylvania was the site of several important events in the Revolutionary War, such as Washington's crossing of the Delaware River as well as Washington's gruelling winter stay in Valley Forge in 1777-1778.
Pennsylvania had begun to abolish slavery in 1780. In 1781, the Articles of Confederation was written in Philadelphia, which was now the new USA's capital. By the end of the decade, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia to rewrite the Articles of Confederation which ultimately led to today's Constitution. Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify this document at the end of 1787 and therefore was second to join the union after Delaware. The first President George Washington stayed in Philadelphia which was the USA's first capital.
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| Expansion of Pennsylvania. Much of the time these were at the expense of the Native Americans. |
- American Period
In the early years as a state, Pennsylvania had gradually marked its borders and expanded west. Pennsylvania remained one of the largest states of the USA until recently and held the second most electoral votes until 1960. Similarly, Philadelphia was one of the largest cities of the USA and for most of the 19th century, the second largest behind New York City. Pennsylvania was one of the key Union states during the Civil War, as the Battle of Gettysburg (in southern Pennsylvania) was the largest battle by casualty in the Civil War. Union forces defended against the incoming Confederates and eventually claimed victory. The battle is widely considered as the, or one of, the turning points of the Civil War.
After the war, Pennsylvania generally voted Republican (Lincoln's party) until the Great Depression. Pennsylvania underwent a large scale of industial expansion after the Civil War and was a mecca of steel with the Carnegie and Bethlehem Steel Companies. Oil and coal were also discovered and drilled/mined in large quantities. As part of this industrialisation, the city of Pittsburgh rose to prominence in Western Pennsylvania.
After the Great Depression and WWII, post-industrialisation hit Pennsylvania hard, especially with the collapse of the steel industry, which put thousands out of work. The urban centres of Philadelphia and especially Pittsburgh recorded large population losses. Fortunately, both cities have managed to rebound with new focuses on science, technology, medicine, and education.
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DEMOGRAPHICS OF PENNSYLVANIA
- Population Density
This population density map of Pennsylvania is from the 2000 Census. Green areas have lower population densities while red areas have higher ones. Generally, central and northern Pennsylvania have lower population densities. Far southeastern Pennsylvania is densely populated because it includes the city of Philadelphia and its suburbs. Similarly, the blotch of red in the west is Pittsburgh and its suburbs.
Other metropolitan areas of high population densities include Erie in the far northwest, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the northeast, Allentown and the Lehigh Valley just above the Philadelphia metro, and the capital of Harrisburg a little west of the Philadelphia metro.
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| If you guessed population density in one of the older blog posts, you would be correct! |
Omitted from the pre-census graph is the populations for Pennsylvania in 1690 and 1680, which were 11,450 and 680, respectively. Before that, no estimates exist, because population was likely too small. Obviously, these earliest recordings are for European settlers only, or else the population would have been much higher had it accounted for Native Americans. Throughout most of the 18th century, Pennsylvania experienced consistently high population growth rates. However, these are just estimates because at that time, Pennsylvania was just a British colony instead of a state of the USA, which conducted a census every decade.
Once Pennsylvania became a state, growth rates experienced a gradual decline through the 19th and 20th centuries before reaching a near stable (but still slowly growing) rate. However, though growth rates were declining, they were fairly high into the 20th century, so Pennsylvania experienced large population growth. The current population of Pennsylvania is about 13 million people.
- Diversity
Most Pennsylvanians (as of 2014) are non-Hispanic White, at 78.8%. Black and African Americans represent 11.4%, Hispanic/Latinos represent 6.1%, and Asians represent 3%. The remaining .7% are others, including Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. It is noteworthy to mention that in recent decades, the proportion of non-Hispanic White people has decreased to make room for an increasing number of minorities either through immigration or higher birth rates, including Africans, Asians, and Hispanic/Latinos.
The Hispanic population is increasing the fastest, having grown 82.6% between 2000 and 2010. While most Hispanic/Latino people are from Mexico, they tend to be Puerto Rican in Pennsylvania. Their proportions are highest in Southeastern Pennsylvania at and near Philadelphia. Similarly, Asian population growth numbered 60% from an influx of Chinese and Indians.
The six largest ancestries are German (28.5%), Irish (18.2%), Italian (12.8%), African (9.6%), English (8.5%), and Polish (7.2%). In terms of religion, 80% of Pennsylvanians are Christian (51/29 Protestant/Catholic), 2% are Jewish, and 13% are non-religious.
Brett, I can tell that you are enjoying blogging by both the sheer quantity of material you have entered and the quality of it. I like how you have decided to learn about the history such as the revolutions. That is a very important part of geography as it can show why an area is like it is. I also like how you have chosen to learn about things that most people would not think of when they heard "geography". Such like the racial diversities directly above. Keep spreading your horizons and I wish you the best if luck in achieving your goals.
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