The New International Encyclopædia/Pennsylvania

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2268367The New International Encyclopædia — Pennsylvania

​ PENNSYLVA′NIA (from Penn + Neo-Lat. sylvania, woodland, from Lat. silvanus, sylvanus, relating to a forest, from silva, sylva, wood, forest; named in honor of William Penn). A North ​Atlantic State of the United States, situated at the apex of the arch formed by the coast States from North Carolina to New England, whence it is popularly called the ‘Keystone State.’ It lies between 39° 43′ and 42° 15′ north latitude, and between 74° 43′ and 80° 31′ west longitude. It is bounded on the north by New York State, and for about 50 miles in the west by Lake Erie, on the east by New York and New Jersey, on the south by a small part of Delaware and by Maryland and West Virginia, and on the west by West Virginia and Ohio. In shape it forms a rectangle. The north and south boundaries are straight lines running along parallels 157¾ miles apart, except for the small projection of the northwestern corner. The western boundary is a straight line running along the meridian, but the eastern boundary is formed by the Delaware River, which forms two large and regular zigzag bends, making the extreme length of the State 302 miles. The area is 45,215 square miles, of which 44,985 square miles, or 28,790,400 acres, are land surface. The State ranks twenty-ninth in size among the United States.

Topography. Three of the four topographical belts which form the Eastern United States may be recognized in this State, running across its territory from southwest to northeast. The Atlantic coastal plain does not come within the State limits, so that the first of the three belts is the Piedmont Plain (q.v.), which occupies the southeastern portion between the lower course of the Delaware and the Blue or Kittatinny Mountain range. It has a width of about 60 miles, and ascends by gentle undulations from sea-level at the Delaware estuary to an elevation of 500 feet at the base of the mountains. It is broken, however, by several low ridges in the southeast, and farther inland by the interrupted chain of semi-isolated groups of hills known as the South Mountain, which farther north becomes the Highlands of New Jersey and New York. The second belt is the Appalachian Mountain region. It crosses the State toward the northeastern corner as a system of more or less parallel ridges, together from 50 to 80 miles wide. The eastern ridge is the Blue Mountain, known farther north and in New Jersey as the Kittatinny Range. It rises abruptly from the plain to a uniform height of a little over 1000 feet, or about 1500 feet above the level of the sea. It is broken by but few river gaps, notably that of the Susquehanna (which pierces the entire mountain belt), and the Delaware Water-Gap, on the eastern boundary of the State. West of the Blue Mountain there follows a succession of low ridges bearing various names, and intersected here and there by transverse river valleys. They appear almost like waves on the ocean, turning their steep faces southeastward and sloping gently toward the northwest, and they inclose a number of fertile and populous valleys. North of the Susquehanna they pass in the west into irregular masses which merge with the western plateau, but in the southern half the undulating belt is sharply limited on the west by the high and steep face of the Allegheny Range. The western slope of the latter falls gradually toward the plateau, though it is flanked by a few minor ridges, the extreme western outliers of the system, chief among which is Laurel Hill in the southwestern part of the State. The highest point in the State is North Knob, 2084 feet above the sea. The third topographical region is the broad Allegheny Plateau, covering the entire western half of the State. Its horizon has an elevation of 1000 to 2000 feet, sloping gently to the south and west. But it has been reduced by erosion to a complicated hill-country, or rather valley-country, being intersected in all directions by river-valleys, some broad and open, others narrow, with abrupt slopes 500 to 800 feet deep. The line of 1000 feet elevation is only two to five miles from the shore of Lake Erie, so that there is here no lake-shore plain.


​


​

AREA AND POPULATION OF PENNSYLVANIA BY COUNTIES.

County Map
 Index.  		 County Seat.   Area in 
square
miles. 		Population.
1890. 1900.
 
Adams D 4  Gettysburg 537 33,486 34,496
Allegheny A 3  Pittsburg 758 551,959  775,058 
Armstrong B 3  Kittanning 640 47,747 52,551
Beaver A 3  Beaver 426 50,077 56,432
Bedford C 4  Bedford 1,070   38,644 39,468
 
Berks E 3  Reading 874 137,327  159,615 
Blair C 3  Hollidaysburg 530 70,866 85,039
Bradford E 2  Towanda 1,140   59,233 59,403
Bucks F 3  Doylestown 620 70,615 71,190
Butler B 3  Butler 765 55,339 56,962
 
Cambria C 3  Ebensburg 680 66,375 104,837 
Cameron C 2  Emporium 375  7,238  7,048
Carbon F 3  Mauch Chunk 400 38,624 44,510
Center D 3  Bellefonte 1,130   43,269 42,894
Chester F 4  Westchester 760 89,377 95,695
 
Clarion B 2  Clarion 566 36,802 34,283
Clearfield C 3  Clearfield 1,141   69,565 80,614
Clinton D 2  Lockhaven 892 28,685 29,197
Columbia E 2  Bloomsburg 480 36,832 39,896
Crawford A 2  Meadville 1,020   65,324 63,643
 
Cumberland D 3  Carlisle 536 47,271 50,344
Dauphin E 3  Harrisburg 514 96,977 114,443 
Delaware F 3  Media 178 74,683 94,762
Elk C 2  Ridgway 760 22,239 32,903
Erie A 1  Erie 782 86,074 98,473
 
Fayette B 4  Uniontown 824 80,006 110,413 
Forest B 2  Tionesta 420 8,482 11,039
Franklin D 4  Chambersburg 731 51,433 54,902
Fulton C 4  McConnellsburg  416 10,137  9,924
Greene A 4  Waynesburg 588 28,935 28,281
 
Huntingdon C 3  Huntingdon 940 35,751 34,650
Indiana B 3  Indiana 820 42,175 42,556
Jefferson B 3  Brookville 620 44,005 59,113
Juniata D 3  Mifflintown 398 16,655 16,054
Lackawanna F 2  Scranton 470 142,088  193,831 
 
Lancaster E 3  Lancaster 960 149,095  159,241 
Lawrence A 3  Newcastle 360 37,517 57,042
Lebanon E 3  Lebanon 370 48,131 53,827
Lehigh F 3  Allentown 328 76,631 93,893
Luzerne E 3  Wilkesbarre 910 201,203  257,121 
 
Lycoming D 2  Williamsport 1,240   70,579 75,663
McKean C 2  Smethport 976 46,863 51,343
Mercer A 2  Mercer 680 55,744 57,387
Mifflin D 3  Lewistown 411 19,996 23,160
Monroe F 3  Stroudsburg 630 20,111 21,161
 
Montgomery F 3  Norristown 501 123,290  138,995 
Montour E 3  Danville 142 15,645 15,526
Northampton F 3  Easton 370 84,220 99,687
Northumberland  F 3  Sunbury 469 74,698 90,911
Perry D 3  New Bloomfield 561 26,276 26,263
 
Philadelphia F 4  Philadelphia 130  1,046,964      1,293,697    
Pike F 2  Milford 620  9,412  8,766
Potter D 2  Coudersport 1,049   22,778 30,621
Schuylkill E 3  Pottsville 789 154,163  172,927 
Snyder D 3  Middleburg 320 17,651 17,304
 
Somerset B 4  Somerset 1,040   37,317 49,461
Sullivan E 2  Laporte 470 11,620 12,134
Susquehanna E 2  Montrose 823 40,093 40,043
Tioga D 2  Wellsboro 1,180   52,313 49,086
 
Union D 3  Lewisburg 316 17,820 17,592
Venango B 2  Franklin 671 46,640 49,648
Warren B 2  Warren 860 37,585 38,946
Washington A 3  Washington 830 71,155 92,181
Wayne F 2  Honesdale 831 31,010 30,171
Westmoreland B 3  Greensburg 1,060   112,819  160,175 
Wyoming E 2  Tunkhannock 409 15,891 17,152
York E 4  York 875 99,489 116,413 
 


​ Hydrography. The three chief river systems are, in the order of their drainage areas, the Susquehanna, the Ohio, and the Delaware. These together drain over 90 per cent. of the State. An insignificant area in the south belongs to the Potomac system, and in the north to the Genesee, while the extreme northwestern corner is drained by short streams flowing into Lake Erie. The Delaware, which is navigable for the largest ships to Philadelphia, and for small steamers some distance above, drains the eastern slope through its right tributaries, chief of which are the Lehigh and the Schuylkill. The Susquehanna traverses the State in a large zigzag from north to south, receiving its two main tributaries, the West Branch and the Juniata, from the west. It is broad, but shallow and unnavigable. The western part of the State is drained by the Ohio and its two great headstreams, the Allegheny and Monongahela, both of which are navigable for some distance above their junction at Pittsburg.

Climate. The climate in the southeastern part along the Delaware is much warmer, both in summer and in winter, than in the western upland. The mean temperature for January at Philadelphia is 32.3°, and for July 76.2°. The corresponding figures for Wilkesbarre, among the mountains, are 27° and 72°; for Pittsburg, 31° and 75°; and for Erie, on the lake shore, 27° and 70°. The summer heat south of the Blue Mountain has been as high as 107°, and is prolonged far into autumn. Northwest of the mountains the snow sometimes lies several feet deep throughout the winter, and the temperature may fall to 28° below zero. The average annual rainfall for the State is 44.6 inches. It is evenly distributed both as to season and through the larger regions of the State, though it may range from 35 to 50 inches in isolated localities.

Soil and Vegetation. The soils are on the whole somewhat more fertile than those of the average Atlantic State, there being no Tertiary sand area, and comparatively small areas of primary rocks. The soil is to a large extent decomposed limestone material, which is a good grain soil, and, where least fertile, is well suited for pasturage. Pennsylvania was originally one of the most densely forested States, and there are still considerable forest areas on the western plateau. The predominating trees on the lowlands are white oak, hickory, chestnut, walnut, and cherry; on the higher ground are the white pine, hemlock, pitch pine, maple, beech, and black and yellow birch; and on the mountains above 1800 feet the black and red spruce, balsam fir, and larch predominate. On the western plateau the forests are mostly deciduous, with chestnut and oak abundant, and in the southwest the common trees of the State mingle with those characteristic of Kentucky, such as the honey locust and Kentucky coffee tree. The sugar-maple is ​still one of the most common trees all over the State. For Fauna see this section under United States.

Geology. The great Archæan belt which forms the entire eastern flank of the Appalachian system from Alabama to Canada crosses the southeastern corner of the State in a band about 50 miles wide and consisting chiefly of gneisses with tracts of serpentine. It is exposed in two sections, one ending in a point near Trenton, and broadening southwestward along the Delaware, forming the hills near Philadelphia, the other running southwest from the confluence of the Lehigh River with the Delaware, and forming the South Mountain chain. Between these two cut-crops the Archæan belt is crossed by a band of Triassic red sandstone, which runs northeastward and extends across New Jersey. Both this and the Archæan belts are crossed by numerous dikes of trap-rock. Against the western flank of the South Mountain rests the lowest stratum of the great Paleozoic series which covers the entire remainder of the State as well as the whole of the Ohio and Upper Mississippi Valley. On the western plateau these strata lie nearly horizontal, but in the Appalachian uplift they are much tilted, folded, and broken, so that they outcrop in narrow successive bands. Here the hard sandstone strata generally form the ridges, while the softer limestone forms the valley floors. The series begins with a narrow belt of Cambrian running along the edge of the Archæan outcrop. West of this, between the South and the Blue or Kittatinny Mountains, the Kittatinny Valley runs across the State as a belt of Lower Silurian limestone, from which rise the Appalachian ridges of Devonian rocks, with some belts of Silurian. The great Devonian area of southwestern New York extends across the whole length of the boundary, and is especially prominent in the northeastern part of the State. It is overlaid with Carboniferous strata, which, with the exception of the Triassic belt in the east, is the most recent formation in the State, and covers the entire southwestern and west central regions, with isolated patches east of the Susquehanna.

Mineral Resources. In these isolated Carboniferous areas in the Appalachian valleys the coal seams were subjected to metamorphosis by the folding and crushing action of the older strata during the great upheaval, and were changed into invaluable beds of anthracite, while on the western plateau, where the strata were undisturbed, they remained in the bituminous form. The underlying Devonian sandstone strata in the west are heavily charged with petroleum and natural gas. Iron is found as brown hematite in the Silurian slates in the region of the Lehigh River, and as magnetite in the metamorphic rocks, while it is also imbedded with the Carboniferous strata. Other minerals found are zinc, cobalt, nickel, lead, copper, tin, chrome iron, salt, and soapstone. White marble is quarried in the Silurian limestone beds, and building stone, such as the trap and red sandstone in the east, is abundant.

Mining. No State in the Union compares with Pennsylvania as to mining. Its mineral wealth has been in a large measure the basis of its diversified and highly developed industrial life. The annual output of coal alone exceeds in value the total mineral product of any other State, and has annually, since 1880, been equal in amount to that of all the coal mined in the other States. Anthracite has been mined continuously since 1820. The demand and the output rapidly increased, particularly after 1840, when it came into use for smelting iron ore. The annual output of anthracite coal much more than doubled in both bulk and value from 1880 to 1901. The amount in short tons for 1880 was 28,649,811; for 1890, 46,468,641; and for 1901, 67,471,667, the value for the year 1901 being $112,504,020. The anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania yield almost the entire product for the United States, and represent the only high-grade anthracite producing region in the world. These mining districts fall principally into three sections in the northeastern part of the State—the Northern Field, in the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, the Middle or Lehigh and Mahonoy Fields, and the Southern or Schuylkill Field. The bituminous coal is mined chiefly in six parallel valleys west of the Allegheny slope, in the southwestern corner of the State. It was not until about 1875 that bituminous coal began to be extensively used in iron-smelting, but since then it has far exceeded anthracite in annual tonnage. The tonnage increased from 19,416,171 short tons in 1880 to 82,305,496 in 1901, the value for the latter year being $81,397,586. In 1900 there were 92,692 employees engaged in coal-mining.

Pennsylvania has always ranked first in the production of coke, usually yielding about two-thirds of the total for the United States. The yield increased from 2,821,384 tons in 1880 to 8,560,245 in 1890 and to over 13,000,000 tons in 1900. The coal used requires little or no preparation before charging into the ovens, and the greater part of it is unwashed run-of-mine. Nearly three-fourths of the total product of coke is made in the Connellsville district.

The utilization of petroleum in the United States began in Pennsylvania in 1859. The output increased almost constantly until 1882, when the yield was 30,053,500 barrels. This figure was not exceeded until 1891, when the output was 33,009,236 barrels. The yield has since fallen off over half, being 12,625,378 barrels in 1901, valued at $15,430,609. Prior to about 1885 Pennsylvania produced almost the whole product for the United States, and up to 1900 had produced 60 per cent. of the total output for the country. However, since 1894 Ohio has annually outranked Pennsylvania, and it was also outranked by West Virginia in 1900. The first oil pipe lines were laid in 1865, and have been extended until they reach numerous distant points. Natural gas became prominent as a fuel in Pennsylvania earlier than in other gas States, and its annual sales of gas exceed those of any other State. Gas came into general use from 1880 to 1885, reaching its climax in 1888, in which year the sales amounted to $19,282,375. As the supply in certain regions became exhausted, the receipts decreased to less than $6,000,000 in 1895 and 1896; but the growing scarcity has resulted in a considerable rise in price, and this fact has largely been responsible for a recent gain in receipts, which amounted in 1900 to $12,688,161.

Iron-mining began early in the colonial period, and until 1850 the local product supplied the iron furnaces of the State with all the raw material required. And though the greater part of ​the iron used in the latter part of the nineteenth century came from outside regions—especially the Lake Superior mines—the output within the State has not decreased, and Pennsylvania takes fourth rank among the iron-mining States. The yield in 1901 amounted to nearly l,040,684 long tons, valued at $1,890,100. Over 771,000 tons ere of the magnetite variety, for which the Cornwall hills, near Lebanon, are noted. Brown and red hematites and a small quantity of carbonate are also mined.

Pennsylvania is without a rival in the stone-quarrying industry. The values of the product in 1901 for limestone, slate, and marble, respectively, were $5,081,387, $2,984,264, and $157,547, each figure being larger than the corresponding one for any preceding year. The production of slate is about two-thirds that for the whole country. Pennsylvania also ranks first in the amount of limestone quarried. About two-fifths of the limestone is used for flux, and a somewhat less amount is burned into lime. The value of the granite for the same year was $396,271, but from year to year the value of the output fluctuates greatly. The value of sandstone has recently increased enormously, being put in 1901 (including bluestone) at $2,063,082, and giving the State second rank. Pennsylvania stands second in the value of its clay products and first in the output of brick, the value of which in 1900 was $12,000,875. The State produces in value over half the total product of Portland cement for the United States. This industry is rapidly developing, the value of the product having increased from $3,142,711 in 1898 to nearly $6,382,350 in 1901. Some rock cement is also produced. Other products worthy of note are metallic paint, mineral water, salt, and ochre.

Agriculture. Farming is carried on more or less extensively in all sections, there being many arable and fertile valleys, even in the more mountainous regions. Districts too hilly to be readily cultivated are admirably adapted for grazing. In the southeastern counties the soil is an exceedingly rich loam, and agriculture is highly developed. About 67 per cent. of the area of the State is included in farms, and of this 68 per cent. is improved. The area of improved land increased rapidly until 1880, since when it has not materially changed. The average size of farms decreased in each decade between 1850 and 1900, being reduced from 117 acres in 1850 to 86.4 in 1900. Seventy-four per cent. of the farms are operated by owners. Pennsylvania leads the Atlantic States in the production of cereals. It yields considerably over twice as much corn and about three times as much wheat as New York. The acreage for each of these in 1900 exceeded that in 1880 and in 1890. Oats, which are only a little less important, decreased slightly in acreage during the same period. Oats are grown most extensively in the eastern section, and corn and wheat in the southeastern. The State leads in the production of rye, and is exceeded by New York alone in the area of buckwheat, having over a third of the total acreage for the United States. The acreage of hay is greatly exceeded in New York and slightly in two or three Western States. Potatoes form one of the chief money crops. Other varieties of vegetables are also abundantly grown, particularly sweet corn and cabbage, the acreages separately reported in 1900 being respectively 12,879 and 10,851. Tobacco is a very important crop in Lancaster and York counties. Pennslyvania is a large producer of orchard fruits. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of trees increased 59.4 per cent., the increase in the peach trees being particularly noteworthy. Of the total number of trees, 11,774,211, or 66 per cent., were apple. Grapes and small fruits are grown in considerable quantities, and floriculture is extensively carried on.

The following table shows the acreages of the leading farm crops:

1900 1890
Hay  3,269,441   3,323,689 
Corn  1,480,833  1,252,399
Wheat  1,514,043  1,318,472
Oats  1,173,847  1,310,197
Rye 310,048  336,041 
Buckwheat  249,840  210,488 
Potatoes 227,867  291,992 
Tobacco 27,760  26,655 

Stock-Raising. The adaptability of the State for grazing has resulted in an extensive dairying industry. In every decade between 1850 and 1900 there was an increase in the number of dairy cows. Only three other States have a larger number, and in only one is the value of the product as great. The yield of milk in 1900 was 32 per cent. greater than in 1890. In 1900 $17,274,430 was received from the sale of milk, and $9,466,575 from the sale of butter. There was a large gain between 1890 and 1900 in the number of ‘other neat cattle,’ and of mules and asses, but a decrease in horses, swine, and particularly sheep. The annual income from poultry products is important. The following table of live-stock holdings is self-explanatory:

1900 1890
Dairy cows 943,773  927,254 
Other cattle 953,074  779,164 
Horses 590,981  618,660 
Mules and asses  38,635  29,563 
Sheep 959,483   1,612,107
Swine  1,107,981   1,278,029 

Manufactures. Between 1850 and 1900 Pennsylvania ranked second as a manufacturing State. In the development of the factory system proper as indicated by the amount of power used it easily ranks first. The per cent. of the wage-earning population increased from 6.3 in 1850 to 11.6 in 1900. Between 1890 and 1900 this increase amounted to 28.7 per cent. The value of manufactured products for 1900 was $1,834,790,860. Pennsylvania has the advantage of navigation on the ocean, Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River. The Mississippi system was of great moment in the early period of development, enabling Pennsylvania to supply the frontier with manufactured products, while the Lake system more recently played a similar important part in rendering accessible vast resources of raw materials. An important network of canals and canalized rivers also figured early, and an elaborate system of railways figured in the later period. Furthermore, the manufacturing interests have been carefully fostered by a number of societies, which owe much to the activities and inspiration of one man, Benjamin Franklin.

No other industry has contributed so greatly to the reputation of the State as that of iron and steel. Although it developed earlier in other ​colonies, it was spoken of as ‘most advanced’ in Pennsylvania as early as 1756. In 1900 it furnished 54 per cent. of the total product for the United States. The localization of the industry is determined by the accessibility to ore and fuel, and consequently until about 1850 the industry was most extensive in the eastern anthracite coal and iron ore district. (Charcoal, however, had been universally used prior to 1840.) Since then the Pittsburg district, in the western part, has far surpassed the eastern district. This change is coincident with the substitution of bituminous coal and coke and natural gas for anthracite coal, and with the development of the Lake Superior ore region. The pig iron produced in 1900 by the use of bituminous coal and coke amounted to 76 per cent. of the total for the State. The ore used in this part of the State comes from the Lake Superior district, having the advantage of cheap water transportation. From 1890 to 1900 the increase in iron and steel was 64.2 per cent. Although the industry is largely centered in the towns of Allegheny County, it is important in almost every large town. The manufacture of Bessemer steel began in 1867. Within the last two decades, however, the Bessemer process has been largely supplanted by the open-hearth process.

INDUSTRIES  Year  Number of
 establishments  		Average
number
 wage-earners  		Value of products,
including custom
 work and repairing 
⁠⁠Total for selected industries for State
1900 15,665  478,780  $1,291,000,950 
1890 12,613  381,760  935,303,641 
Increase 1890 to 1900 ...... 3,052  97,020  $355,697,309 
Per cent. of increase ...... 24.2  25.4  38.0
 
Per cent. of total of all industries in State
1900 0.0  65.2  70.4
1890 32.1  66.9  72.2
 
Iron and steel, total
1900 291  110,864  $434,445,200 
1890 311  92,473  264,571,624 
Blast furnaces
1900 77  16,075  101,575,487 
1890 116  15,612  75,239,203 
Rolling mills and steel works
1900 209  94,664  332,588,174 
1890 186  76,609  188,714,190 
Iron and steel, pipe, wrought
1900 10  3,675  15,383,693 
1890 14  9,170  30,249,795 
Foundry and machine shop products
1900 1,260  62,828  127,292,440 
1890 886  38,247  67,587,025 
Electrical apparatus and supplies
1900 63  7,817  19,112,665 
1890 10  209  674,565 
Cars and general shop construction and repairs
 by steam railroad companies
1900 144  28,554  43,065,171 
1890 61  22,649  28,769,728 
Cars, steam railroad, not including
 operations of railroad companies
1900 11  5,840  19,260,910 
1890 15  4,535  10,080,722 
Coke
1900 89  9,283  22,282,358 
1890 98  5,855  10,415,628 
Textiles
1900 1,102  102,213  158,782,087 
1890 1,028  79,579  134,001,269 
Boots and shoes, factory product
1900 146  9,144  13,235,933 
1890 158  7,616  10,354,850 
Clothing, men's, factory product
1900 481  10,497  23,389,043 
1890 337  7,675  26,732,348 
Clothing, women's, factory product
1900 230  8,311  11,694,580 
1890 80  2,989  3,903,596 
Flouring and grist-mill products
1900 2,719  2,195  36,639,423 
1890 2,226  3,378  39,478,076 
Slaughtering, total
1900 111  1,669  25,238,772 
1890 242  1,582  21,991,604 
Cheese, butter, and condensed milk,
 factory product
1900 749  976  10,290,006 
1890 300  766  5,319,434 
Liquors, total
1900 281  4,976  34,520,358 
1890 203  3,548  22,698,423 
Liquors, distilled
1900 73  471  5,357,615 
1890 40  400  4,339,689 
Liquors, malt
1900 208  4,505  29,162,743 
1890 163  3,148  18,358,734 
Tobacco, total
1900 2,712  25,483  33,355,932 
1890 2,025  18,550  23,387,910 
Leather, tanned, curried and finished
1900 254  13,396  55,615,009 
1890 410  10,956  49,931,716 
Glass
1900 119  19,420  22,011,130 
1890 99  18,510  17,179,137 
Petroleum, refining
1900 38  3,299  34,977,706 
1890 55  3,284  18,498,777 
Sugar and molasses, refining
1900 7  1,249  36,163,817 
1890 10  1,459  46,599,754 
Chemicals
1900 100  4,278  13,034,384 
1890 71  3,284  13,144,210 
Printing and publishing, total
1900 1,795  16,991  36,455,629 
1890 1,487  15,009  34,408,493 
Lumber and timber products
1900 2,338  13,510  35,749,965 
1890 1,948  19,598  29,087,970 
Lumber, planing mill products,
 including sash, doors, and blinds
1900 542  7,472  16,736,839 
1890 467  7,888  18,398,688 
Paper and wood pulp
1900 73  4,840  12,267,900 
1890 72  2,951  7,838,299 

In foundry and machine-shop products the State ranks first. For instance, it made in 1900 more than one-half the total number of steam locomotives made in the United States. Since 1845 locomotives of Pennsylvania make have been shipped in constantly increasing numbers ​to other countries. Also important is the production of iron and steel pipe and electrical apparatus and supplies, the latter industry having grown up almost entirely since 1890. The same advantages, together with the large railroad interests of Pennsylvania, have led to the most extensive car-construction and general shop works of steam railroad companies of any State. Altoona, Reading, and Philadelphia are the chief centres of this industry.

An entirely different group of industries, less dependent upon the material resources of the State, is the manufacture of textiles, in which the State takes second rank. Philadelphia, the principal seat of the industry, is the largest textile centre in the country. In 1900 the silk product amounted to 29 per cent. of the total for the United States, and the State was exceeded only by New Jersey. In recent years the operations are confined largely to ‘throwing,’ the thrown silk being sent to other States to be woven into cloth. Pennsylvania ranks second in the manufacture of woolen goods and hosiery. Both industries were begun at an early period, the former having been introduced by the English and the latter by the German settlers. A lower rank is held in the manufacture of worsteds and cottons. In 1900 Pennsylvania manufactured 48 per cent. of the total carpet product of the United States. More ingrain carpets are probably made in Philadelphia than in any other city in the world.

The agricultural resources supply materials for the flour and grist milling, slaughtering, and butter-making industries, and the manufacture of liquor and tobacco products. Prior to the Whisky Rebellion in western Pennsylvania large quantities of distilled liquors were made in that part of the State, but more recently the product is mainly malt liquors, in the output of which the State took second rank in 1900. The tobacco products are mainly cigars and cigarettes, the State ranking second also in this industry. The large tanning business, in which Pennsylvania stands first, with 27.3 per cent. of the total product for the United States, is due to the large quantities of hemlock bark attainable from the large forests of this tree. The manufacture of glass is a long established industry. The utilization of natural gas in the western part of the State gave great impetus to its manufacture. In 1900 the product amounted to 38.9 per cent. of the total for the country. The resources of petroleum have given the State first rank in the refining of oil. Pennsylvania has always held an important rank in the printing and publishing business. Other important industries are sugar and molasses refining, and the manufacture of chemicals. The preceding table shows the relative importance of the leading industries. It will be seen that the per cent. of increase for the value of products is more than twice as great as the per cent. of increase for the number of establishments. Among the industries showing the greatest tendency toward centralization are those connected with the production of iron and steel, coke, and leather.

Forests and Forest Products. Pennsylvania has always been one of the leading States in the lumber industry. In 1900 three of the lake States exceeded it in the value of lumber products, but for more than half a century Pennsylvania had taken a higher rank, being first in 1860. The figure in 1900, however, exceeded that of any previous census year. The manufacture of wood pulp is growing in importance, as shown in the table above, but the planing-mill industry scarcely holds its own. The woodland has been reduced (1900) to about 23,000 square miles, or 51 per cent. of the total area, and the merchantable timber has been removed from a large part of the region specified as woodland. The hemlock is the most abundant merchantable species and the one most extensively drawn upon at present. The white pine is next in importance. Hard woods are common in the southeast corner of the State.

Transportation and Commerce. Pennsylvania is exceeded in railroad mileage by only one other State. There was an increase from 2598 miles in 1860 to 8638 miles in 1890 and 10,310 miles in 1900. For the fiscal year ending in 1900 the number of passengers carried was 216,603,748 and the receipts per passenger per mile averaged 1.852 cents. During the same year there were 478,684,683 tons of freight carried, for which the receipts per ton per mile averaged .6 of a cent. A large number of the smaller lines have fallen into the hands of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which operates 2912 miles in the State.

Other important roads are the Philadelphia and Reading; the Lehigh Valley; the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis; the Baltimore and Ohio; the Erie; the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore; the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western; the Western New York and Pennsylvania; and the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago. The canal and slack-water navigation facilities are mostly controlled by railroad and coal-mining corporations. The State expended large sums in canal construction, but the rapid extension of the railroad system has caused many such waterways to be abandoned.

Philadelphia and Erie are the ports of entry, and control a considerable amount of foreign commerce. Philadelphia ranks third among the Atlantic Coast ports in the value of its foreign trade. Erie has one of the best harbors on Lake Erie, and carries on a large import trade in Michigan iron and Canadian lumber, and exports large quantities of coal. Pittsburg also, at the eastern head of navigation on the Western rivers, has an immense inland trade, while its local shipyards build large numbers of steamboats for use on the Western streams.

Banks. The Bank of North America, originally chartered by Congress in 1781, was the first bank in Pennsylvania, where it obtained a charter in 1782. In 1793 the Bank of Pennsylvania was incorporated as the official agent of the State, which was heavily interested in it. A few other banks were chartered by individual acts of the Legislature. In 1814 there were six banks, and the State owned stock in the most important ones. In 1814 the State policy toward the banking business underwent a radical change. The Commonwealth was divided into twenty-seven banking districts, each of which was allotted a definite number of banks. Unincorporated banking was prohibited and a comprehensive banking law passed. This could not avert the injurious results of the speculative inflation, and in 1816 many banks had to suspend specie payments. Banking became the object of popular disfavor and was held responsible for the critical times. A law ​was passed in 1819 providing for forfeiture of charter in case of suspension of specie payments, and it somewhat reduced the number of banks. The period of extensive internal improvements that followed stimulated the banking business as well as all other business of the State, and for ten years the banks were exceptionally prosperous. In 1836 the second United States Bank, at the expiration of its national charter, became a Pennsylvania State institution, paying heavily for the privilege. The crisis of 1837 again caused a suspension of specie payment, and in 1840 after a hard struggle the United States Bank failed, ruined by its heavy investments in the State improvements and its heavy contributions to the State treasury. This failure, together with financial difficulties of the State treasury between 1840 and 1845, was felt by the other banks, and the stocks of most of them were sold far below par. Efforts were made to correct this by special legislation, by the levying of a tax on banking stock below par, and by making specie payments obligatory; but this last provision was frequently suspended by necessity. A slight improvement between 1850 and 1855 was followed by the severe crisis of 1857, when several Pennsylvania banks failed and a general suspension followed.

An agitation for a free banking system, with guaranteed circulation, was started, and in 1860 a free banking act was passed which was very similar to the New York Banking Law of 1837, but before the value of this act could be tested the national banking system came into existence. There was a marked demand for the national charters, which were supposed to exempt the banks from State taxation. By 1868 only 12 State banks remained, as against 198 national banks. In 1870-73 more than 90 State banks were chartered bv special acts, but the Constitution of 1874 prohibited the organization of banks, except under the general law. At present State banking is regulated by the law of 1876 as amended in 1891, when a Banking Department was established. National banks remain by far the more important ones. Trust companies are conducted mostly in conjunction with the banks, and take care of business which the law prohibits the banks from doing. Savings banks have existed in Pennsylvania for almost a century. The first savings bank was chartered in 1819. Before the Civil War there were 14 of them. A general law for their regulation, strictly limiting their avenues for investment, was passed in 1889. A clearing house was established in Philadelphia in 1858, or five years later than the one in New York. The condition of the banks in 1902 is shown as follows:

 National 
Banks 		State
Banks 		Trust
 Companies  		Private
Banks 		Savings
Banks
Number 550 105 158 23 13
Capital  $88,201,000   $9,460,000 $62,797,000  $920,000 
Surplus  70,385,000   8,996,000  36,829,000 361,000   $8,994,000
Cash, etc.   51,394,000   2,779,000   7,758,000 443,000    2,413,000
Deposits 453,710,000  100,165,000   259,327,000  7,424,000   120,441,000 
Loans 447,736,000 ..... .....  6,630,000 

There were 396,877 depositors in the savings banks and the average deposits amounted to $303.

Constitution and Government. The State Government was organized in 1776. The convention, of which Benjamin Franklin was president, signed the State Constitution September 28th of that year. In 1790 a new Constitution, of a more democratic cast, was adopted. The Constitution, as amended in 1838, vested the legislative power in a General Assembly, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. An amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1850, made the judiciary elective. An amended Constitution was adopted in 1873, by a popular vote of 253,744 against 108,594, and went into force January 1, 1874. If a proposed amendment receives a majority vote of both Houses at two successive regular sessions, it will be submitted to the people, and if approved by a majority of those voting, it becomes a part of the Constitution. No amendments can be submitted oftener than once in five years. A voter must have been a citizen of the United States one month, a resident of the State one year, and of the election district two months, and have paid State or county taxes. No elector can be deprived of the privilege of voting because he has not registered. The general election is held annually on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November. The State has thirty-two members in the National House of Representatives.

Legislative. The Senate is limited to 50 members chosen for four years, and the House to a varying number, apportioned after each Federal census, chosen for two years. No city or county is entitled to more than one-sixth the whole number of Senators. Sessions are biennial, on the first Tuesday of January, without time limit. The Governor is empowered to call extra sessions for urgent business, and required to do so in case of a vacancy in the office of a United States Senator occurring during the recess. No bill can contain more than one subject, and revenue bills must originate in the Lower House. The power of impeachment rests with the Lower House, the trial of impeachment with the Senate.

Executive. The executive department consists of a Governor and a Lieutenant-Governor, both elected for four years, and a Secretary of Internal Affairs, an Auditor-General, elected for three years, and a Treasurer, elected for two years, an Attorney-General, a Secretary of the Commonwealth, and a Superintendent of Public Instruction, appointed for four years by the Governor, with the consent of two-thirds of the Senators. The Governor is not eligible for two consecutive terms. He is empowered to commute sentences and grant pardons within clearly defined limits, and vested, besides the ordinary veto powers, with the prerogative of a partial veto on appropriation bills. The department of the Secretary of Internal Affairs embraces a bureau of industrial statistics, and maintains the supervision of corporations, charitable institutions, and the agricultural, mineral, timber, and other interests of the State. The Lieutenant-Governor and the president pro tempore of the Senate are in the line of succession to the Governorship in case of vacancy.

​Judiciary. The judiciary embraces a Supreme Court, consisting of seven judges, elected by the people for 21 years, ineligible for reëlection, with the judge the oldest in commission as Chief Justice. The court holds annual sessions at Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Sunbury, and Pittsburg. Other courts are a Superior Court, courts of common pleas, of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, of quarter sessions of the peace, magistrates' and orphans' courts. Judges of the Supreme Court, and those of the Common Pleas, are justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery in the respective counties; the latter discharge also the functions of judges of quarter sessions of the peace and of orphans' courts in districts where special provision for them has not been made. Criminal matters of the respective districts belong likewise to their cognizance. There are 51 judicial districts in the State, in each of which the people elect one or more common pleas judges for ten years.

Local Government. The creation of new or alteration of old counties is conditioned on a minimum population limit of 20,000 and a minimum area limit of 400 square miles for all counties affected. Each county elects sheriffs, coroners, prothonotaries, register of wills, recorder of deeds, treasurer, surveyor, clerk, three auditors, and three commissioners, all for three years. Towns of over 10,000 may be chartered upon the approval of one-half the electors. The State has classified the cities for charter purposes into four classes.

Finances. The first direct State tax was levied in 1785, but was discontinued in 1789. Taxes were very unpopular and the State expected to cover its expenditures by income from public property, sale of public lands, etc. Some taxes were introduced in the beginning of the nineteenth century, but in 1810 the revenue from them amounted only to 20 per cent. of the total receipts. In 1825 there were no direct State taxes. About this time the construction of public improvements, which had been going on in a quiet way since 1789, became the cry of the day. Loans were the only available source of necessary means. In 1821 the public debt incurred during the War of 1812 amounted only to $1,230,000, but new loans followed one another in great rapidity. Canals, roads, bridges, and railroads were built. Between 1789 and 1828 more than $22,000,000 was spent on these improvements. In 1834 the system of canals and railroads to connect Pittsburg and Philadelphia was completed at the cost of more than $14,500,000, and lateral canals were added in 1838 at the cost of almost $6,500,000. The large sum (more than $12,000,000) which the United States Bank furnished in 1837, partly as a bonus and partly as a loan to the State, in exchange for a State charter, further stimulated this feverish activity. The State debt was $24,500,000 in 1835 and in 1842 reached $40,000,000. Expecting large returns from these improvements, the State did not provide a thorough system of taxation. Interest had to be paid by means of further loans. The credit of the Commonwealth was therefore so much impaired in 1840 that failure was threatening. The income from the improvements did not even cover their expenses, and a law was passed in 1840 imposing small taxes on banks, personal property, and salaries. The revenue from this law did not cover even a tenth part of the expenditures, and the interest on the bonds continued to be paid by issue of special bonds. In 1844 a radical change was made in the financial system. A comprehensive tax was imposed upon all property, stocks, incomes, etc., and cash payment of interest was resumed the next year. For 15 years the debt remained on the same level; the i^tate was not al)le to cancel any of its obligations and kept on refunding the maturing bonds. In 1857 and 1858 the State works, which were built at the expense of over $75,000,000, were sold for $11,000,000 to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company, and a gradual reduction of the State debt dates from that time.

In 1860 the debt decreased to $38,000,000, but the military loan of 1861 increased it by $3,000,000. A steady decline came after the war. In 1870 the debt was $28,980,071; in 1880, $21,561,990; in 1890, $12,349,920; and from 1895 to 1902 it remained $6,815,299. In 1902 bonds to the amount of $2,008,650 were bought at a high premium by the sinking fund and the debt was reduced to $4,806,649, against which the sinking fund had $4,432,023. These results were only possible by vigorous taxation. The law of 1844 taxed all property, but real estate was released from State taxation in 1867. The income tax survives, but contributes a trifling sum. The taxes on personal property and inheritances are productive of more revenue. The main sources, however, are the taxes on corporation stocks and receipts and various licenses, Pennsylvania having introduced the high-license principle.

During the fiscal year 1901-02 the receipts were $22,947,890 and expenditures $17,787,106. Discounting the operations of the sinking fund, the receipts were $19,374,093, and the expenditures $15,210,793. The cash balance in the sinking fund was $3,717,440, and in the general fund $9,151,399. Of the expenditures more than 50 per cent. was for schools and 17 per cent. for charitable institutions.

Militia. In 1900 there were 1,405,916 men of militia age. The number of the militia in 1901 was 9343.

Population. The following figures show the growth of the population: 1790, 434,373; 1820, 1,047,507; 1850, 2,311,786; 1860, 2,906,215; 1870, 3,521,951; 1880, 4,282,891; 1890, 5,258,014; 1900, 6,302,115. The State has nearly always ranked second in population. The absolute increase in each decade has been greater than that of the decade preceding. The per cent. of the increase between 1890 and 1900 was 19.9, as compared with 20.7 for the United States. The State ranks second in the number of foreign born, with a total of 985,250. This element is not so greatly centralized in the large cities as in some of the other Eastern States, being found in large numbers in the mining districts. The Irish, Germans, and English are the most numerous; but there are, besides, a larger number of Welsh and natives of Hungary than in any other State. In 1900 the negroes numbered 156,845. Of the total population 51 per cent. is urban—i.e. they live in places which contain over 4,000 inhabitants, there being, in 1900, 119 such places, or more than in any other State. The average number of inhabitants to the square mile in 1900 was 140.1.

Cities. The population of the 18 largest cities in 1900 was as follows: Philadelphia, 1,293,697; Pittsburg, 321,616; Allegheny, 129,896; ​Scranton, 102,026; Reading, 78,961; Erie, 52,733; Wilkesbarre, 51,721; Harrisburg, the capital, 50,167; Lancaster, 41,459; Altoona, 38,973; Allentown, 35,416; Johnstown, 35,936; McKeesport, 34,227; Chester, 33,988; York, 33,708; Williamsport, 28,757; Newcastle, 28,339; Easton, 25.238.

Religion. The Roman Catholics form over one-eighth of the population. The principal Protestant denominations are the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran, each with over one-sixth of the total number of church members. Then follow in order the Baptists, the Protestant Episcopalians, the Disciples of Christ, and the Congregationalists.

Education. The first settlers of Pennsylvania, the Swedes and the Dutch, usually relegated the matter of education to the ministers. William Penn, in his Frame of Government, provided that the “Governor and Provincial Council shall erect and order all public schools” and “that the children within this province of the age of 12 years shall be taught some useful trade or skill.” This provision was subsequently strengthened by the clause in the second Frame, adopted by the second Assembly in 1683, which provided for compulsory instruction in reading and writing, as well as in some manual trade. With the passing of the control of the colony from the hands of the Quakers, education received very little attention from the Legislature. It was left entirely to the Church and private initiative during the first three quarters of the eighteenth century. Private schools were meanwhile being established all over the province, and the agitation for a higher educational institution in Philadelphia, carried on by Benjamin Franklin, resulted in the foundation of the Academy and Charitable School of the Province of Pennsylvania (now University of Pennsylvania) in 1749. The first free public schools in Pennsylvania were opened by the settlers from Connecticut in 1769. The provisional Constitution of 1776 provided for the establishment of a school in each county, but it was only in 1834 that a free school system was successfully established.

The public school system is under the supervision of a State Superintendent, appointed by the Governor. The county superintendents are elected by the school directors, and the latter are elected by the people. Pennsylvania has no permanent school fund, the school revenue being obtained principally from local taxations and State appropriations. School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 8 and 16, and text books are free. In 1900 Pennsylvania had illiterates amounting to 6.1 per cent. of the total population of 10 years of age and over, being 2.1 per cent. for the native white population, 19.9 per cent. of the foreign white, and 15.3 per cent. for the colored population. Of the school population 68.22 per cent. were enrolled in the public schools in 1901. The number of public schools in the same year was 29,046, including 16,625 graded, and the average attendance was 847,445, or about 73 per cent. of the total enrollment. In the same year there were employed in the public schools 30,044 teachers, of whom the male teachers formed 30.6 per cent., as against 45.5 in 1880. The average monthly salaries were $44.14 for male and $38.23 for female teachers, being considerably below the salaries paid in most of the North Atlantic States. Also the length of the school term was 165.6 days in 1901, as compared with an average of 177.2 days for the entire North Atlantic division. An attempt to solve the rural school problem by centralization has so far been attended with little success, owing to the poor condition of the roads. Pennsylvania suffers in common with other States in the low professional standing of the teachers, especially in the rural districts. For normal education the State maintains thirteen normal schools, which had a total attendance of 7987 in 1901, including 4664 female students. In that year the school revenue amounted to $26,159,774, consisting of $5,250,000 derived from State taxes, $15,482,898 from local taxes, and $5,426,876 from other sources. The expenditure amounted in the same year to $22,813,395, or $26.92 per pupil in average attendance. The 391 public schools had a total attendance of 32,438 in 1901. In the same year there were in the State 137 private high schools and academies, with a total attendance of 11,236. Commercial and professional education is provided by numerous commercial colleges, schools of law, medicine, dentistry, etc., and theological seminaries.

The principal institutions of higher education, besides the University of Pennsylvania, are the Western University of Pennsylvania (non-sectarian), at Allegheny; Lafayette College (Presbyterian), at Easton; Lehigh University (nonsectarian), at South Bethlehem; Bucknell University (Baptist), at Lewisburg; Dickinson College (Methodist Episcopal), at Carlisle; Haverford College (Friends), at Haverford; Swarthmore College (Friends), at Swarthmore; Pennsylvania State College, at State College; and Washington and Jefferson College (Presbyterian), at Washington. The principal college for women is Bryn Mawr (q.v.).

Charitable and Penal Institutions. The state maintains hospitals for the insane at Harrisburg, Danville, Norristown, Warren, Dixmont, and Warrensville, which together with the State aided asylums contained 7411 inmates on September 30, 1900. On the same date the hospitals for the sick and wounded, and homes for children, etc., held a population of 21,665. The four institutions for the deaf contained 408 persons, the two blind asylums 271, and the two institutions for feeble-minded 1655. The almshouses for that date had a population of 12,168. The State maintains a soldiers' and sailors' home at Erie. There are State penitentiaries located at Philadelphia and at Allegheny, a House of Correction at Philadelphia, a Workhouse in Allegheny County, a House of Refuge at Philadelphia, a Reform School at Morganza, and an Industrial Reformatory at Huntingdon; the aggregate population of these institutions together with the 3493 inmates of county jails was, in 1900, 9108. The aggregate for all classes remaining in institutions September 30, 1900, was 41,908. Besides these, about 40,800 had received public outdoor relief during the year. The total public expenditure incurred for all the foregoing was $16,050,406. The foremost Indian training school in the country is maintained by the National Government at Carlisle.

History. Henry Hudson in the Half Moon anchored in Delaware Bay, August 28, 1609, and founded the Dutch claim to the bay and river, though he did not land. After 1614 exploring parties were sent out and trading posts founded on the eastern side of the river. Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, planned to found a colony in ​America, and under his daughter, Queen Christina, Peter Minuit, formerly Governor of New Netherland, built Fort Christina within the present limits of Delaware, in 1638, and began to trade with the Indians. John Printz arrived with other colonists in 1643, and built New Gottenburg on Tinicum Island, the first settlement within the present limits of Pennsylvania. The Dutch looked with jealousy upon these and other Swedish settlements afterwards founded, and to offset the advance made by the Swedes, built Fort Casimir, at the site of the present town of New Castle, Del. This was captured by the Swedes in 1654; but in September, 1655, Governor Stuyvesant, of New Netherland, appeared in the bay with seven vessels and overthrew the Swedish authority. The city of Amsterdam had furnished much of the money for this conquest, and in return the southern settlements were assigned to that city under the name of New Amstel. The ‘Company’ colony was left in charge of Governor Stuyvesant, but in 1663 the two were reunited. When the Duke of York took possession of New Netherland in 1664 the settlements on the Delaware were included and remained attached to New York until 1682. On March 4, 1681, William Penn (q.v.), in return for a debt of £16,000, owed to his father by Charles II., secured a grant of the territory west of the Delaware River between 40° and 43°, extending to the west five degrees, at an annual rent of two beaver skins and one-fifth of the gold and silver ore discovered in the region. As New Castle was supposed to be on or near the 40th degree, the eastern boundary was to begin where a circle, having its centre at that settlement, twelve miles in radius, intersected the Delaware River and the southern boundary at the point where that circle intersected the 40th degree. Full feudal rights, both to the soil and to the government, were granted. On December 6, 1682, Penn secured from the Duke of York the grant of the soil of the lower settlements, and by consent assumed governmental rights. These settlements were within the original Maryland patent, but Lord Baltimore complained in vain. They remained attached to Pennsylvania, though with separate legislatures after 1703, until the Revolution, under the names ‘the Lower Counties’ or ‘the Territories.’ The southern boundary caused much trouble later. When it was found that the 40th degree was north of the present site of Philadelphia, the ingenious theory was announced that the beginning of the 40th degree was at 39°. The matter was finally settled by a compromise in 1760 (see Mason and Dixon's Line), when also the northern boundary was fixed at 42°.

Upon receiving the grant Penn sent over his kinsman, William Markham (q.v.), as Deputy Governor, and followed himself in 1682, arriving at Uplands (now Chester) October 27th. A few days later he concluded a treaty with the Indians, though the purchase of the lands could not have taken place until later. The ‘Frame of Government’ previously published in England was submitted to the first General Assembly in December, 1682, and was adopted together with the ‘great law,’ made up largely of the suggestions of the Proprietor. Universal suffrage and entire religious toleration made the scheme notable. Settlers came over in great numbers, chiefly Quakers and Germans from the Palatinate. Philadelphia, which had been planned before Penn left England, grew rapidly, and before 1683 contained more than five hundred inhabitants, while more than 3000 settlers had come to the province. Land was offered at forty shillings the hundred acres, subject to a quit rent of a shilling a year. Penn returned to England in 1684, leaving the Council in charge, but its authority was soon disputed by the Lower House, which had a veto power on legislation, though it could not originate measures. Slanders were circulated in England, and in 1693 the province was resumed by William III., and attached to New York. Governor Fletcher met with little success in his attempts to secure aid for his Indian wars, and had several contests with the Legislature. The province was restored to Penn in August, 1694, and in 1696 a new and more democratic constitution was adopted with the Proprietor's consent. Penn's second and last visit to the province lasted from December, 1099, to October, 1701. During this time he granted the ‘Charter of Privileges,’ adopted October 26, 1701, which served as a constitution until the Revolution. The governors whom Penn appointed were involved in frequent disputes with the Assembly, and in consequence the Proprietor grew discouraged. In 1712 he was on the point of selling the province to the Crown for £12,000, but a paralytic stroke prevented the completion of the sale. Though the province was a constant source of expense to him, it made his descendants rich. After Penn's death in 1718, the disputes between the Assembly and the Proprietors continued with renewed vigor.

Immigration was large. There were Scotch-Irish in the province as early as 1698, and after 1730 they came in great numbers. These generally pushed on to the frontier, as did also the later influx of Germans. The first years were free from Indian warfare, but after 1740 the Indians were restless and soon became openly hostile. The efforts of the French were successful, and forts were established on the Ohio. The province sent few men to the aid of General Braddock in his expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1755; but his defeat aroused the Assembly, and a chain of forts was erected at a cost of £85,000. Until after 1764 danger from the Indians was constant. Meanwhile, in 1753, Connecticut laid claim to a tract of land on the Susquehanna, seventy miles west of the Delaware, under the charter of 1662, which granted to Connecticut the land to the 41st degree. A company was formed, the land was purchased from the Indians in 1754 (though previously purchased by Pennsylvania), and Susquehanna County was formed. Settlers went in and the formation of a distinct colony was considered. The Indians claimed that the purchase was made by fraud and protested vigorously. Armed forces were sent from eastern Pennsylvania and brought on the so-called Pennamite War; the dispute had its influence in causing the Wyoming Massacre in 1778. See Wyoming Valley.

The colony's agent, Benjamin Franklin, vigorously resisted the Stamp Act, and in July, 1774, a Provincial Congress met at Philadelphia, adopted resolutions, and elected delegates to the first Continental Congress, to be held at Philadelphia. The Provincial Convention in 1775 authorized the Committee of Safety to prepare a system of defense for the colony. Troops were raised ​and boats were built. After the Declaration of Independence the Proprietary government ceased in Pennsylvania, and a State constitution was drawn up, September 28, 1776. It provided for a Supreme Executive Council, one Legislative House, and a Board of Censors. The Royal Charter was annulled by the King in 1778, and the State secured the commutation of the quit-rents in 1779. During the Revolution the eastern part of the State was the scene of important operations. Philadelphia was at different times the seat of the Continental Congress and the British headquarters. The question of the western boundary was settled in 1784, with the consent of Virginia, by measuring five degrees west from the Delaware River and then due north. The possession of the Wyoming lands was given to the State by decision of Congress in 1782. but when it was found that the line of 42° excluded Lake Erie, Congress, in 1788, authorized the addition of the triangle bordering upon the lake. In 1787 the State ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1790 a new constitution was adopted. The growth and prosperity of the State was marked, though the population was turbulent. The Whisky Rebellion (1794) grew out of the unwillingness of the Scotch-Irish to submit to the excise tax. The imposition by the National Government of the window tax led to the “Hot-water Rebellion” among a part of the German population in 1798. Internal improvements were projected early, and the Schuylkill Canal was begun in 1815 and completed in 1825. From 1829 to 1836 the projected improvements called for the construction of 292 miles of canal and 126 miles of railroad, at a total cost of $35,000,000. The first bill for a public school system was passed in the face of violent opposition in 1834. Though both iron and coal had been known to exist before the Revolution, it was not until 1839 that anthracite was successfully applied to the manufacture of iron. The first oil well was sunk near Titusville in 1859.

At the outbreak of the Civil War five companies of Pennsylvania troops were the first to arrive in Washington under President Lincoln's call for troops on April 15, 1861, and twenty-five regiments were formed during the month. The draft was necessary before the end of the war, but troops were furnished. The State was three times invaded, twice at Chambersburg and once by General Lee's army, which fought the battle of Gettysburg (q.v.). Since the war the chief events of importance have been the rapid growth of the steel, oil, and coal industries and frequent labor troubles. In 1877 a great strike of railroad employees led to violence and the defeat of the militia at Pittsburg. The despatch of regular troops was necessary to quell the disorder. On May 31, 1889, a dam at the outlet of Conemaugh Lake broke and a great wall of water overwhelmed Johnstown (q.v.) and several smaller towns, drowning more than 2000 people and destroying property to the value of $10,000,000. The strike at the Carnegie Company's mills at Homestead, near Pittsburg, July 6, 1892, was one of the most serious ever known in America. Martial law was declared, and the entire militia force was called out. An extensive strike of coalminers in Hazleton region in 1900 was followed by a general strike in the anthracite region in 1902.

In national elections the State was at the outset Federalist, but in 1796 fourteen of its fifteen votes were cast for Jefferson. Eight votes were cast for him again in 1800, while seven went to the Federalist candidate. From this time until 1840 the State was Democratic. In 1835 the Anti-Masonic party succeeded in electing the Governor and the agitation gave the State to the Wliig electors in 1840. In 1838 a dispute between the Democrats and Whigs concerning the results of an election in one of the State Congressional districts caused much excitement, each party contending that it had elected not only the Congressman, but the members of the State Legislature in that district. The disturbance, which was later known as the ‘Buck-Shot War,’ was, however, short-lived, and the dispute was settled in favor of the Democrats. The State gave its vote to Polk in 1844, to Taylor in 1848, and in 1852 and 1856 to the Democratic candidates. Since 1860 the State has been overwhelmingly Republican in national affairs, though, on account of factional fights in the Republican ranks, a Democratic Governor has been twice elected.

Governors of Pennsylvania.

UNDER THE SWEDES
Peter Minuit 1638-41
Peter Hollandaer 1641-43
John Printz 1643-53
Jolm Pappegoya 1653-54
John Claudius Rysingh 1654-55
UNDER THE DUTCH
Peter Stuyvesant,
 Director General of the New Netherland 1655-64
Derck Smidt, Schout Fiscal 1655
John Paul Jacquet, Vice-Director 1655-57
COLONY OF THE CITY
Jacob Alricks, Director 1657-59
Alexander d'Hinyossa 1659-63
COLONY OF THE COMPANY
Goeran Van Dyck, Schout Fiscal 1657-58
William Beekman, Vice-Director 1658-63
Alexander d'Hinyossa, Director of united colony 1663-64
UNDER THE ENGLISH
Richard Nicolls 1664-67
Francis Lovelace 1667-73
RECAPTURED BY THE DUTCH 1673
Anthony Calve, Governor-General 1673-74
Peter Alricks, Commander 1673-74
UNDER THE ENGLISH
Sir Edmund Andros 1674-81
PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT
William Markham, Deputy Governor 1681-82
William Penn, Proprietor 1682-84
The Council (Thomas Lloyd, President) 1684-88
The Five Commissioners 1688
Capt. John Blackwell 1688-90
The Council (Thomas Lloyd, President) 1690-91
Thomas Lloyd, Deputy Governor
William Markham, Dep'y Governor Lower Counties
1691-93
UNDER THE CROWN
Benjamin Fletcher, Gov. of New York, Governor
William Markham, Lieutenant-Governor
1693-95
PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT
William Markham, Lieutenant-Governor 1695-99
William Penn, Proprietor 1699-1701
Andrew Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor 1701-03
The Council (Edward Shippen, President) 1703-04
John Evans, Lieutenant-Governor 1704-09
Charles Gookin, Lieutenant-Governor 1709-17
Sir William Keith, Lieutenant-Governor 1717-26
Patrick Gordon, Lieutenant-Governor 1726-36
The Council (James Logan, President) 1736-38
George Thomas, Lieutenant-Governor 1738-47
The Council (Anthony Palmer, President) 1747-48
James Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor 1748-54
Robert Hunter Morris, Lieutenant-Governor 1754-56
William Denny, Lieutenant-Governor 1756-59
James Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor 1759-63
John Penn, Lieutenant-Governor 1763-71 ​
The Council (James Hamilton, President) 1771
Richard Penn, Lieutenant-Governor 1771-73
John Penn, Lieutenant-Governor 1773-76
Council of Safety (Thomas Wharton, President) 1776-77
PRESIDENTS OF THE SUPREME EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Thomas Wharton, Jr. 1777-78
George Bryan (acting) 1778
Joseph Reed 1778-81
William Moore 1781-82
John Dickinson 1782-85
Benjamin Franklin 1785-88
Thomas Mifflin 1788-90
GOVERNORS OF STATE
Thomas Mifflin Federalist 1790-99
Thomas McKean Democratic-Republican  1799-1808
Simon Snyder ⁠“ 1808-17
William Findlay ⁠“ 1817-20
Joseph Heister Independent Democrat 1820-23
John Andrew Shulze Democratic-Republican 1823-29
George Wolf ⁠“ 1829-35
Joseph Ritner Anti-Masonic 1835-39
David Rittenhonse Porter Democratic 1839-45
Francis Rawn Shunk ⁠“ 1845-48
William Freame Johnston  Whig 1848-52
William Bigler Democratic 1852-55
James Pollock ⁠“ 1855-58
William Fisher Packer ⁠“ 1858-61
Andrew Gregg Curtin Republican 1861-67
John W. Geary ⁠“ 1867-73
John F. Hartranft ⁠“ 1873-79
Henry M. Hoyt ⁠“ 1879-83
Robert E. Pattison Democratic 1883-87
James A. Beaver Republican 1887-91
Robert E. Pattison Democratic 1891-95
Daniel H. Hastings Republican 1895-99
William A. Stone ⁠“ 1899-1903
Samuel W. Pennypacker ⁠“ 1903—

Bibliography. MacVeagh, Pennsylvania (Boston, 1889); Wickersham, History of Education in Pennsylvania (Lancaster, 1886); Fisher, The Making of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1896); Roberts, Anthracite Coal Industry (New York, 1901); and for the history: Pennsylvania Archives, 1st series, 12 vols., 2d series, 19 vols., 3d series, 30 vols.; Colonial Records, 12 vols.; Proud, History of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1797-98); Carpenter, id. (ib., 1869); Cornell, id. (New York, 1879); Hazard, Annals of Pennsylvania, 1609-82 (Philadelphia, 1850); Egle, History of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, 1876); Diffendorffer, The German Immigration into Pennsylvania (Lancaster, 1900); Kuhns, German and Swiss Settlements in Pennsylvania (New York, 1001); Sharpless, History of Quaker Government in Pennsylvania (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1898-99); id., Two Centuries of Pennsylvania History (ib., 1900); Fiske, Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America (Boston, 1899); Bolles, Pennsylvania Province and State (Philadelphia, 1900); Shimmell, History of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, 1900).

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