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History of Pennsylvania

Encyclopedia : H : HI : HIS : History of Pennsylvania

The History of Pennsylvania is as varied as any in the American experience and reflects the melting pot vision of the United States.

Contents

Pre-colonial period

Before Pennsylvania was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehannock, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee and other Native American tribes.

The Dutch and Swedes

See also the ''expanded article: New Sweden

The Delaware River watershed was claimed by the British based on the explorations of John Cabot in 1497, Captain John Smith and others, and was named for Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, the Governor of Virginia from 1610 until 1618. At that time the area was considered to be part of the Virginia colony.

However, the Dutch thought they also had a claim, based on the 1609 explorations of Henry Hudson, and under the auspices of the Dutch West India Company were the first Europeans to actually occupy the land. They established trading posts in 1624 at Burlington Island, opposite Bristol, Pennsylvania, and then in 1626 at Fort Nassau, now Gloucester City, New Jersey. Peter Minuit was the Dutch Director-General during this period and probably spent some time at the Burlington Island post, thereby familiarizing himself with the region.

In any case, Minuit had a falling out with the directors of the Dutch West India Company, was recalled from the New Netherlands, and promptly made his services available to his many friends in Sweden, then a major power in European politics. They established a New Sweden Company and, following much negotiation, he led a group under the flag of Sweden to the Delaware River in 1638. They established a trading post at Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware. Minuit claimed possession of the western side of the Delaware River, saying he had found no European settlement there. Unlike the Dutch West India Company, the Swedes intended to actually bring settlers to their outpost and begin a colony.

Minuit drowned in a hurricane on the way home that same year, but the Swedish colony continued to grow gradually. By 1644 Swedish and Finnish settlers were living along the western side of Delaware River from Fort Christina to the Schuylkill River. New Sweden's best known governor, Johan Björnsson Printz, moved his residence to what is now Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania, nearer center of the settlements.

The Dutch never gave up their claim to the area, however, and once they had some vigorous military leadership under Peter Stuyvesant, they attacked the Swedish communities and in 1655 reincorporated the area back into the New Netherlands colony. It was not long, though, before the Dutch as well were forcibly removed by the British, asserting their earlier claim. In 1664, James, the Duke of York, and brother of King Charles II, outfitted an expedition that easily ousted the Dutch from both the Delaware and Hudson Rivers and leaving the Duke of York the proprietary authority in the whole area.

The British colonial period

See also Province of Pennsylvania

On March 4, 1682, Charles II of England granted a land charter to William Penn for the area that now includes Pennsylvania. Penn then founded a colony there as a place of religious freedom for Quakers, and named it for the Latin sylvania meaning "Penn's forest".

A large tract of land north and west of Philadelphia, in Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties, was settled by Welsh Quakers and called the "Welsh Tract". Even today many cities and towns in that area bear the names of Welsh municipalities.

The western portions of Pennsylvania were among disputed territory between the colonial British and French during the French and Indian War. The French established numerous fortifications in the area, including the pivotal Fort Duquesne on top of which the city of Pittsburgh was built.

The colony's reputation of religious freedom also attracted significant populations of German and Scots-Irish settlers who helped to shape colonial Pennsylvania and later went on to populate the neighboring states further west.

In order to give his new province access to the ocean, Penn had leased the proprietary rights of the King's brother, James, Duke of York to what became known as the "three lower counties" on the Delaware. The Province of Pennsylvania was never merged with the Lower Counties because the Duke of York, and therefore Penn, never had a clear title to it. He did govern them both, however, and his deputy governors were assigned to both as well. In Penn's Frame of Government of 1682, he tried to establish a combined assembly by providing for equal membership from each county and requiring legislation to have the assent of both the Lower Counties and the Upper Counties of Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks. The meeting place also alternated between Philadelphia and New Castle. Once Philadelphia began to grow its leaders resented having to go to New Castle and gain agreement of the assemblymen from the sparsely populated Lower Counties and so there was a mutual agreement in 1704 for the two assemblies to meet separately from thenceforth.

The Revolution

Most of Pennsylvania's residents generally supported the protests and dismay common to all 13 colonies after the Proclamation of 1763 and the Stamp Act. Pennsylvanians originally supported the idea of common action, and sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. When difficulties continued, they sent delegates to the first Continental Congress and its later meetings, and even hosted the Congress in Philadelphia.

Political revolution

But, as active revolution neared, the state resisted the tendency to independence as long as any. Several factors account for this resistance. The Loyalist faction was present as in any colony. A strong Quaker faction was opposed to actions they viewed as leading to war. Their delegates in the first congress proposed the Galloway Plan to resolve issues involved in the union with Great Britain. While the plan failed in Congress, Joseph Galloway remained as a leader in the Assembly, and delegates to the national congress were under instructions not to support Independence.

In May of 1776, the Pennsylvania Assembly was still resisting the movement towards independence. From around the state, calls increased for a constitutional convention to replace the assembly with a more revolutionary government. Philadelphia provides a good example of this. On May 20, 1776 Daniel Roberdeau called and led a town meting. Over a thousand citizens arrived to hear the resolutions of the Congress read to them. Thomas McKean and Lambert Cadwalader spoke fervently for liberty and independence. The meeting approved a series of resolutions including the call for a constitutional convention.

Constitution of 1776

Main article: Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776

In late June a convention of delegates met in Philadelphia. They had been selected by the Committees of Correspondence, the Sons of Liberty, and other revolutionary groups around the state. By June, the old Assembly altered their delegate instructions in an effort to remain effective. but it was too late. On July 8 they selected delegates to meet as a Constitutional Convention. A Committee was formed with Benjamin Franklin as chair and George Bryan and James Cannon as prominent members. By September 28, 1776 the Convention produced a constitution.

The Constitution called for a unicameral legislature or Assembly. Executive authority rested in a Supreme Executive Council whose members were to be appointed by the assembly. This constitution was never formally adopted. In elections during 1776 radicals gained control of the Assembly. By early 1777, they selected members for an executive council, and Thomas Wharton, Jr. was named as the President of the Council. This ad-hoc government continued through the revolution, and would not be replaced until the Constitution of 1790.

The revolutionary war

See: Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Valley Forge.

Antebellum and Civil War

Pennsylvania also saw the Battle of Gettysburg, near Gettysburg. Many historians consider this battle the major turning point of the American Civil War. Dead from this battle rest at Gettysburg National Cemetery, site of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Industrial Power, 1865-1900

In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. oil (kerosene) industry was born in western Pennsylvania, which supplied the vast majority of U.S. kerosene for years thereafter, and saw the rise and fall of oil boom towns.

Ethnicity and Labor 1865-1945

During this time, America saw the arrival of millions of immigrants, mainly Europeans. Pennsylvania and New York received the bulk of them. Many of these poor immigrants took jobs in factorys, steel mills, and coal mines throughout the state.

Progressive pennsyslvania 1900-1930

Depression and War 1929-1950

WPA poster 1935
Enlarge
WPA poster 1935

Decline of Manufacturing and Mining: 1950-75

During the 20th century Pennsylvania's existing iron industries expanded into a major center of steel production. Shipbuilding and numerous other forms of manufacturing flourished in the eastern part of the state, and coal mining was also extremely important in many regions. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Pennsylvania received very large numbers of immigrants from Europe seeking work; dramatic, sometimes violent confrontations took place between organized labor and the state's industrial concerns.

Pennsylvania was hard-hit by the decline of the steel industry and other heavy U.S. industries during the late 20th century.

The Service State: 1975-2006

Pennsylvania has suffered severly from the fall of steel and coal. Economic faliure, severe population loss in many areas, closed-up factories, and much more. However, beginning in the late 70s, Pennsylvania began to turn around and make a recovery. At every new census, the state grew faster then the previous ten years. Many new immigrants, espiecally from Asia and Latin America, have arrived for many reasons. Dirty, lifeless towns have become vibrant, growing places. Jobs and companys have begun transferring their headquarters to the state, and Pennsylvania has one of the best economies in the country. With the turnaround from manufacturing, the state has turned to service industries. Healthcare, retail, transportation, and tourism are some of the state's biggest industries in this era.

See also

References

Surveys

Secondary sources

Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century'' Cornell University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8014-8473-1.

External links

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