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Pennsylvania is a state in north east USA, and was one of the original thirteen colonies. The state was first settled by Swedes in 1643, only to be taken by the Dutch in 1655 and acquired by the British in 1664 and then granted by Charles II to the duke of York. In 1681, the land was given to William Penn by Charles II as payment for a debt owed to William Penn's father.
William Penn proposed to found a colony for the benefit of the Quakers. The king gave it its name in honour of William Penn. To encourage emigration William Penn offered a popular government, with toleration for all religious beliefs. His penal code was reformatory. The Dutch and Swedes already had settlements within his grant, but they were incorporated in the new colony.
In 1682 Philadelphia was founded from plans drawn in England. William Penn established a proprietary government and his wise administration and humane treatment of the Indians caused the colony to flourish. His rights passed to his heirs, of whom they were purchased in 1776 by the State.
Pennsylvania had difficulty with Connecticut over the territory north of latitude 41 degrees, which by previous grant had been given to the latter State. In 1776 this region was organized as the county of Westmoreland and was represented in the Connecticut Legislature. This quarrel at one time threatened to cause war between the two States, but in, 1782 the territory in dispute was given to Pennsylvania by the decision of a Federal court sitting at Trenton. Indian massacres occurred in this region in the years 1755, 1763 and 1778.
The southern boundary line was surveyed by two English surveyors, Mason and Dixon between 1763 and 1767. Delaware, which was included in William Penn's grant, was erected into a colony by itself in 1703 with a legislature of its own, but under the same governor as Pennsylvania.
In 1756 stage coaches were established between Philadelphia and New York. The first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on September the 5th, 1774. The American Declaration of Independence was signed in Pennsylvania in 1776. A constitution for the State was made in 1776. The Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 met in Philadelphia. The constitution was ratified by a State Convention on December the 12th, 1787. A new State constitution was made in 1790, another in 1838, and another in 1873.
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was a protest against an Act of Congress of 1790 which increased the tax on distilled spirits, largely manufactured in Western Pennsylvania. The discovery of coal and the use of anthracite in the production of iron in 1839 led Pennsylvania to support a protective tariff.
In 1835 the Anti-Masons elected a Governor. Pennsylvania was loyal in the support of the Union cause and furnished 362,284 men for the army during the American Civil War.
In May 1889, violent storms caused the South Fork reservoir to burst its dam allowing a huge wall of water to rush down about twelve miles around Johnstown totally destroying towns and villages and claiming the lives of some 6000 people.
Pennsylvania is a village in Gloucestershire, England.
Pennsylvania is a township in Mason County, Illinois, USA.
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