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Free Traveling Guides » States » Pennsylvania History of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, situated in the Middle Atlantic and the Northeastern regions of the United States of America, is centrally located among the thirteen colonies and is hence, known as the Keystone State since 1802. The major tribes that first inhabited the area include the Delaware, Shawnee, Iroquois, Susquehannock, Eries, and other Native American tribes. A land charter, one of the largest land grants to an individual, was granted to William Penn by Charles II in 1681, in order to help him repay a debt owed to his father, Admiral Penn. This land grant was named ‘Pennsylvania’, in honor of Admiral Penn. The Pennsylvania Colony made its own paper money, popularly known as the ‘Colonial Scrip’, to account for the shortage of gold and silver. This currency was created by Benjamin Franklin and was made until the Currency Act of 1764 was passed by the Parliament. The Declaration of Rights and Grievances was written by Delegate John Dickinson immediately after the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. The First Continental Congress, which signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1774, was forced to escape westward after the city of Pennsylvania was annexed by the British. The Articles of Confederation, which proposed to join the 13 independent colonies to form a new nation, was endorsed by the Continental Congress in 1777. However, on December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania ratified the U. S. Constitution and became the second state to do so, after Delaware. One of the major turning points of the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The discovery of an oil well near Titusville in 1859 led to the first major oil boom in United States History. |
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