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Living
in the Colonial Period
Farming, industry,
trading and learning were all characteristics of
colonial Pennsylvania. Thanks to the abundant farming
knowledge of the settlers, farming was very prosperous
during the colonial period. Wheat and corn were
most abundant, but rye, hemp and flax were also
grown. Pennsylvania had an abundance of natural
resources that helped fuel Pennsylvania's industries.
Saw and gristmills were the first to appear using
the power of numerous streams. These streams were
also key to the shipbuilding industry, as well as
facilitating trade, which made Philadelphia the
most important center for foreign trade in the colonies
by the time of the Revolution. Iron production,
gun manufacturing, and papermaking were also an
integral part of Pennsylvania's industrial economy.
Gun making became especially important in Lancaster
County with the invention of the Pennsylvania Long
Rifle, which become widely distributed and duplicated
by the time of the Revolution. The liberal nature
of Philadelphia enabled the city to become a center
for non-denominational learning. The University
of Pennsylvania, originally the College of Philadelphia,
was the only college of its kind in the colonial
period. The academic nature of the city gave rise
to such intellectuals as Benjamin Franklin, John
Rittenhouse, John Bartram and Benjamin West. Pennsylvania
also lays claim to America's first hospital, library
and insurance company.
Life in colonial Pennsylvania
witnessed downturns as well. Like the battles between
England and France for dominance, the 1754 -1763
French and Indian War, where Native Americans joined
forces with the French adversely affecting Pennsylvania.
Battles were waged on Pennsylvania's western frontier.
The American Revolution
Philadelphia was a
center of agitation before the Revolution. It was
a center for resistance to the Stamp Act in 1765,
and also joined Boston in opposition to the Intolerable
Acts. Conversely, there were also some Pennsylvanians
who were limited in their support, such as the Half
and Half Whigs, who did not show support for the
Stamp Act, and some pacifist Quakers were against
violence soley on principle. But it was at Independence
Hall, in Philadelphia, where the meetings of the
Continental Congress took place. This became the
birthplace of the Declaration of Independence. Pennsylvania
was strongly entrenched in the fighting of the Revolution,
and Pennsylvanians took part in nearly every campaign,
including the Siege of Boston in August of 1775,
and the Canadian Campaign in 1776. In the summer
of 1777, the British invaded Philadelphia, overtaking
control. A new strategy and an alliance with the
French, negotiated by Benjamin Franklin, helped
to recapture Philadelphia. In addition to the soldiers,
Pennsylvania's industry produced much of the arsenal
for the war, including canons, swords, pikes, gunpowder
and muskets.
The Early Republic
After the war was
won, a constitution had to be created. The Constitutional
Congress met in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft a
new Constitution. Pennsylvania sent eight delegates,
including Benjamin Franklin, and Pennsylvania became
the second state to ratify the Constitution. From
1790 to 1800 Philadelphia served as the capital
of the United States.
The Early Republic
had its fair share of trouble, such as the Whiskey
Rebellion, which was a culminant of the strife between
the Federalist Party and the Democratic Republican
Party, and the War of 1812, yet another war against
England on American soil. Lake Erie played an important
role during the War of 1812 in the battle at Put-in-Bay,
which proved victorious for the United States. This
victory gave the U.S. control of the Great Lakes,
which was central in keeping the British from crossing
the lakes from Canada to United States. Many of
the soldiers, sailors and shipbuilders who went
to Lake Erie during the war remained there after
the war, helping to build an economy based on manufacturing,
shipping and agriculture.
Immigration saw an
increase during the early republic years. American
independence and opposition to England was highly
appealing to the Irish, who had been battling the
English for centuries. This led to an increase in
immigration from Ireland. Many of the Irish immigrants
to Pennsylvania were part of the Irish Volunteers,
a group that led an uprising in Ireland in 1798.
The insurrection was squashed, and many of the Volunteers
fled to the United States. After the Revolution,
Italian and Jewish immigration into Pennsylvania
began growing as well.
Antebellum Pennsylvania
Antebellum Pennsylvania
was an exciting time in history. The war with Mexico,
the anti-slavery movement, a growing industrial
economy and increased immigration are all characteristics
of pre-Civil War Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians generally
supported the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American
War. More Pennsylvanians signed up for the Armed
Forces than could be accepted.
There was also a strong
anti-slavery movement happening in Pennsylvania.
In 1846 David Wilmot of Bradford County earned himself
a place in anti-slavery history after presenting
to Congress, the "Wilmot Proviso" opposing the expansion
of slavery. As a group, the Quakers were the first
to oppose slavery in Pennsylvania. The Gradual Emancipation
Act was passed in 1780, which slowly eradicated
slavery in Pennsylvania, and many Pennsylvanians
were opposed to returning fugitive slaves back to
their masters. After the Compromise of 1850, it
became law that fugitive slaves must be returned
to their masters. The city of Christiana, Pennsylvania
rose up in opposition of the Compromise, rioting
to prevent the law from being implemented. Many
prominent Pennsylvania women were active in the
antislavery movement, some of which were Anna Dickenson,
Lucretia Mott, Ann Preston and Jane Swisshelm. Thaddeus
Stevens, infamous anti-slavery Congressman, was
a native of Pennsylvania as well. Infamous black
abolitionists also hailed from Pennsylvania, including
James Forten, Robert Purvis and Underground Railroad
workers Robert Porter and William Still.
Industry thrived in
Antebellum Pennsylvania. Post 1840 saw a shift from
home manufacturing to factories and machines, and
by 1860 there were over 200 textile mills in operation.
Leather making, lumber, shipbuilding, publishing,
tobacco and papermaking continued to flourish. Pennsylvania
produced half of the nations iron, and laid claim
to more railroads than any other state by the time
of the Civil War. With industrial growth came the
rise of unions. One of the earliest unions was the
Workingmen's Party that formed in Pennsylvania in
the 1840s. The party demanded the end of imprisonment
for debt, fought for a free public school system.
The party also fought heavily against the decline
of their wages due to increasing factories and machinery.
Heavy immigration
was also characteristic of Antebellum Pennsylvania.
The Irish Potato Famine of 1845 was responsible
for a large increase of new immigrants from Ireland.
A deadly blight hit the potato crops in eastern
Ireland and within the next year the potato famine
swept across the country. Ireland's population became
malnourished and sickly, and a million Irish died
of starvation and illness. Between 1845 and 1855
an estimated 1.5 million Irish immigrated to America,
settling mostly in New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans,
Boston and Baltimore. Another 600,000 left Ireland
for England, Canada and Australia. The bulk of these
immigrants were working class, contributing to Pennsylvania's
industrial growth.
Pennsylvania had always
been a religious state, and in the antebellum period
religion grew even stronger as new religions formed
in addition to the existing Protestant and Catholic
religions. The African Methodist Episcopal Church
was formed in 1816, the Church of God was formed
in Harrisburg in 1830, and while living in Susquehanna
County from 1827-1830, Joseph Smith developed his
Mormon theology.
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