Pennsylvania
by Alex

Pennsylvania lies in the mid-Atlantic section of the United States. Pennsylvania has four seasons; its climate is 80^O - 60^O in summer, 70^O - 40^O in the fall, 35^O – 15^O in winter, and 65^O – 40^O in the spring. Pennsylvania is 45,888 square miles and about 12,009,000 people live there. It is the 32^nd in the nation in size. Its capitol is Harrisburg, and its major cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Allentown. The state has both valleys and mountains (the Allegheny and Appalachian Mountain ranges), with forests, farmland and 50 natural lakes. Its nickname is the "Keystone State", and its motto is "Virtue, Liberty and Independence". Pennsylvania’s state flower is the Mountain Laurel, its tree is the Hemlock, and its animal is the White Tail Deer.

Pennsylvania’s major sources of economy are coal mining and dairy farming and vegetable and fruit farming. Some of the crops grown are corn, mushrooms, tomatoes and apples. There is also the manufacturing of iron, steel, fabricated metals, non-electrical machinery, chemicals and food and food products. The last main source of economy is tourism.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania is the birthplace of Little League Baseball and the home of the Little League Baseball Museum. In York, Pennsylvania, you can tour the Harley-Davidson factory, or see how Crayola™ crayons are made at their factory nearby. Did you know that to date, over 100 billion Crayola crayons have been made; more than 2 billion crayons are produced each year, an average of 5 million per day? In Erie, you can visit the U.S. Brig Niagara, Pennsylvania’s flagship, upon which Commodore Perry uttered, "Don’t give up the ship!" during the War of 1812. If you’re hungry, you can go to Hershey and see how chocolate is made (and catch a few rides at the same time) or you can go the Kurtztown, where Sturgis Pretzels have been made for over 200 years. People from all over the world visit Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Punxsutawney Phil makes his weather predictions every February 2^nd. There are many cultural events to see around the state. In Lancaster County, the Amish still maintain the old way of life. There are pretzel festivals in the Dutch Country too. All around Pennsylvania there are food and music festivals, battlefields, a skyline drive, hiking, skiing, camping, fishing, roller coasters and sports. And in Philadelphia, the symphony, museums, botanical gardens and the zoo.

While Philadelphia is a great cultural center, it is also a historical center of American independence. Independence Square is where you’ll find the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and the U.S. Constitution was written. Pennsylvania is often claimed to be the "Birth-State of the Nation". The Seneca, Susquehannock and Shawnee were among several tribes to occupy the land that became Pennsylvania. Some say that John Smith was the founder in 1608. Many Europeans settled in Pennsylvania, especially after William Penn was given a land grant by King Charles II and people liked Penn’s beliefs in freedom. It was named Pennsilvania – Penn’s woods – for his father. Germans settled in Pennsylvania and were known as the "Plain People". The Amish in Lancaster County today still wear plain black hats and clothing and their way of living is ruled by their religious traditions that are far removed from living today in America. The Battle of Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War kept the British from capturing the inner area of the state. The Pennsylvania iron industry was important to the war (and later for the Civil War). The Constitution of the U.S. was written in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Pennsylvania became the 2^nd state, on December 5, 1787, 5 days behind Delaware. In 1790, Philadelphia became the capitol of the U.S. During the War of 1812, Erie, Pennsylvania played an important part because of its port. Gettysburg was a battle fought in Pennsylvania during the Civil War.

BACK