Pa state

Pennsylvania History

By KDeVaul
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    After Hudson’s time, the Dutch navigators Cornelis Hendricksen (1616) and Cornelis Jacobsen (1623) explored the Delaware region more thoroughly, and trading posts were established in 1623 and in later years, though not on Pennsylvania soil until 1647.

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    The Swedes were the first to make permanent settlement, beginning with the expedition of 1637-1638, which occupied the site of Wilmington, Delaware

  • Governor Johann Printz of New Sweden established his capital at Tinicum Island within the present limits of Pennsylvania, where there is now a state park bearing his name.

  • Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands seized New Sweden and made it part of the Dutch colony

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    In 1664 the English seized the Dutch possessions in the name of the Duke of York, the king’s brother. Except when it was recaptured by the Dutch in 1673-1674, the Delaware region remained under his jurisdiction until 1681

  • English laws and civil government were introduced by The Duke of York’s Laws

  • The King signed the Charter of Pennsylvania

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    The Quaker Province - William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania

  • William Penn established Bucks County as one of Pennsylvania’s 3 original counties.

    William Penn established Bucks County as one of Pennsylvania’s 3 original counties.

  • Landing of William Penn (1644 - 1718) at New Castle, Delaware

  • Col. George Washington led a 40-man detachment that defeated French and Indian forces in a skirmish near Great Meadows, Pa

  • The Albany Congress opened. New York colonial Gov. George Clinton called for the meeting to discuss better relations with Indian tribes and common defensive measures against the French. The attendees included Indians and representatives from Connecticut,

  • George Washington surrendered the small, circular Fort Necessity (later Pittsburgh) in southwestern Pennsylvania to the French, leaving them in control of the Ohio Valley. This marked the beginning of the French and Indian War also called the 7 Years' Wa

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    The Seven Years War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over land is won by Great Britain. France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return

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    Legal battles were settled by a survey, which resulted in the Mason-Dixon line, surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon

  • Pontiac's Rebellion. The British treated the former Indian allies of the French like conquered peoples, which prompted the Ottawa Chief Pontiac (1720-1769) to lead a rebellion of a number of tribes against the British

  • The first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in a secret session in Carpenter's Hall with representatives from every colony except Georgia. Tensions had been tearing at relations between the colonists and the government of King George III. Th

  • The Second Continental Congress convened in Pennsylvania. It named George Washington as supreme commander. Benjamin Franklin represented Pennsylvania soon presented his reworked Plan of Union under the title The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Uni

  • Thomas Paine (1737-1809), British émigré and propagandist, anonymously published "Common Sense,

  • The Quakers of Pennsylvania abolished slavery within the Society of Friends and then took their crusade to society at large by petitioning the state legislature to outlaw the practice.

  • Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to abolish slavery (for new-borns only). It was followed by Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1784, New York in 1785, and New Jersey in 1786. Massachusetts abolished slavery through a judicial decision in 1783

  • The Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates (12) attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia

  • Statehood - The Date that Pennsylvania was admitted to the Union - December 12, 1787. Constitution - Pennsylvania was the 2nd State to be admitted to the Union. State Motto - "Virtue, Liberty, and Independence"

  • The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia tolled for the last time, to mark George Washington’s birthday. A hairline fracture had developed since 1817 and a failed attempt to repair it resulted in the crack. In 2010 Tristram Riley-Smith authored “”The Cracked Bell

  • The Pennsylvania legislature passed an act to incorporate the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first regular medical school for women in America

  • The opening shot at the Battle of Gettysburg was at 7:30 a.m. In the first day's fighting at Gettysburg, Federal forces retreated through the town and dug in at Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill. Gen. Robert E. Lee's ordered Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, "Take

  • Gen. Jubal Early ordered Confederate troops to attack Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The town was burned by Confederate forces under Gen. McCausland