PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY PART TWO – REVOLUTION TO CIVIL WAR.
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Transcript of PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY PART TWO – REVOLUTION TO CIVIL WAR.
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORYPART TWO – REVOLUTION TO CIVIL WAR
PA AND THE RE VOLUTIONPennsylvania played dominant role in the
early development of a new form of government◦ Declaration of Independence approved in
Philadelphia◦ Constitutional Convention met in
PhiladelphiaDuring American Revolution, Philadelphia
was capital of colonies◦ Moved to Baltimore, Lancaster and York
during war
WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE PA troops took part in almost all campaigns of the
Revolution British considered Philadelphia key importance and
captured it in 1777 Important PA battles
◦ Brandywine◦ Germantown◦ Whitemarsh
Winter at Valley Forge◦ Dec. 1777 – June 1778 helped reshape army
PA military leaders◦ Anthony Wayne◦ Thomas Mifflin◦ Peter Muhlenberg
Creation of Continental Navy◦ Ships built in Philadelphia◦ Manned by PA sailors
ARSENAL OF INDEPENDENCEPennsylvania’s farms, factories, and mines
were essential to the success of the Revolutionary armies
Cannons, swords and muskets made in Carlisle
State produced gunpowder for troopsContributed $6 million to Continental
CongressPhiladelphia bankers helped supply army
when rest of colonies were financially strained
FOUNDING THE COMMONWEALTH Pennsylvania Revolution
◦ Political changes occurred within the state◦ Extra-legal committees took control of government in
local communities◦ Called for a convention to create new state constitution
Constitution of 1776◦ First state constitution◦ Created unicameral legislature and executive council (not
single governor)◦ Included a Declaration of Rights used by other states
Constitution of 1790◦ Added a second legislative house (State Senate)◦ One elected governor to head executive branch
FOUNDING A NATION Articles of Confederation no longer bound the new
states together Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787
◦ PA sent 8 delegates◦ Gouvernuer Morris spoke more than any other
delegate◦ James Wilson was one of the principal architects of
the new Constitution◦ Pennsylvania convention ratified Constitution on
Dec. 12, 1787 making it the second state of the Union
CONSTITUTION OF 1838A new convention was called in 1837 to
revise the state’s laws and draft a new constitution
The new constitution◦ Reduced powers of governor◦ Increased the number of elected offices◦ Shortened many office terms ◦ Still disenfranchised free African Americans
The burning of Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia showed the new constitution arrived at a time of hostility towards racial equality. Pennsylvania Hall was a center of reform.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR Pennsylvanians generally supported the annexation of
Texas and the war with Mexico that followed◦ More men enlisted than could be accepted by the
armed forces They were opposed to the expansion of slavery into
territory taken from Mexico◦ David Wilmot became national figure in 1846◦ Wilmot Proviso was supported unanimously by the
PA Assembly
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT Quakers first group to oppose slavery Slavery in PA gradually disappeared under Gradual
Emancipation Act of 1780 Many Pennsylvanians were opposed to returning fugitive
slaves back to their masters◦ Riots in Christiana, Lancaster County over Federal
Fugitive Slave Act ◦ State forbade use of jails to detain fugitive slaves
Term “Underground Railroad” may have originated in PA◦ Anna Dickenson, Lucretia Mott, and Ann Preston led the
PA anti-slavery cause◦ Thaddeus Stevens was a foe of slavery
INDUSTRY By 1861, factory system replaced domestic system of home
manufacture By 1860, there were more than 200 textile mills Most important industry in PA were iron and steel
◦ Half of nation’s iron made in PA◦ Baldwin Works established in Philadelphia, 1842◦ Bethlehem Steel organized in 1862◦ William Kelly, Pittsburgh native, regarded as inventor of
the Bessemer process of steel production◦ Leather making, lumbering, shipbuilding, publishing,
tobacco, and paper manufacture prospered in PA
TRANSPORTATION Roads
◦ Original Lancaster Pike connection Philadelphia and Lancaster was completed in 1794
◦ By 1832, PA led nation in improved roads (more than 3,000 miles)
◦ National or Cumberland Road was major route for western expansion (now Route 40)
Waterways
◦ Most of major cities built along important river routes
◦ Canals began to be built to extend and supplement natural waterways
◦ Vast system called Sate Works of Pennsylvania – connected east and west, but nearly bankrupted state
The Lehigh canal
RAILROADS Rail transport in PA began in 1827
◦ Connected coal mines with canals and rivers Major railroads chartered in state
◦ Reading Railroad in 1833◦ Lehigh Valley in 1846◦ Most important – Pennsylvania RR in 1846
Absorbed many short railroad lines By 1860 had monopoly on rail travel from
Philadelphia to Chicago
Map of Lehigh Valley Railroad
EDUCATIONThe Constitution of 1790
provided basis of public education system
Free School Act of 1834 initiated a truly democratic school system
Numerous private and parochial schools supplemented the public system
SCIENCE Traditions of scientific inquiry established by Ben
Franklin and David Rittenhouse continued Academy of Natural Science founded in 1812 Franklin Institute established in 1824 James Woodhouse – pioneer in chemical analysis and
plant chemistry
LITERATURE AND THE ARTSCharles Brockdon Brown of Philadelphia was
the first American novelist of distinctionHugh Henry Brackenridge of Pittsburgh gave
American West its first literary work with his satire Modern Chivalry
J.B. Lippincott began to print magazine Saturday Evening Post
ARCHITECTURE Thomas U. Walter and William Stickland gave PA an
important place in architectural history of early 1800s◦ Walter designed the Capitol dome and Treasury Building
in Washington D.C. Nation’s first institution of art was the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts in 1805◦ Artists like Gilbert Stuart, Benjamin West, and the Peale
family made Philadelphia famous for art
PennsylvaniaAcademy ofFine Arts
Portrait of John Barry painted by G. Stuart
A portrait of the Peale family
THEATER AND MUSIC Philadelphia was the center of theater in America
until 1830 Philadelphia was a leader in music publishing and
piano making Philadelphia was the birthplace of American opera
◦ William Henry Fry’s Lenora Songwriter Stephen Foster was born in PA
◦ Wrote songs like “Camptown Ladies” and “Old Folks At Home”WilliamHenryFry
Stephen Foster
RELIGION Religion flourished in Commonwealth Led the way to the enlargement of the educational
system Catholicism continued to grow in spite of Kensington
riot in 1844 Churches threw off European ties and established
their own governing bodies◦ 1789 – John Carroll becomes first Catholic bishop in
America