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