4-38 The State of Pennsylvania

The great state of Pennsylvania became the 2^nd state in the Union on December 12, 1787.  Its capital is Harrisburg.  This state was named to honor William Penn and his son.

Algonquian and Iroquoian Native Americans lived in the Pennsylvania region when Dutch explorers first visited in 1609.  The Pennsylvania territory was disputed in the early 1600s among the Dutch, the Swedes, and the English.  In 1638, the colony of New Sweden was founded along the Delaware River.  England acquired the region in 1664 with the capture of New York and in 1681 Pennsylvania was granted to William Penn, a Quaker, by King Charles II.  In 1731, Benjamin Franklin opened the first library in the colonies.  By 1754, the French and Indian War had begun in Pennsylvania.  The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774.  The Declaration of Independence was adopted in the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia in 1776 and the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787.  On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, her neighbor, Delaware, being the first by only five days.

The city of Philadelphia was the seat of the federal government almost continuously from 1776 to 1800.  Valley Forge, of Revolutionary War fame, and Gettysburg, site of the pivotal battle of the Civil War, are both in Pennsylvania.  The Liberty Bell is located in a glass pavilion across from Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Emblem/Symbol	Name of Emblem/Symbol	Adopted
Motto	"Virtue, Liberty, and Independence"
Nickname	Keystone State
State Seal		1790
State Flower	Mountain Laurel	1933
State Song	"Pennsylvania"	1990
State Tree	Eastern Hemlock	1931
State Flag		1907
State Insect	Firefly	1974
State Fish	Brook Trout	1970
State Dog	Great Dane	1965
State Animal	White-tailed Deer	1959
State Game Bird	Ruffed Grouse	1931
State Fossil	Trilobite	1988
State Plant	Penngift Crownvetch	1982

Complete the questions below.

1.  Pennsylvania became the 2^nd state in the Union on December 12, .

2.  The state insect is the .

3.  The state capital is .

4.  The state song is "."

5.  The state flower is the .

6.  The Declaration of Independence was adopted in the city of .

7.  The Great Dane is the state .

8.  Penngift Crownvetch is the state .

9.  The state fossil is the .

10.  The state nickname is the .