About the author
Edward A. St. Germain created AmericanRevolution.org in 1996. He was an avid historian with a keen interest in the Revolutionary War and American culture and society in the 18th century. On this website, he created and collated a huge collection of articles, images, and other media pertaining to the American Revolution. Edward was also a Vietnam veteran, and his investigative skills led to a career as a private detective in later life.
1. Pennsylvania was founded as a Quaker model society
William Penn established the colony as a “holy experiment” in 1682, modeling Pennsylvania’s governance on principles of peace, democracy, and religious tolerance.
2. William Penn was originally granted the land for Pennsylvania because King Charles II owed his father £16,000 – around $3.9m in today’s money
Admiral Sir William Penn lent the money to the Crown primarily to help support the Royal Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667). The Admiral died in 1670, so his son inherited the debt.
3. Pennsylvania was one of the “breadbasket” colonies, renowned for its food production
Due to its fertile soils and good weather, Pennsylvania farmers produced large quantities of wheat, rye, corn, and other staple food crops, much of which was exported to other colonies and abroad.
4. Pennsylvania saw the first formal denouncement of slavery in British North America
In 1688, a religious society in Pennsylvania published the Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery, calling for an end to the practice in the colony.
Many in the Quaker movement were opposed to slavery, and though it was looked down on in the colony, many Pennsylvania households and farms still used slave labor until its gradual abolition started in 1780.
5. From the 1750s, Philadelphia overtook Boston to become the busiest port in the Thirteen Colonies
The harbor and its attached river systems offered easy access to large population centers in the Middle Colonies, making it a thriving hub of Atlantic trade.
6. The Province of Pennsylvania had no official state church
Unlike most other colonies, the Pennsylvania constitution did not formally endorse a specific church that residents had to pay taxes to.
7. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Pennsylvania Province
The document was formalized at the Pennsylvania State House (now called Independence Hall) on August 2, 1776.
8. Most Quakers resigned from the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1756 due to increasing tensions with the French and their allied Native American tribes
With the threat of encroachment increasing, many Quakers in the assembly realized the need to act, but did not want to involve themselves in military action due to their pacifist beliefs.
9. The population of the Pennsylvania colony was estimated at 680 in 1680, 51,707 in 1730, and 240,057 in 1770
Similar to in many of the other Thirteen Colonies, population growth increased significantly after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763.
10. The Pennsylvania Rifle was developed by German gunsmiths in southeastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s
This was the first American-designed firearm, and it was renowned for its accuracy and long range.
The Continental Army and Patriot militias relied on the Pennsylvania Long Rifle throughout the Revolutionary War, especially in the hands of specialized marksman units.
