The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( /ˌpɛnsɨlˈveɪnjə/ (help·info)), often colloquially referred to as PA (its postal abbreviation, which succeeds the archaic Penn. and Penna. as common abbreviations) by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and a water border with Ontario to the north, and New Jersey to the east. The state's four most populous cities are, respectively, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie. The state capital is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has been known as the Keystone State since 1802,[3] based in part upon its central location among the original Thirteen Colonies forming the United States, and also in part because of the number of important American documents signed in the state (such as the Declaration of Independence). It was also a keystone state economically, having both the industry common to the North (making such wares as Conestoga wagons and rifles)[4][5] and the agriculture common to the South (producing feed, fiber, food, and tobacco).[6] Another one of Pennsylvania's nicknames is the Quaker State; in colonial times, it was known officially as the Quaker Province,[7] in recognition of Quaker[8] William Penn's First Frame of Government[9] constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed liberty of conscience. He knew of the hostility[10] Quakers faced when they opposed religious ritual, taking oaths, violence, war and military service, and what they viewed as ostentatious frippery.[11] Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km)[12] of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km)[13] of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west.[14] Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 km2), 44,817 square miles (116,075 km2) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 km2) are inland waters and 749 square miles (1,940 km2) are waters in Lake Erie.[15] It is the 33rd largest state in the United States.[16] The bounds of the state are the Mason-Dixon Line (39° 43' N) to the south, the Delaware River to the east, 80° 31' W to the west, and the 42° N to the north, with the exception of a short segment on the western end, where a triangle extends north to Lake Erie. Pennsylvania borders six other states: New York to the north; New Jersey to the east; Delaware and Maryland to the southeast; West Virginia to the southwest, and Ohio to the west. Pennsylvania also shares a water border with Canada. It has the cities of Philadelphia, York, Reading and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton in the central east, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in the northeast, and Erie in the northwest, with state capital Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River in the central region of the commonwealth. Pennsylvania's diverse topography also produces a variety of climates. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state with the exception of the southeastern corner has a humid continental climate. Greater Philadelphia has some characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware and Maryland to the south. Moving toward the mountainous interior of the state, the climate becomes markedly colder, the number of cloudy days increases, and winter snowfall amounts are greater. Western areas of the state, particularly cities near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches (254 cm) of snowfall annually, and the entire state receives plentiful rainfall throughout the year. The state does get severe weather from spring through summer into fall, an average of 10 tornadoes touchdown each year in the state. Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, East Stroudsburg Before the Commonwealth was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the Delaware (also known as Lenni Lenape), Susquehannock, Iroquois, Eriez, Shawnee, and other Native American tribes.[17] Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their colonial lands in America.[18][19][20] The Dutch were the first to take possession, and this has impact on the history of Pennsylvania.[21] By June 3, 1631, the Dutch had started up the DelMarVa Peninsula by establishing the Zwaanendael Colony on the site of present day Lewes, Delaware.[22] In 1638, Sweden heated up the issue by establishing the New Sweden Colony, centered on Fort Christina, on the site of present day Wilmington, Delaware. New Sweden claimed and, for the most part, controlled the lower Delaware River region (Parts of present Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania), but settled few colonists there.[23][24] On March 12, 1664, King Charles II of England gave James, Duke of York a Grant that included all of the lands included in the original Virginia Company of Plymouth Grant as well as other lands. This grant was – again – in conflict with the Dutch claim for New Netherland, which included parts of today’s Pennsylvania.[25] On June 24, 1664, The Duke of York sold the portion of his large grant that included present day New Jersey to John Berkeley and George Carteret for a proprietary colony. As of yet, the land was not in English possession, but the sale boxed in the portion of New Netherland on the West side of the Delaware River. The English conquest of New Netherland was commenced on August 29, 1664, when New Amsterdam was coerced to surrender facing the cannons on English ships in New York Harbor.[26][27] This conquest continued, and was completed in October of 1664, when the English captured Fort Casimir in what today is New Castle, Delaware. The Peace of Breda between England, France and the Netherlands confirmed the English conquest on July 21, 1667,[28][29] although there were temporary reversions. On September 12, 1672, as part of the Third Anglo—Dutch War, the Dutch re-conquered New York Colony/New Amsterdam, the Dutch established three County Courts which went on to become original Counties in present day Delaware and Pennsylvania. The one that later transferred to Pennsylvania was Upland.[30] This was partially reversed on February 9, 1674, when the Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War, and reverted all political situations to the Status Quo Ante Bellum. The English retained the Dutch Counties with their Dutch names.[31] By June 11, 1674, New York reasserted control over the outlying colonies, including Upland, but the names started to be changed to English names by November 11, 1674.[32] Upland was partitioned on November 12, 1674, producing the general outline of the current border between Pennsylvania and Delaware.[33] On February 28, 1681, Charles II granted a land charter[34] to William Penn to repay a debt of £16,000[35] (around £2,100,000 in 2008, adjusting for retail inflation)[36] owed to William's father, Admiral Penn. This was one of the largest land grants to an individual in history.[37] It was called Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's Woods", in honor of Admiral Penn. William Penn, who had wanted his province to be named "Sylvania", was embarrassed at the change, fearing that people would think he had named it after himself, but King Charles would not rename the grant. Penn established a government with two innovations that were much copied in the New World: the county commission and freedom of religious conviction.[37] What had been Upland on what became the Pennsylvania side of the Pennsylvania-Delaware Border was renamed as Chester County when Pennsylvania instituted their colonial governments on March 4, 1681.[38][39] Between 1730 and when it was shut down by Parliament with the Currency Act of 1764, the Pennsylvania Colony made its own paper money to account for the shortage of actual gold and silver. The paper money was called Colonial Scrip. The Colony issued "bills of credit", which were as good as gold or silver coins because of their legal tender status. Since they were issued by the government and not a banking institution, it was an interest-free proposition, largely defraying the expense of the government and therefore taxation of the people. It also promoted general employment and prosperity, since the Government used discretion and did not issue too much to inflate the currency. Benjamin Franklin had a hand in creating this currency, of which he said its utility was never to be disputed, and it also met with the "cautious approval" of Adam Smith.[40] After the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, Delegate John Dickinson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, wrote the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. The Congress was the first meeting of the thirteen colonies, called at the request of the Massachusetts Assembly, but only nine colonies sent delegates.[41] Dickinson then wrote Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, which were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle between December 2, 1767, and February 15, 1768.[42] When the Founding Fathers of the United States convened in Philadelphia in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress.[43] The Second Continental Congress, which also met in Philadelphia (in May, 1775), drew up and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia,[44] but when that city was captured by the British, the Continental Congress escaped westward, meeting at the Lancaster courthouse on Saturday, September 27, 1777, and then to York. There they drew up the Articles of Confederation that formed 13 independent colonies into a new nation. Later, the Constitution was written, and Philadelphia was once again chosen to be cradle to the new American Nation.[45] Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 12, 1787,[46] five days after Delaware became the first. Dickinson College of Carlisle was the first college founded in the United States. Established in 1773, the college was ratified five days after the Treaty of Paris on September 9, 1783. The school was founded by Benjamin Rush and named after John Dickinson. For half a century, the Commonwealth's legislature met at various places in the general Philadelphia area before starting to meet regularly in Independence Hall in Philadelphia for 63 years.[47] But it needed a more central location, as for example the Paxton Boys massacres of 1763 had made the legislature aware. So, in 1799 the legislature moved to the Lancaster Courthouse,[47] and finally in 1812 to Harrisburg.[47] The legislature met in the old Dauphin County Court House until December 1821,[47] when the Redbrick Capitol was finished. It burned down in 1897, presumably because of a faulty flue.[47] The legislature met at Grace Methodist Church on State Street (still standing) until the present capitol was finished in 1907.[47]