Pennsylvania Facts For Kids

Pennsylvania is a state in the northeastern part of the United States. It sits where the Mid-Atlantic, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions meet, so you can find mountains, forests, and even a small piece of shoreline on Lake Erie. Philadelphia is the biggest city and Harrisburg is the state capital.

About 13 million people live in Pennsylvania, which makes it one of the most populated states. The biggest city area is around Philadelphia, and the second is around Pittsburgh. The land is green in many places—about 60% is forest—and rivers like the Delaware help boats and towns grow around them.

Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville on September 11, 2001, after passengers tried to stop hijackers. Everyone on the plane died, and the place became known for the passengers' brave actions and a memorial that honors them.

In October 2018, a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh took the lives of several people. The city and many groups responded by coming together to support victims, promote safety, and fight hate.

On July 13, 2024, there was an assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump near Butler, Pennsylvania. The event drew much attention, and authorities investigated and worked on public safety in its aftermath.

In the 1700s, Pennsylvania helped shape the new United States. To solve a money shortage, leaders issued Colonial Scrip, a kind of paper money, and Benjamin Franklin helped make and manage it. Franklin also started the University of Pennsylvania in the 1740s. Other schools, like Dickinson College, began before and after the Revolution.

Philadelphia became the meeting place for leaders from the colonies. The First and Second Continental Congress met there, and the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were written and signed in the city. Pennsylvania was the second state to approve the Constitution, and the state even presented it in German so more people could read it.

Appalachian Mountains run through much of Pennsylvania, giving the state hills and forests. About 60% of the land is covered in trees, and Pennsylvania touches water in two main places: along Lake Erie in the northwest and along the Delaware River in the east. To the north and northwest it meets the Canadian province of Ontario and the state of New York. Other neighbors are New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio.

Pennsylvania usually has cold winters and warm, humid summers. Most of the state has a humid continental climate (cold winters), while the far south is milder and more like a humid subtropical climate. Mountains get more snow, and areas near Lake Erie can get over 100 inches a year. The state gets rain and snow in all seasons and sometimes has strong storms, including tornadoes.

Philadelphia is the largest city and a busy home for many different people. Most Pennsylvanians are White non-Hispanic, with family roots from countries like Germany, Ireland, Italy, and England. There are also many Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and Asian residents, and the share of people who identify with more than one race has grown in recent decades. The state has a large Amish community in rural South Central Pennsylvania, which is known for farming and simple living.

Other big cities include Pittsburgh, Allentown, Reading, Lancaster, Erie, Scranton, and Harrisburg, the capital. People live in both crowded cities and quiet countryside towns. Pennsylvania has a fairly older population compared with some states, and many communities work to help neighbors of all ages.

People have lived in what is now Pennsylvania for more than 10,000 years. Places like Meadowcroft Rockshelter show that early families hunted, gathered, and later grew crops. By about 1000 AD, many groups farmed and lived in villages. When Europeans arrived, two important groups were the Lenape in the east and the Susquehannock near the big Susquehanna River.

In the 1600s European countries built colonies here. The Dutch and Swedes started settlements by the Delaware River, and the English later took control. In 1681 King Charles II gave land to William Penn, who set up Pennsylvania with ideas like fair treatment and freedom of religion and made peaceful deals with some native leaders.

Pennsylvania was an important place during both peace and wartime in the 1800s and 1900s. The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863) was a major Civil War battle that happened in Pennsylvania. Later, the state became known for steel, coal mining, logging, textiles, and other factories. Many people from Southern and Eastern Europe moved to Pennsylvania to work in these industries.

In the 1900s Pennsylvanians joined national efforts in wars, and important events reached beyond the state. The Pittsburgh Agreement in 1918 helped lead to a new country in Europe, and in 1922 a long coal miners' strike changed how workers and companies talked about jobs. The state also set aside the Allegheny National Forest in 1923 to protect trees and water.