Civics_Ch13_info

=**Pennsylvania History Background Information**=

**Native Americans in Pennsylvania:**
The first natives in the western hemisphere are thought to have come into what is today North and South America during the last ice age tens of thousands of years ago. During the last ice age much of the earth was covered with ice especially at the poles (North and South Pole). As animals moved south from Asia looking for warmer weather and food, people began to move south into the Americas. This didn't just happen in a few short years, but took place over thousands of years. The Bering Strait is the narrow body of water that divides Asia (Siberia, which is part of Russia) from the tip of Alaska. During the last ice age, this area was frozen. Therefore, the original natives crossed this Bering Strait Land Bridge in search of warmer weather and following their food supply. Tribes eventually formed throughout North and South America (keep in mind, this was going on before Columbus came to America and before anyone was calling this land America). Native American tribes often get classified into a region in the nation with many tribes within one classification. Pennsylvania was part of the Eastern Woodlands region.

There were several Native American tribes in Pennsylvania. The map of PA below shows a breakdown of the major PA tribes: There was often mistrust and misunderstandings between the colonists and the Indians (not just in PA, but in the entire nation). These misunderstandings often led to conflict between settlers and Indians.

**The Vision of William Penn:**
King Charles II was good friends with Admiral Penn. The king even had to borrow money from Admiral Penn and so was in debt to him. In the meantime, Admiral Penn's son William Penn joined a religious group called the Society of Friends, also called the Quakers. This was not only illegal in England in the 1600s (all English subjects had to belong to the Church of England led by the King), but it was also embarrassing to Admiral Penn since the Society of Friends were outcasts in England. It was so embarrassing that Admiral Penn disowned his own son. Later, Admiral Penn felt bad for his treatment of his son and wanted to make amends, which he did and he left William Penn what the King owed to him in his will. Therefore, King Charles II now owed this debt to this Quaker outcast. As a result, the king came up with an idea. He offered William Penn a charter for land in America as payment on the debt he now owed to Penn. This was a win-win situation for King Charles II and William Penn and the Quakers. The king gets rid of the Quakers and the Quakers get a place to go to in which they can worship freely the way they choose. This charter was given to Penn in 1681.

Penn set up his colony in the three lower counties and wanted to set up the "city of brotherly love" called Philadelphia. Penn's vision was called the "Holy Experiment." He wanted a colony where colonists could worship as they chose like the Quakers. Some of the other colonies had laws on what religion was the religion of the colony. Penn also envisioned a nation in which the colonists and Indians could live together in peace regardless of their faith and would glorify the almighty. His Charter of Privileges in 1701 set up the bases for future constitutions and the Bill of Rights. In addition, the Charter of Privileges set a rule that only Christians could be involved in the government in Pennsylvania. It set up a legislative body that was more powerful than a governor, which was the first of its kind.

**The Pennsylvania Colony:**

 * __The Walking Purchase__: In 1737, the Penn family (sons of William Penn) were the proprietors of the Pennsylvania colony and made a deal with the Lenape (also called Delaware) Indians for the purchase of land. The agreement was for the amount of land that a person could walk in a day and a half. The Indians estimated that to be about 40 miles. Legend says Provincial Secretary James Logan hired the three fasten PA colonists. Before dawn on September 19, 1737, Edward Marshall, James Yates, and Solomon Jennings met near the Wrightstown Friends Meetinghouse to begin their walk. Joining them was Sheriff Timothy Smith, who would serve as the timekeeper. Smith's job was to insure that the walk began no earlier than 6 a.m. and ended no later than 6 p.m.; the accepted definition of a twelve-hour day, from dawn to dusk. Benjamin Eastburn, Nicholas Scull, John Chapman and James Steel, Jr. were also present to serve as witnesses for the Penn proprietors. The Lenape sent John Combush, Joe Tuneam (also known as "Neepaheilomon") and his brother-in-law, named Tom, as their witnesses to insure the fair conduct of the walk. At sunrise the three walkers began their journey by running up the Durham Road. Two-and-a-half hours later the three men had already reached Tinicum, some nineteen miles from the starting point! Although he and the other walkers had trained for months, Jennings, exhausted, dropped out of the walk and retired to his home nearby. Marshall and Yates pushed on to Gallow's Hill in Springfield Township where they took a detour onto a road to the northwest. Shortly after, the two walkers took a fifteen-minute lunch break at the cabin of an Indian trader on Cook's Creek. The astonished Lenape witnesses had already begun to complain that Marshall and Yates were running rather than walking, as stipulated in the treaty. But their arguments fell on deaf ears. Not surprisingly, the runners pushed on at a breakneck pace, crossing the Lehigh River and completing the day's journey at present-day Bethlehem. Once again, the Lenape protested. When Penn's representatives ignored their arguments, they angrily left for a nearby Indian village to spend the night. When none of the Indian witnesses returned the next morning, Penn's agents went to the Indian village to request other witnesses. During this two-hour delay, Lenape chief Lappawinzo refused to comply, declaring that the white men had already taken "the best of the land... and they might go to the devil for the bad." But Combush and the two other Lenape witnesses eventually relented and rejoined the walkers for another ten miles before turning back in disgust. Despite hard rains that morning, the two walkers pressed on, passing the Blue Mountains before Yates fell exhausted about noon. Only Marshall was left to finish the walk. Penn's agents allowed him to continue on for two more hours to compensate for the morning's delay. When Marshall finally completed the walk at 2 p.m. near present-day Mauch Chunk, he had covered sixty-five miles in eighteen hours. The walk destination point was marked by five oak trees emblazoned with Penn's name and the date, 1737. Surveyors then cheated the Lenape out of even more land by plotting the upper boundary line of the purchase in a northeasterly direction, rather than due east at a right angle to the walk, as the Indians had expected. This extended the purchase twenty-one miles north of Port Jervis. When it was all done, Penn's sons had stolen 750,000 acres–about 1,200 square miles–of the Lenape's prime hunting lands, and pushed the frontier north towards the Poconos. The so-called Walking Purchase created growing animosity between the Lenape and the Pennsylvania government, and eventually resulted in Indian attacks on white settlers. The tensions broke into all out war in 1756 when the Lenape and Shawnee joined the French against the English in the French and Indian War.[[image:ryanhill1/Walking-Purchase-map.png]]


 * __Growth of Philadelphia__: Benjamin Franklin grew as one of the most prominent colonists and helped to build up Philadelphia into the most important and most populated city in the English colonies. Franklin had begun a printing business and began the first newspaper in Philadelphia. He also set up the colonies' first hospital, first insurance company, and first fire department. He was not only a business leader, but also a civic leader since he believed in the growth of Philadelphia. Franklin was also committed in seeing the colonies survive. When the French began building forts in the western frontier (west of the Appalachian Mountains), Franklin tried to convince the colonies that they had to unite together against the French or risk being taken over by them.
 * Franklin's "Join or Die" cartoon, which was also made into a flag uses a rattlesnake since they are also careful and aware...a rattlesnake doesn't attack unless it's provoked and always warns before attacking. There was a French myth in those days that if a snake was killed then the pieces had to be buried separately or else the snake would come back to life. Franklin used this metaphor to indicate that the French wanted to divide the colonies. Each piece of the snake represents a colony. Franklin's message was that if the colonies don't unite against the French, then they'll risk being taken over by them.


 * __French and Indian War__: There wasn't a need for the English colonists and the French in the colonists to have a rivalry. Both nations were rivals in Europe and were involved in past wars against each other. This rivalry would spread of course to the colonies. The English held colonies east of the Appalachian Mountains and the French were in Canada north of the Great Lakes and were west of the Appalachians. The French called their lands New France and Louisiana. They wanted to connect New France with Louisiana by building a series of forts. The English became concerned about these forts since the French could use them to attack and gain more land at the expense of the English. Therefore, the English sent word to the French to get off English land. The French responded that it was their own land. The rivalry between these nations led to hostilities. George Washington of the Virginia militia had been the one sent to tell the French to get off English land. As he was leaving he knew he had to strengthen his position as the French would pursue the English and the colonists. He constructed a quick fort - Fort Necessity - in southern PA (Fayette County), but the French easily drove them out. This was in in 1754 beginning the French and Indian War. The biggest and most powerful French fort was Fort Duquesne, which was located where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River. The English wanted to destroy this fort. English General Edward Braddock led an expedition with British soldiers and colonial militia to destroy the fort. However, they were ambushed by French and Indians, Braddock was killed, and his mission was a failure. General John Forbes was able to accomplish the destroying of Fort Duquesne by building a road guided by forts. One of those key forts was Fort Bedford, which was the "Grand Central Station of the Forbes Campaign." It was the central storage area. Another key fort was Fort Ligonier, which served a staging area for an attack on Fort Duquesne. The British destroyed the fort, rebuilt it, and renamed it Fort Pitt, named after Prime Minister William Pitt. In the end, the British and the colonists defeated the French and their Indian allies. As a result, the British colonies extended to the Mississippi River.


 * __Declaring Independence__: Pennsylvania played a key role in the declaring of independence. Philadelphia was where the Continental Congress met and agreed to Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Independence Hall remains a historical site to visit in Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell rang out on July 8 to get the citizens to gather around to hear the reading of the Declaration. It cracked to the point that it was unrepairable and today is also a historical artifact to see.

**PA in U.S. History:**

 * __Revolutionary War__: PA was an important colony at the declaring of independence due to the city of Philadelphia being the center of colonial politics where the Continental Congress met. However, the Continental Congress was forced to flee Philadelphia when the British took the city early in the war. The Continental Congress fled to York where they approved of the Articles of Confederation, the first written form of government for the newly independent colonies. This source of government was a confederation in which the colonies were now independent states (or nations) and formed a "league of friendship" with the common purpose of winning the war. Near Philadelphia was Valley Forge, where George Washington and the Continental Army spent a very harsh winter in 1776 into 1777. Washington lost a lot of his troops strength, but his leadership was able to keep the army together. At Valley Forge, Washington was able to train the army with help from Marquis de Lafayette of France and Baron Friedrich von Steuben of Prussia. The army came out of Valley Forge retrained and rejuvenated. General Anthony Wayne was from PA and was one of Washington's dependable generals. Wayne was known for his boldness and was even nicknamed "Mad Anthony."


 * __Civil War__: PA played a key role in the Civil War era. The Quakers who first settled in PA were anti-slave and were the ones who began the Underground Railroad, a network of escape routes to get the slaves out of the South. PA was the first to pass an anti-slave law by passing the Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act in 1780. James Buchanan was the only president from PA and was the president when the South began to leave the United States to form their own nation, which was the eve of the Civil War. President Buchanan failed to prevent the Southern states from leaving (called secession) and failed to prevent the Civil War. During the war, PA Governor Andrew Curtin showed good leadership and helped recruit soldiers for the war. Governor Curtin supported Abraham Lincoln and the Union war effort against the South. The turning point of the whole Civil War was in southern PA at a small town called Gettysburg. The Union held off an attack by Southern General Robert E. Lee who was looking to make the Battle of Gettysburg the final battle by obtaining Southern victory. However, the Union won and the South was on the retreat until General Lee surrendered. The general who defeated Lee at Gettysburg was General George Meade, who was from Pennsylvania. The battle was in July of 1863. That November, President Lincoln came to Gettysburg to help dedicate the new cemetery and the battlefield and gave his famous Gettysburg Address in which he maintained the goals to preserve American Democracy and America's Christian values.
 * __Industrialization and PA's Resources__: The Industrial Revolution took place in America after the Civil War and it was the growth of factories and business in the U.S. and the nation was transitioning from an agriculture society to more of an industrial society. Oil was a key resource in the industrialization of America. The first oil strike in the nation was in Titusville, PA at Drake's Well - an oil well owned by Edwin Drake. The major industry that built western PA was the iron and steel industry. Johnstown grew as an important iron and steel manufacturing town with Bethlehem steel, but the city of Pittsburgh grew even bigger. The iron and steel indulstry in Pittsburgh was started by Andrew Carnegie. The Allegheny Mountains were rugged and tough to cross, which made it difficult to get raw materials from eastern PA to the mills in Johnstown and Pittsburgh. The Allegheny-Portage Railroad was built to solve this problem. Canal boats would ship raw materials by river to the Allegheny Mountains (what is today Portage) and the Allegheny-Portage Railroad would pull the canal boats up the mountains and drop the canal boats in the rivers on the other side, which would go by river to Johnstown and Pittsburgh. As railroads grew in America and the technology of building railroads improved, a 220-degree arc railroad was built around the Allegheny Mountains that was faster than the Allegheny-Portage Railroad and raw materials were shipped by rail more quickly to the mills and the finished products were also shipped more quickly by rail. This was located in Altoona and was called the Horseshoe Curve.
 * __Industrialization and PA's Resources__: The Industrial Revolution took place in America after the Civil War and it was the growth of factories and business in the U.S. and the nation was transitioning from an agriculture society to more of an industrial society. Oil was a key resource in the industrialization of America. The first oil strike in the nation was in Titusville, PA at Drake's Well - an oil well owned by Edwin Drake. The major industry that built western PA was the iron and steel industry. Johnstown grew as an important iron and steel manufacturing town with Bethlehem steel, but the city of Pittsburgh grew even bigger. The iron and steel indulstry in Pittsburgh was started by Andrew Carnegie. The Allegheny Mountains were rugged and tough to cross, which made it difficult to get raw materials from eastern PA to the mills in Johnstown and Pittsburgh. The Allegheny-Portage Railroad was built to solve this problem. Canal boats would ship raw materials by river to the Allegheny Mountains (what is today Portage) and the Allegheny-Portage Railroad would pull the canal boats up the mountains and drop the canal boats in the rivers on the other side, which would go by river to Johnstown and Pittsburgh. As railroads grew in America and the technology of building railroads improved, a 220-degree arc railroad was built around the Allegheny Mountains that was faster than the Allegheny-Portage Railroad and raw materials were shipped by rail more quickly to the mills and the finished products were also shipped more quickly by rail. This was located in Altoona and was called the Horseshoe Curve.

**About Pennsylvania:**

 * __Capital__: Harrisburg


 * __State bird__: Ruffed Grouse


 * __State animal__: White Tailed Deer


 * __State flower__: Mountain Laurel


 * __Highest point of elevation__: Mount Davis


 * __Nickname__: Keystone State


 * __Meaning of the Nickname__: A keystone is the central stone in an arch that holds it all together. Pennsylvania got this nickname because the PA colony was the central colony that held the New England colonies and the Southern colonies together in terms of society and commerce. Philadelphia was the most important city, which is the city where the Continental Congress met and was the center of colonial activity.

**Somerset County History:**

 * __Native Americans in Somerset County__: The only known tribe to exist permanently for a short time in Somerset County was the Monongahela tribe. Remains of a building pattern seen by tribes along the Monongahela River was found in Somerset County and dates between 900 and 1400. Not much is known about this tribe since there was no written language and no one left from the tribe. Historians' best guess as that members of this tribe joined another tribe in the Ohio Valley and intermarried and just became part of a similar tribe. Daily life included hunting (deer, bear, rabbit, turkey), fishing, and gathering nuts and berries. Clothes were made of animal skins and tools were made of stone. Houses were made of wood and tree bark.


 * __Origins of Our County__: Somerset County gets its name from Somersetshire, England. A shire is a British county. Somerset County was originally part of Bedford County. Basically, here's how it all happened: (1) Penn came, (2) as more settlers came, settlements moved west, (3) Penn had formed three counties (Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks) and had to form a new county - Lancaster (set up out of Chester County), (4) more came and more moved west, so Cumberland County formed out of Lancaster County, (5) as more settlers came and more moved west, a new county had to be formed - Bedford County out of Cumberland County. However, the county courthouse located in Bedford was difficult to get to from Somerset due to the rugged mountains (those of you who have traveled to Bedford on Route 30 know the mountainside that you travel on). Therefore, on April 17, 1795 the western part of Bedford County formed a new county - Somerset County. When the county first formed, it consisted of most of what is today Cambria County north to the "Old Purchase Line" north of Ebensburg. An event from American history that took place in Somerset County was the Whiskey Rebellion. A federal excise tax on whiskey led farmers to believe they were being discriminated against and so refused to pay the tax. President George Washington sent federal troops to enforce the tax laws. The farmers didn't fight and simply melted away and paid the tax. This showed the power of the new government, which was necessary since the government under the Articles of Confederation was weak. The major resource in Somerset County that led to much of the settlement in the county was coal. Iron ore and limestone were also important resources in the county.


 * __Shade Township History__: Shade Township was originally part of Stonycreek Township. When it formed in 1814 the county appointed Jacob Berkebile and Jacob Cable as supervisors. The city of Central City was founded in 1894 by Anthony Wechtenhiser and was built to be the major city on the Midland Railroad, which was suppose to go across the state. Central City was organized to be a big rail town. The objective was to build a railroad into the large coal field in the region. That railroad was never built, yet Central City kept its name. John Miller built a cabin on the boundary between Allegheny and Shade townships in 1760. Casper Stotler was the first family settler within Shade Township's boundaries. It was situated on lands owned by the first settlers to the area - Casper Stotler and George Lambert. Cairnbrook was laid out by the Loyalhanna Coal and Coke Company on the Jacob McGregor farm. Reitz Coal Company laid out small mining towns - #2 on the Thomas Mock farm, #3 on the George Manges farm, and #4 on the Moses Walker farm. Wilbur was laid out by the Wilbur Coal Mining Company. Rockingham was also a small mining town. Gahagen was established by the Gahagen Coal Company. Buckstown was built by John Lambert and was named after his friend Henry Buck.
 * __Natural Resources in the Township__: When the first settlers came to Shade Township, they found vast forests that were untouched. Trees were cut down to clear land for farming. There were/are numerous minerals in the township. Coal was the most important mineral found in Shade Township and was responsible for the rapid growth in the early 1920s and 30s. Iron ore has also been found in the township. The iron ore here wasn't the best quality, but furnaces were still built to process the iron ore. Natural gas exists in the township as well as fire clay, sandstone, and limestone.
 * __The Black Horse of the Seven Mile Stretch__: During the 10 years that Jacob Lambert owned a tavern where Reels Corner is now, a story developed of a riderless black horse that was sen galloping over the Old Pennsylvania Road and vanishing at the spot where its owner was murdered (the first murder in Shade Township, which led to a massive search for the suspect). Jacob Lambert named his tavern the "Black Horse Inn" and during the nest half century there was a full sized picture of a phantom horse hung from the signpost. The old landmark was torn down in 1961 and replaced by a bowling alley. Today, The Alley is there at Reels Corner.
 * __Rebecca Walter__: Rebecca Walter and her siblings were captured in 1756 by a band of Indians who attacked their home when they were young kids in Franklin County, PA. Her father was killed when she was about 10. She was held for 6 years. She was scalped at the time of her capture but was saved by another Indian who took a liking to her. She was released in 1762 and there is a plaque in in Carlisle commemorating the return of Rebecca Walter to her mother in Lancaster. Her siblings were also returned. An interesting account of this story was recounted by Rev. Sam Williams at her funeral. Her years as an Indian captive prepared her for life in the frontier of Shade Township when she married Casper Stotler. Years after they were living in the mountains in Shade Township, a delegation of some 25 Indian chiefs and braves and a military escort stopped to rest at their home as they were on their way to a conference with the governor. She recognized several of the Indians as belonging to the tribe which had held her captive. She informed the officer in charge that she wanted to meet with the chief she pointed out. Rebecca Stotler then spoke to the chief in his own language was surprised him. He asked how she knew the language and she mentioned having been with the tribe. The chief asked about her brother. She informed him that her brother went back to live with the Indians, which pleased the chief. As it turns out, the chief was "The Great Chief Cornplanter," the leader of the "Six Nations" of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio.
 * __Forbes Road__: In the French and Indian War, the French had built a key fort where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River - Fort Duquesne. The English looked to destroy the fort. The expedition led by General Edward Braddock failed. However, General John Forbes was successful. Forbes built a road to Fort Duquesne. In the end his expedition destroyed the fort and rebuilt it as Fort Pitt. The reason Fort Duquesne was powerful was that the French and Indians would launch attacks into the interior of PA and could organize at Fort Duquesne. Forbes followed Braddock's Road to Fort Bedford and then change4d direction into a new route through Schellsburg. It's not known whether General Forbes made it to the head of the actual work since at the time he was in poor health. The road construction was therefore under the direction of Colonel Henry Bouquet. The road went to Fort Dewart (in Shade Township) through the township passing near the Elmer Ling farm (now the Swallow Farm) to the area of the Guy Lambert farm where the Statler Cemetery is located and continued down to Edmunds Swamp. This swamp was also known as the "Shades of Death" due to the dense growth and nearly impassable terrain. The road went by Fort Belleair westward and crossed the Stonycreek River. Passing through Western Pennsylvania in 1758 was extremely difficult due to the very thick forests, which were never cut down until this point.
 * __Fort Dewart__: Built by Colonel Bouquet's forces in advance of the Forbes Expedition. It was the first of several forts built in Shade Township.
 * __Fort Belleair__: Constructed around 1758 in order to aid the expedition of General Forbes against Fort Duquesne. The fortification was built by Major Andrew Lewis and Major David Jamison and their forces. No related buildings or structures still exist near the site.
 * __Edmund's Swamp__: Named after Edmund Cartlidge, a trader, who built a trading post here in 1745 near the headwaters of Miller Run Creek. The Indians called the place Edmund's Swamp. A small fort was constructed here in 1758. It's general agreed that this was the most important post between Fort Bedford and Fort Ligonier. Cartlidge had a thriving business here selling supplies, hay and grass to both military forces and civilian travelers passing over the road. To make the road passable, troops built a a corduroy log road across the swamp - type of road that was at least part logs laid lengthwise in the direction of the road.
 * __Shade Furnace__: It was the first iron furnace in Somerset County and the first one constructed west of the Allegheny Mountains. It was built in 1807 by Gearhart and Reynolds on land owned by Thomas Vickroy. It is located along Shade Creek about 1/2 mile north of the intersection of Clear Shade Creek and Dark Shade Creek. Iron ore, limestone, and charcoal were loaded from the top of the furnace in layers. The charcoal was ignited and after burning had been well established, the air drums were set in motion powered by a waterwheel. The temperature inside got into the thousands and it melted the iron ore.
 * __Communication and Transportation__: This was difficult for early settlers in Shade Township since paper was scarce and hard to get as well as expensive. Pens were called quills and were made from large tail feathers of geese, turkeys, or other large birds and the ink was made from boiled juice of blackberries or pokeberries. Rural mail delivery was extended to Shade Township in 1905. Post offices would be set up. The first telephone line was constructed in Shade Township also in 1905. Early settlers in the township found travel to be one of the most difficult problems due to the dense forests, many swamps, and rough terrain. In 1787, the colonial government of PA ordered construction of a new wagon road from Lancaster to Pittsburgh - the Pennsylvania Road. It extended through the southern part of Shade Township. It turned into a toll road and was called the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Turnpike. In 1913 it was made into part of our great system of highways and is Route 30 also called the Lincoln Highway. Another major road was originally the Midland Trail that ran through the center of the township and is today Route 160.
 * __Agriculture__: Farming was the first important industry of early settlers in Shade Township. The difficult part was finding land that could be cleared to farm and most important find a good spring of water near location of cabin. Wheat and corn were grown.
 * __Industry__: In Shade Township, there was never any real manufacturing as we know of today though early settlers made what they needed. Early products made in the township included tar, paint, whiskey, and maple sugar products. Lumbering and mining were important to early Shade Township. Lumbering was important since the township was full of dense forests that have never been touched. Coal mining became the most important industry in the township specifically mining for coal.

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