宾夕法尼亚州小档案：
人口：约1300万
面积：约117，412平方公里，排名第33位
州府：哈里斯堡Harrisburg
宾夕法尼亚州，为纪念开创人威廉·宾William Penn之父而得名。州名的意义为“宾氏林地”。
1643年，瑞典人来此地殖民。1655年，本州又属于荷兰，1664年，又改属英国。独立之时，它为13州之一。1787年12月12日成为美国第2州。本州以山桂mountain laurel为州花。本州别名，叫做“拱心石之州”。本州箴言为“道德、自由和独立”Virtue，Liberty and Indpendence。
州府是哈里斯堡Harrisburg，位于费城之西。本州最著名之大学是1740年创立于费城之宾夕法尼亚大学University of Pennsylvania。宾州州立大学创于1855年，地点大学公园University Park。美国独立宣言和宪法都是在本州费城Philadelphia签订和公布的，这是美国的诞生地Birthplace of the Nation。费城位于德拉瓦河西岸，1682年，威廉·宾选定此地而命名，其意义是“博爱之城”City of Brotherly Love。
本州特征有二：第一，它在13州之内，恰居心脏地区。美国人叫它是“拱心石之州”Keystone State，十分恰当。第二，矿、农、工三者并重。宾州为美国天然资源最富之州。全美国所蕴藏的无烟煤，差不多全部集中在这一州内。此外，宾州还蕴藏巨量的烟煤，同时也出产大量石油。全世界第一座油井就开凿于本州西北角上台塔斯维尔Titusville附近，时为1859年。地面土壤肥沃。西南部养肉牛，东北部养乳牛，肉与奶产量丰富。从工业产值方面来看，它仅次于北面的纽约州。然而宾州西部的区兹堡Pittsburgh出产的钢，就占了全美国钢产量的一半。
本州主要农产是：小麦、大麦、燕麦、玉蜀黍、马铃薯及温带各种水果。畜养肉鸡、火鸡、猪也很多。
Introduction简介
Algonquian［阿尔冈琴语系（北美印第安语言）］and Iroquoian（易洛魁族人的）Native Americans lived in the Pennsylvania region when Dutch explores first visited in 1609．Henry Hudson sent word of the area after sailing into the Delaware Bay in search of a trade route to the East．In 1615，Cornelius Hendricksen reached what is now Philadelphia．
Sweden established the first permanent settlements near Philadelphia in 1643．Dutch troops conquered the area in 1655until England took control of it in 1664．In 1681，King Charles II granted the land to William Penn．He named the region Sylvania，meaning woods．“Penn”was added later by the King in honor of William’s father．
William Penn，a Quaker，desired religious freedom and self－government for all who became colonists（殖民地居民，殖民者）of Pennsylvania．Shortly after arriving，Penn signed treaties with the Native Americans and paid them for the land he was given．In 1682，he founded the city of Philadelphia．Penn returned to England in 1684．Several conflicts arose in his absence，and many changes resulted in Pennsylvania’s government．
During the late 1600s to the mid－1700s，many battles were fought between England and France，both of whom wanted the land of North America．The French and Indian War began in western Pennsylvania in 1754．One of the worst battles occurred near present－day Pittsburgh，where most of British General Edward Braddock’s troops were killed．Fighting continued in Pennsylvania until 1758；the war ended with a British victory in 1763．
To pay for the war with France，England forced new taxes and trade restrictions（限制，约束）on the American colonies．The colonies united and refused to pay taxes．The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on Sept．5，1774，and voted to stop all trade with England．In 1775，George Washington was appointed head of the army and the Revolutionary War began．On July 4，1776，the Declaration of Independence was adopted in the Pennsylvania State House（now Independence Hall）in Philadelphia．
English armies invaded Pennsylvania in Sept．1777．George Washington’s troops were defeated several times，beginning with Battle of Brandywine Creek．Britain killed many Americans in the Paoli Massacre（残杀，大屠杀）just outside of Philadelphia．They then crossed the Schuylkill River and captured Philadelphia on Sept．26，1777．Washington’s army led an attack to force them out of the city，but the attack failed．Washington led his troops to nearby Valley Forge，where they spent a very harsh winter and spring．
Many of the settlers in the Luzerne County fled to a fort near present－day Wilkes－Barre．Just after Britain left Philadelphia in the summer of 1778，several British soldiers and Indians raided this small fort killing about two－thirds of the settlers．This incident（事件，事变）became known as the Wyoming Valley Massacre．
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787．Pennsylvania became the 2nd state to ratify（批准，认可）the U．S．Constitution and joined the United States of America on Dec．12，1787．Philadelphia served as the new nation’s capital from 1790to 1800．
Even before the Revolutionary War，Pennsylvania led the nation in iron and grain milling production．Many significant inventions were developed there．The steamboat（轮船）was first demonstrated（示范）in 1787，and by 1811became a form of travel on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers．Large canals were built that connected railroads and linked Philadelphia with Pittsburgh．In 1859，the nation’s first successful oil well was drilled near Titusville．Pennsylvania became a leader of textile，leather，iron and glass production．
By 1860，the issue of slavery divided the nation．Many Pennsylvanians were leaders of the abolitionist（废奴主义）movement，which helped slaves escape to freedom．Pennsylvania sent 340，000troops to help fight for the Union．In 1863，the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles in history and also a major turning point in the Civil War．After three days of fighting，the Confederate armies retreated to Virginia．President Abraham Lincoln later dedicated part of this battlefield as a cemetery（墓地，公墓）for soldiers who had died there．It was there he delivered his famous Gettysburg Address．The Confederacy surrendered in 1865．
Pennsylvania’s industries continued to expand and develop following the Civil War．The state became a leading producer of oil，cement（水泥），electrical equipment，and aluminum（［化］铝）．In 1873，Pittsburgh established the nation’s first steel mill．Thousands of immigrants rushed to Pennsylvania looking for work．Many labor problems resulted from the large influx in population．
During the early 1900s，Pennsylvania continued to prosper（繁荣）．Much of the coal and steel for the United States was produced in this state．Many large industrial companies moved there．As the U．S．entered World War I in 1917，Pennsylvania supplied ships，weapons，and steel to help soldiers win the war．