Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 15.djvu/624

PENNSYLVANIA. and boats were built. After the Declaration of Independence the Proprietary government ceased in Pennsylvania, and a State constitution was drawn up, September 28, 1776. It provided for a Supreme Executive Council, one Legislative House, and a Board of Censors. The Royal Charter was annulled by the King in 1778, and the State secured the commutation of the quit-rents in 1779. During the Revolution the eastern part of the State was the scene of important operations. Philadelphia was at different times the seat of the Continental Congress and the British headquarters. The question of the western boundary was settled in 1784, with the consent of Virginia, by measuring five degrees west from the Delaware River and then due north. The possession of the Wyoming lands was given to the State by decision of Congress in 1782. but when it was found that the line of 42° excluded Lake Erie, Congress, in 1788, authorized the addition of the triangle bordering upon the lake. In 1787 the State ratified the Federal Constitution. In 1790 a new constitution was adopted. The growth and prosperity of the State was marked, though the population was turbulent. The Whisky Rebellion (1794) grew out of the unwillingness of the Scotch-Irish to submit to the excise tax. The imposition by the National Government of the window tax led to the “Hot-water Rebellion” among a part of the German population in 1798. Internal improvements were projected early, and the Schuylkill Canal was begun in 1815 and completed in 1825. From 1829 to 1836 the projected improvements called for the construction of 292 miles of canal and 126 miles of railroad, at a total cost of $35,000,000. The first bill for a public school system was passed in the face of violent opposition in 1834. Though both iron and coal had been known to exist before the Revolution, it was not until 1839 that anthracite was successfully applied to the manufacture of iron. The first oil well was sunk near Titusville in 1859.

At the outbreak of the Civil War five companies of Pennsylvania troops were the first to arrive in Washington under President Lincoln's call for troops on April 15, 1861, and twenty-five regiments were formed during the month. The draft was necessary before the end of the war, but troops were furnished. The State was three times invaded, twice at Chambersburg and once by General Lee's army, which fought the battle of (q.v.). Since the war the chief events of importance have been the rapid growth of the steel, oil, and coal industries and frequent labor troubles. In 1877 a great strike of railroad employees led to violence and the defeat of the militia at Pittsburg. The despatch of regular troops was necessary to quell the disorder. On May 31, 1889, a dam at the outlet of Conemaugh Lake broke and a great wall of water overwhelmed (q.v.) and several smaller towns, drowning more than 2000 people and destroying property to the value of $10,000,000. The strike at the Carnegie Company's mills at Homestead, near Pittsburg, July 6, 1892, was one of the most serious ever known in America. Martial law was declared, and the entire militia force was called out. An extensive strike of coalminers in Hazleton region in 1900 was followed by a general strike in the anthracite region in 1902.

In national elections the State was at the

outset Federalist, but in 1796 fourteen of its fifteen votes were cast for Jefferson. Eight votes were cast for him again in 1800, while seven went to the Federalist candidate. From this time until 1840 the State was Democratic. In 1835 the Anti-Masonic party succeeded in electing the Governor and the agitation gave the State to the Wliig electors in 1840. In 1838 a dispute between the Democrats and Whigs concerning the results of an election in one of the State Congressional districts caused much excitement, each party contending that it had elected not only the Congressman, but the members of the State Legislature in that district. The disturbance, which was later known as the ‘Buck-Shot War,’ was, however, short-lived, and the dispute was settled in favor of the Democrats. The State gave its vote to Polk in 1844, to Taylor in 1848, and in 1852 and 1856 to the Democratic candidates. Since 1860 the State has been overwhelmingly Republican in national affairs, though, on account of factional fights in the Republican ranks, a Democratic Governor has been twice elected.