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'''Pennsylvania''' was one of the original thirteen colonies. It was founded by [[William Penn]],who wanted a place where [[Quaker]]s and other denominations could worship freely without persecution (being a Quaker was illegal in England at the time. Pennsylvania is now a US state. Its capital is [[Harrisburg]] and it borders [[Ohio]], [[Maryland]], [[New York]], [[New Jersey]], [[Delaware]], and [[West Virginia]]. Its first Colonial Legislative Act, the Great Law of Pennsylvania, December 7, 1682, mandated: <blockquote>"That no person ... who shall confess and acknowledge one Almighty God
'''Pennsylvania''' was one of the original thirteen colonies. It was founded by [[William Penn]],who wanted a place where [[Quaker]]s and other denominations could worship freely without persecution (being a Quaker was illegal in England at the time. Pennsylvania is now a US state. Its capital is [[Harrisburg]] and it borders [[Ohio]], [[Maryland]], [[New York]], [[New Jersey]], [[Delaware]], and [[West Virginia]]. Its first Colonial Legislative Act, the Great Law of Pennsylvania, December 7, 1682, mandated: <blockquote>"That no person ... who shall confess and acknowledge one Almighty God
to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the World ... shall in any case be molested or prejudiced for his, or her Conscientious persuasion or practice." <ref>http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/constitutiontrans.asp</ref></blockquote>
to be the Creator, Upholder and Ruler of the World ... shall in any case be molested or prejudiced for his, or her Conscientious persuasion or practice." <ref>http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/constitutiontrans.asp</ref></blockquote>
Despite what is commonly taught or believed Pennsylvania is not named after William Penn or his father Admiral Penn. Indeed, William Penn wanted the colony to be named New Wales, as he stated in a letter to his friend Robert Turner:
<blockquote>"This day, my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a name the King would give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being as this, a pretty, hilly country, but Penn being Welsh for head as in Penmanmoire (sic), in Wales, and Penrith, in Cumberland, and Penn, in Buckinghamshire . . . called this Pennsylvania, which is the high or head woodlands; for I proposed, when the secretary, a Welshman, refused to have it called New Wales, Sylvania and they added Penn to it, and though I opposed it and went to the King to have it struck out and altered he said it was past . . nor could twenty guineas move the under-secretary to vary the name" ''Wales on Brittania, brittania.com''<ref>http://www.britannia.com/celtic/wales/facts/facts1.html#americaname</ref></blockquote>
The [[Continental Congress]] met in Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, and at the time, the largest city in any of the colonies. The [[Declaration of Independence]] was signed there, the [[Liberty Bell]] is there, and the [[Continental Army]] spent the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. The [[Constitution of the United States|American Constitution]] was written in [[Philadelphia]], and the United States Capitol was once there. Pennsylvania was the 2nd State to join [[United States of America|the Union]] on December 12, 1787.
The [[Continental Congress]] met in Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, and at the time, the largest city in any of the colonies. The [[Declaration of Independence]] was signed there, the [[Liberty Bell]] is there, and the [[Continental Army]] spent the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. The [[Constitution of the United States|American Constitution]] was written in [[Philadelphia]], and the United States Capitol was once there. Pennsylvania was the 2nd State to join [[United States of America|the Union]] on December 12, 1787.