ABSTRACT
The State of Pennsylvania, one of the 13 original colonies that seceded from Great Britain, played a pivotal role in the industrialization of the USA. From the colonial period to the industrial age, Philadelphia, the State’s largest city, was a financial and commercial centre for an expanding nation. The region itself was a major producer of food and timber. Spurred by an abundance of natural resources, large-scale immigration, and willing financiers, and supported by an extensive transportation network of canals and, by mid-century, railroads, the State “gained a national supremacy in heavy industry that lasted until the end of the 19th century” (Cochran 1978: 66). In shipbuilding, textiles, oil extraction, iron & steel, and coal mining, Pennsylvania led the way to the twentieth century.
