The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (IPA: /pn.slve.nj/) is a state located in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States of America.
One of Pennsylvania's nicknames is the Quaker State; in colonial times, it was known officially as the Quaker Province,[2] in recognition of Quaker[3] William Penn's First Frame of Government[4] constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed liberty of conscience. Penn knew of the hostility[5] Quakers faced when they opposed rituals, oaths, violence, and ostentatious frippery.[6]
Pennsylvania has also been known as the Keystone State since 1802,[7] based in part upon its central location among the original Thirteen Colonies forming the United States.[7] It was also a keystone state economically, having both the industry common to the North, making such wares as Conestoga wagons[8] and rifles,[9] and the agriculture common to the South, producing feed, fiber, food, and tobacco.[10]
Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km)[11] of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km)[12] of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's largest city and is home to a major seaport and shipyards on the Delaware River.[13]
