Pennsylvania in the 21st century is the home of diverse cultures, religions, ethnic groups, social classes,and occupations. Many ideas, institutions that were first formed or tested in Pennsylvania spread across America and beyond, and continue to inform American culture,society,and politics. This book tells that story and aims to re-centre Pennsylvania in the American historical narrative. It offers perspectives on the Keystone State as it has been nicknamed because it was geographically situated in the middle of the 13 original colonies, from an array ofscholars who view the history of this Commonwealth critically and honestly, giving a modern account of Pennsylvania's past. They do so by emphasizing the evolution of Pennsylvania as a place and an idea. The book sets the Pennsylvania story in the larger context of national social, cultural, economic,and political development and focuses on the lives of everyday people over the centuries. It also magnifies historical events by examining the experiences of local communities throughout the state.
The book is divided into two parts, Part I offers a narrative history of the Commonwealth, paying special attention to the peopling process (the movement of people into, around, and out from the state); the ways people defined defended communities; the forms of economic production; the means of transportation and communication; the character, content, and consequences of people's values; and the political cultures that emerged fromthe kinds of society, economy, and culture each period formed and sustained. Part II offers a series of "Ways to Pennsylvania's past" - nine concise guides designed to enable readers to discover Pennsylvania's heritage for themselves. Geography, architecture, archaeology, folklore and folklife, genealogy, photography, art, oral history,and literature are all discussed as methods of uncovering and understanding the past.