STATES AND TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES (PENNSYLVANIA).

In this post we will looking at Pennsylvania and its territories, Its past and present governors and current House of representative’s members.

INTRODUCTION.

Pennsylvania officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and Appalachian regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east. Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the nation with over 13 million residents as of 2020. It is the 33rd-largest state by area and it ranks ninth among all states in population density. Nearly half the population (6.09 million) is concentrated in the southeastern Delaware Valley metropolitan area, centered around Philadelphia, the state’s largest and nation’s sixth most populous city; another one-third of the state’s residents live in Greater Pittsburgh (2.37 million) in the southwest. Pennsylvania’s three largest cities are Philadelphia (1.6 million), Pittsburgh (302,971), and Allentown (125,845). Other major cities include Erie, Reading, Bethlehem, and Scranton. The state capital is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania’s geography is highly diverse: the Appalachian Mountains run through its center, while the Allegheny and Pocono Mountains span much of the northeast; close to 60% of the state is forested. While it has only 140 miles (225 km) of waterfront along Lake Erie and the Delaware River, Pennsylvania has more navigable rivers than any other state, including the Delaware, Ohio, and Pine Creek. Pennsylvania was one of the thirteen British colonies that would eventually form the United States. It was founded in 1681 through royal land grant to William Penn, son of the state’s namesake; the southeast portion was once part of the colony of New Sweden. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the Province of Pennsylvania was noteworthy for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system, and religious pluralism. Pennsylvania’s governing framework inspired the U.S. Constitution, which, along with the Declaration of Independence, was drafted in Independence Hall in Philadelphia; the city also hosted the first and second Constitutional Convention that led the American Revolution. Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the Constitution on December 12, 1787.

PENNSYLVANIA TERRITORIES.

Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west. Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 km2), 44,817 square miles (116,075 km2) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 km2) are inland waters, and 749 square miles (1,940 km2) are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd-largest state in the United States. Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Of the original Thirteen Colonies, Pennsylvania is the only state that does not border the Atlantic Ocean. The boundaries of the state are the Mason–Dixon line (39°43′ N) to the south, the Twelve-Mile Circle on the Pennsylvania-Delaware border, the Delaware River to the east, 80°31′ W to the west and the 42° N to the north, except for a short segment on the western end, where a triangle extends north to Lake Erie. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, and the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton in the central east (known as the Lehigh Valley). The northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Nanticoke, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest. State College serves the central region while Williamsport serves the commonwealth’s north-central region as does Chambersburg in the south-central region, with York, Carlisle, and the state capital Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River in the east-central region of the Commonwealth and Altoona and Johnstown in the west-central region. The state has five geographical regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain.

LIST OF GOVERNORS OF PENNSYLVANIA

There have been seven presidents and 47 governors of Pennsylvania, with two governors (Robert E. Pattison and Gifford Pinchot) serving non-consecutive terms, totaling 55 terms in both offices. The longest term was that of the first governor, Thomas Mifflin, who served three full terms as governor in addition to two years as President of the Continental Congress. The shortest term belonged to John Bell, who served only 19 days as acting governor after his predecessor, Edward Martin resigned. The current governor is Tom Wolf, a Democrat whose term began on January 20, 2015. Pennsylvania was one of the original thirteen colonies, and was admitted as a state on December 12, 1787. Prior to declaring its independence, Pennsylvania was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain; see the list of colonial governors for the pre-statehood period.

Presidents of the Supreme Executive Council

The first Pennsylvania constitution in 1776 created the Supreme Executive Council as the state’s executive branch, with the President of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as its head. The president was chosen annually by the council, though with no specific term dates. The original 1776 constitution created the position of “vice-president”, though no provision was made if the office of the president became vacant, which occurred four times later. Contemporary sources continue to label the chief executive in such times as the vice president, without any notion of succeeding in the presidency. One acting president, George Bryan, was subsequently recognized later as a full-fledged governor, due to his acting as president for over six months.

Governors of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The 1790 constitution abolished the council and replaced the president with a governor and established a three-year term for governor commencing on the third Tuesday of the December following the election, with governors not allowed to serve more than nine out of any twelve years. The 1838 constitution moved the start of the term to the third Tuesday of the January following the election, and allowed governors to only serve six out of any nine years. The 1874 constitution lengthened the term to four years, and prohibited governors from succeeding themselves. The current constitution of 1968 changed this to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms, with no lifetime limit. Under the earlier 1968 constitution, Milton Shapp was the first governor to serve two terms, and Tom Corbett was the first incumbent governor to lose a re-election bid.

MEMBERS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE U.S. HOUSE FROM PENNSYLVANIA.

The following is an alphabetical list of members of the United States House of Representatives from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For chronological tables of members of both houses of the United States Congress from the state (through the present day), see United States congressional delegations from Pennsylvania. The list of names should be complete (as of January 5, 2019), but other data may be incomplete.

List of representatives