Our Demographics
Native Americans – Although William Penn was granted all the land in Pennsylvania by the King, he chose not to grant or settle any part of it without first buying the claims of the Native Americans who lived there. Many Natives live here, and as a colony we have formed a treaty with them.
English – Quakers are the dominant English element, although many English settlers are Anglican. Philadelphia became the metropolis of the British colonies and a center of intellectual and commercial life.
Germans – Thousands of Germans were also attracted to the colony and, by the time of the Revolution, comprised a third of the population. The Pennsylvania Germans settled most heavily in the interior counties of Northampton, Berks, Lancaster, and Leigh, and in neighboring areas. Their skill and industry transformed this region into a rich farming country, contributing greatly to the expanding of the province.
Scotch-Irish – Another important immigrant group was the Scotch-Irish, who migrated from about 1717 until the Revolution in a series of waves caused by hardships in Ireland. They were primarily frontiersmen, pushing first into the Cumberland Valley region and then farther into central and western Pennsylvania. They, with immigrants from Scotland, numbered about one-fourth of the population by 1776.
African Americans – Despite Quaker opposition to slavery, about 4,000 slaves had been brought to Pennsylvania by 1730, most of them owned by English, Welsh, and Scotch-Irish colonists. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 was the first emancipation law in the United States.
Others – Many Quakers were Irish and Welsh, and they settled in the area immediately outside of Philadelphia. The mixture of various national groups in the Quaker Province helped to create its broadminded tolerance open outlook on religion.
English – Quakers are the dominant English element, although many English settlers are Anglican. Philadelphia became the metropolis of the British colonies and a center of intellectual and commercial life.
Germans – Thousands of Germans were also attracted to the colony and, by the time of the Revolution, comprised a third of the population. The Pennsylvania Germans settled most heavily in the interior counties of Northampton, Berks, Lancaster, and Leigh, and in neighboring areas. Their skill and industry transformed this region into a rich farming country, contributing greatly to the expanding of the province.
Scotch-Irish – Another important immigrant group was the Scotch-Irish, who migrated from about 1717 until the Revolution in a series of waves caused by hardships in Ireland. They were primarily frontiersmen, pushing first into the Cumberland Valley region and then farther into central and western Pennsylvania. They, with immigrants from Scotland, numbered about one-fourth of the population by 1776.
African Americans – Despite Quaker opposition to slavery, about 4,000 slaves had been brought to Pennsylvania by 1730, most of them owned by English, Welsh, and Scotch-Irish colonists. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 was the first emancipation law in the United States.
Others – Many Quakers were Irish and Welsh, and they settled in the area immediately outside of Philadelphia. The mixture of various national groups in the Quaker Province helped to create its broadminded tolerance open outlook on religion.