The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is located in the northeastern part of the United States.

History
Since 1776, the state of Pennsylvania has been known as the Quaker State. Before that it was known as the Quaker Province. This is in recognition of William Penn's well known First Frame of Government constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed liberty of conscience. William Penn was painfully aware of the hostility that Quakers faced when they opposed rituals, oaths, violence, and ostentation. Since he was a Quaker himself, he held some strong feelings over the issue and these were finally put on paper in his now famous document.

Keystone State
Another nickname of Pennsylvania is Keystone State. This moniker is based on the central location that Pennsylvania enjoys among the Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States. The "central" part does how refer only to the geographical position of Pennsylvania. It also refers to he economic aspect because Pennsylvania also had the industrial advantage over its northern neighbors in the development of wares like Conestoga wagons and rifles while at the same time rivaling the agricultural produce of the southern states, producing feed, fiber, food, and tobacco.

Since Pennsylvania was in a central location, the founding fathers drew up and signed the American Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

When the British captured Philadelphia, Congress escaped to the west, going from Lancaster to York where they finally drew up the Articles of Confederation that united the colonies into a new nation. Later on, the American Constitution was written in Pennsylvania.

The coastline of Pennsylvania is 51 miles in length along Lake Erie. Another 57 miles of coastline lies along the Delaware Estuary.

The Amish Germans
The Pennsylvania Dutch Country was inhabited by Amish of German origins for a long time. The area is peppered with family farms where the farmers still use equipment like the horse and plow, the women bake everything from raw materials, and the major means of transport is still the horse and carriage. When you visit this are you are likely to be in the only place in American where you can buy truly handcrafted products from edibles to essentials that have not been touched by any modern machine. Jellies, jams, biscuits, blankets, pillows, word carvings, handmade furniture, and out door items like birdhouses, etc. are just a small sample of the things that can be purchased here.

You can even enjoy a traditional Amish meal served by the family. All people sit at a long table while they are being served by the village belles. Since everything is home and hand grown, you can savor tender meats, noodles, mashed potatoes, bread, and pies in a truly new way.

The Amish are usually gentle people with good business acumen.