Pennsylvania

==Nicknames==
Since 1802, Pennsylvania has been known as the '''Keystone State''', which remains the state's most popular and widely-used nickname.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/symbols.asp?secid=31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504141346/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/symbols.asp?secid=31|url-status=dead|title=PHMC: State Symbols|archive-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref> The nickname "Keystone State" originates with the agricultural and architectural term "[[keystone (architecture)|keystone]]", and is based on the central role that Pennsylvania played geographically and functionally among the original [[Thirteen Colonies]] from which the nation was established, the important founding documents, including the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]], that were signed and ratified in Pennsylvania, and the early central role that Pennsylvania played in the nation's early manufacturing and agricultural economic development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lowellpl.lib.in.us/s2002mar.htm |title=Lowell Tribune, March 26, 2002 |publisher=Lowellpl.lib.in.us |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919073340/http://www.lowellpl.lib.in.us/s2002mar.htm |archive-date=September 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.2nj.org/library/weapons/flintlock_rifles.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403090008/http://www.2nj.org/library/weapons/flintlock_rifles.htm|url-status=dead|title=Lancaster rifle|archive-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/agriculture/page1.asp?secid=31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703102530/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/agriculture/page1.asp?secid=31|url-status=dead|title=PHMC: Agriculture in Pennsylvania|archive-date=July 3, 2009}}</ref>

Less commonly, Pennsylvania is sometimes referred to as '''the Coal State''', '''the Oil State''', and '''the Steel State''', each developed in recognition of the important role these respective industries played in the state in the 19th and 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/pa_intro.htm |title=The State of Pennsylvania—An Introduction the Keystone State from |publisher=Netstate.Com |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323161333/http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/pa_intro.htm |archive-date=March 23, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> '''The State of Independence''' appears on several present road signs entering Pennsylvania from neighboring states.

Pennsylvania residents and those of surrounding states commonly refer to Pennsylvania by the state's abbreviation, '''PA'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Pennsylvania Stereotypes That Are Completely Accurate |url=https://www.movoto.com/guide/pa/pennsylvania-stereotypes/ |access-date=March 26, 2023 |website=Movoto Real Estate |language=en}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=y|date=May 2023}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=27 Words That Mean Something Completely Different In Pennsylvania |url=https://www.movoto.com/guide/pa/pennsylvania-words/ |access-date=March 26, 2023 |website=Movoto Real Estate |language=en}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|certain=y|date=May 2023}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barrett |first=Grant |date=February 8, 2020 |title=Saying Pee Ay for Pennsylvania |url=https://www.waywordradio.org/saying-pee-ay-for-pennsylvania/ |access-date=March 26, 2023 |website=A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2023}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=URBAN |first=BOB |title=Talking Pennsylvanian {{!}} Times News Online |url=https://www.tnonline.com/20101211/talking-pennsylvanian/ |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=www.tnonline.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

While it is no longer in common use, Pennsylvania was historically sometimes referred to by the nickname '''Quaker State''' during the [[Province of Pennsylvania|colonial era]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dgs.pa.gov:443/Pages/default.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325035935/http://www.dgs.state.pa.us/dgs/lib/dgs/pa_manual/section1/the_quaker_province_1681-1776.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Home|archive-date=March 25, 2009|website=Department of General Services}}</ref> based on the influential role that [[William Penn]] and other [[Quakers]] played in establishing the [[Frame of Government of Pennsylvania|first frame of government]] constitution for the Province of Pennsylvania that guaranteed [[Freedom (political)|liberty]] of [[conscience]], which was a reflection of Penn's knowledge of the hostility Quakers confronted when they opposed religious rituals, taking oaths, violence, war, and military service, and what they viewed as ostentatious [[wikt:frippery|frippery]].<ref>Pennsylvania translates to "Penn's Woods" and was named after the father of William Penn, the founder of the colony. [http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=240 Digital History: Persecution of the Quakers] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419110249/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=240 |date=April 19, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/quaker.asp?secid=31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601223635/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/pahist/quaker.asp?secid=31|url-status=dead|title=The Quaker Province 1681–1776|archive-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Bill |last=Samuel |url=http://www.quakerinfo.com/quakpenn.shtml |title=William Penn, Quaker |publisher=Quakerinfo.com |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213023706/http://www.quakerinfo.com/quakpenn.shtml |archive-date=December 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/pa04.htm |title=Frame of Government |publisher=Yale.edu |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617071216/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/pa04.htm |archive-date=June 17, 2010 }}</ref>