Before the Commonwealth
was settled, the area was home to the Delaware (also known
as Lenni Lenape), Susquehannock, Iroquois, Eries, Shawnee,
and other Native American tribes.
n 1681, Charles II granted a land charter to William Penn,
to repay a large debt owed to William's father, Admiral
Penn. This was one of the largest land grants to an individual
in history. It was called Pennsylvania, meaning "Penn's
Woods", in honor of Admiral Penn.
Penn established a government with two innovations that
were much copied in the New World: the county commission,
and freedom of religious conviction. Writer Murray Rothbard
in his four-volume history of the U.S., Conceived in Liberty,
refers to the years of 1681–90 as "Pennsylvania's
Anarchist Experiment."
Between 1730 and when it was shut down by Parliament with
the Currency Act of 1764, the Pennsylvania Colony made its
own paper money to account for the shortage of actual gold
and silver. The paper money was called Colonial Scrip. The
Colony issued "bills of credit" which were as
good as gold or silver coins because of their legal tender
status. Since they were issued by the government and not
a banking institution, it was an interest-free proposition,
largely defraying the expense of the government and therefore
taxation of the people. It also promoted generally employment
and prosperity since the Government used discretion and
did not issue too much to inflate the currency. Benjamin
Franklin had a hand in creating this currency, of which
he said its utility was never to be disputed, and it also
received the high praise of Adam Smith .
Tarentum is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,
22 miles (35 km) northeast of Pittsburgh, on the Allegheny
River. Formerly an industrial center, plate glass and bottles
were made here. Other products were bricks, lumber, steel
and iron novelties, steel billets and sheets, sack and wrapping
paper, etc. In 1900, 5,472 people lived here; in 1910, 7,414
people lived here; and in 1940, 9,846 people lived in Tarentum.
The population was 4,993 at the 2000 census.
Economy :
In the late 1700s farming played a critical role in the
growth of the area. There was a surplus of grain due to
transportation difficulties in linking with the eastern
portion of the state. As a result, the farmers distilled
the grain into whiskey, which significantly helped the farmers
financially.
The area quickly became one of the key manufacturing areas
in the young nation. Pittsburgh quickly became the largest
inland port in the nation, which it remains today. Coupled
with deposits of iron and coal, and the easy access to waterways
for barge traffic, the city quickly became one of the most
important steel producing areas in the world.
With the decline of the steel industry in the U.S., the
area shifted to other industries. Today, it is known for
its hospitals, universities, and industrial centers. Despite
the decline of heavy industry, Pittsburgh is home to a number
of major companies and is ranked in the top ten among U.S.
cities hosting headquarters of Fortune 500 corporations.
These include U.S. Steel Corporation, PNC Financial Services
Group, PPG Industries, and H J Heinz Corporation. |
