MATURITY: 1945-1997

Population
Pennsylvania's population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau as 12,071,842 in mid-1995. Pennsylvania had long been the second most populous state, behind New York, but in 1950 it fell to third due to the growth of California. In 1980 Texas also exceeded our population, as did Florida in 1987. Thus, the present national rank is fifth. In terms of the U.S. Census Bureau's current standard for urbanization, Pennsylvania is 68.9 percent urbanized and 31.1 percent rural. Philadelphia has the fifth largest city population in the country. Pittsburgh has the 45th, but it ranks 29th under the Census Bureau's system of measuring Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Pennsylvania is the 25th most urbanized state, below such traditional farm states as Kansas.

The median age has risen more in the years since 1980 than ever before and is now thirty-six years, higher than any other states except Florida and West Virginia. Women outnumber men by about one-half million.

The 1990 Census showed 9.17 percent of the population to be African American, including 40 percent of the population of Philadelphia, 15 percent of Dauphin County, and 11 percent of both Allegheny and Delaware Counties. People of Hispanic origin (regardless of race) comprised 1.95 percent of Pennsylvania's population. There are about 16,000 Native Americans.

The population growth pattern since 1980 has been one of increases in the eastern border counties other than Philadelphia and Delaware, in the southern tier counties as far west as Somerset, along the Susquehanna Valley, and in the other southeastern counties up to the line bordering the traditional anthracite producing counties. The only western Pennsylvania county to grow in population was Butler. Monroe and Pike Counties, formerly sparsely populated, grew at astonishing rates. Seven other counties increased by 10 percent or more between 1980 and 1990: Adams, Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, Perry, Union, and Wayne. Since 1980, remarkably high population growth has occurred in the eastern, non-industrial border areas, stimulated by improved interstate highways. Young workers with children and retired workers from New York, New Jersey, and Maryland have been attracted by lower living costs and a cleaner environment.

Health
Health is a major concern of this population. Although the birth rate in Pennsylvania has gradually increased since 1980, the rate in 1994, 13 live births per thousand residents, was 15 percent below the national average. The birth pattern has changed since 1980 because of a marked decline in births to women under twenty-five and an increase in births to women age thirty-five to forty-four. Since 1960 the general fertility rate has declined by 43 percent. In comparing Pennsylvania birth and fertility rates with the United States rates back to 1950, Pennsylvania rates have been consistently lower, even during the "babyboom" years of 1950 through 1964.

In 1988 Pennsylvania finally dropped below the national average in infant mortality. It then shared with New Jersey the ranking of 22nd highest rate in the nation, 9.9 deaths in the first year of life per one thousand births. Although this achievement was eradicated by reverse trends in 1989, Pennsylvania again equaled the national average in 1990 when the state's lowest annual rate, 9.5, occurred. Statistics exist from 1975 for induced abortions to Pennsylvania residents occurring within the state. The peak rate was 23.1 per thousand women of childbearing age in 1980. The rate then declined, reaching 17 in 1988, rose in 1990, and fell to 15 in 1994.

Although it had long been higher than the national average, Pennsylvania's rate of deaths per thousand residents gradually declined to 10.0 in 1982. In 1994 it was 10.5, fifth highest in the nation (behind Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, and West Virginia). When adjusted for our aging population, however, our death rate almost exactly matches the national rate.

The state's ranking for the three most frequent causes of death in America - 1: heart disease, 2: cancer, 3: stroke - has remained the same since 1945. Together they account for two-thirds of deaths in Pennsylvania. However, cancer's share of deaths has consistently increased since 1950, while the other two have declined. All three have been higher than the U.S. average since 1950, as is appropriate for our older aged population. But death rates for external causes including accidental injury, homicide, pneumonia, and influenza have been lower than the nation's. In the 1980s Pennsylvania's suicide rate had risen to nearly match the U.S. rate, but is now significantly lower. A new category, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, has risen to supplant accidental injuries as the fourth greatest killer. Deaths from syphilis and tuberculosis have decreased markedly in every decade since 1940, to the extent that they are now rare.

Pennsylvania is fortunate to have the sixth lowest state rate for persons not covered by health insurance. Our state is the ninth highest in the proportion of physicians to the general population, but in 1991 it had the ninth highest percentage of adult smokers.

Labor
The entire decade following World War II was a period of frequent labor strife. Fringe benefits for wage earners were points of heated dispute; they had scarcely been dreamt of before 1941. The steel strikes of 1952 and 1959-1960 required the intervention of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. The outcome in 1960 was a triumph for the Taft-Hartley Labor Relations Act which was less favorable to labor's power to bargain than the preceding Wagner Labor Act. Although the merger of the AFL and the CIO in 1955 gave organized labor more strength, the recessions of the 1970s prevented expansion of unionization into many manufacturing areas and may have diminished membership in traditional factory forces. Unionization of office workers, however, has gone on, in line with the increasing involvement of workers in the service sector of the economy. Pennsylvania is not considered to be among the right-to-work states. In 1970 the Public Employees Relations Act established collective bargaining for teachers and other public workers. Both state and federal programs have retrained workers who were laid off due to technological change. Today Pennsylvania has the sixth largest labor pool force in the nation, 5.89 million people. From 1976 through 1985 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate ran above the national rate, but from 1986 through 1990 it was below the national average. The state unemployment rate was 4.8% in November 1996, compared to a national rate of 5.0%.

Minorities
In the post-World War II period, African American leaders in government have included State Budget Secretary Andrew W. Bradley, Pennsylvania Secretary of State C. Dolores Tucker, Speaker of the State House of Representatives K. Leroy Irvis, U.S. District Court Justice A. Leon Higginbotham Jr., and Chief Justice Robert N. C. Nix Jr. of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Many African Americans in the performing arts, such as Bill Cosby and Ernest "Chubby" Checker, were born in Pennsylvania and have pursued their careers here. David H. Bradley Jr. and John E. Wideman are forefront writers whose works touch on deeper themes of African American development.

The total sales receipts of the state's businesses owned by African Americans was the eighth largest in the nation. Pennsylvania was ninth among the states in the number of businesses owned by people of Hispanic origin.

Women
After World War II, Pennsylvania women continued to add to their record of achievement. Rachel Carson, whose Silent Spring (1962) did much to awaken the nation to environmental dangers, was born in Springdale and educated at Chatham College. The theories of anthropologist Margaret Mead continue to provoke discussion and research in that field of science. Catherine Drinker Bowen's historical and biographical works have received general acclaim. Jean Collins Kerr, dramatist, and drama critic, has influenced a generation of cinema and television audiences. Actresses Lizabeth Scott and Grace Kelly were national idols in the 1950s. Hulda Magalhaes of Bucknell University has had a remarkable career in biological research and teaching. Kathryn O'Hay Granahan was the first female member of Congress from Philadelphia and the Treasurer of the United States from 1962 to 1966. Marianne Moore (1887-1972), who was educated at Bryn Mawr College and taught at the United States Indian School in Carlisle, was a famous poet and the winner of many international awards. Hilda Doolittle from Bethlehem, a renowned imagist poet, wrote many of her works between World War II and 1961.

Elizabeth Nath Marshall, four times mayor of York, was largely responsible for urban renewal there. The remarkable career of Genevieve Blatt included twelve years as Secretary of Internal Affairs and judgeship on the Commonwealth Court in 1972. In February 1975, the state's Commission for Women was created.

In 1987, Pennsylvania was sixth among the states in the number of business firms owned by women, and these generated over 29 billion dollars in sales and receipts. Our state in 1994 had the sixth largest number of women in the work force but rated 47th among the states in the ratio of women workers to total workers.

Industry and Commerce
Diversity came to Pennsylvania as the coal, steel, and railroad industries declined. Ironically, Pennsylvania's early preeminence in industrial development poses a major liability in plants and equipment. Its enormous capital investment, past and present, is in plants and equipment now less efficient than that of newer industrial areas. In steel, Pennsylvania's integrated mills are less efficient than the South's minimills and the new steel complexes abroad, especially since nature has placed western Pennsylvania at a geographic disadvantage to the Great Lakes-Midwest steel area in terms of iron ore deposits and water transportation. The proximity of steel plants to sources of ore and coal is not, however, as important a cost factor in corporate competition as it was forty years ago. Our steel industry began to contract in 1963, although we still lead the nation in specialty steel production. In 1995 Pennsylvania produced 9,092,986 short tons of raw steel, which was 8.66 percent of the nation's total production.

In value added from all manufacturing, an important economic indicator, Pennsylvania in 1992 was seventh among the states, with a figure of nearly 70 billion dollars, an increase of 21 percent since 1987. We were also seventh in value of shipped manufactured merchandise.

The tremendous consumer power of Pennsylvania is reflected in statistics for 1992. Our state is fifth in total retail sales receipts, over the last three decades gradually exceeding Illinois. It is fifth in the number of food retail stores and supermarkets and seventh in total sales receipts from shopping centers.

Among the fifty states, Pennsylvania in 1993 had the fourth largest state general revenue, although we were only 26th in the amount spent per capita (to each Pennsylvanian). In the amount of state indebtedness outstanding per capita we were 32nd. Statistics for 1992 show that Pennsylvania was sixth among the states in expenditures for research and development. In the breakdown of R&D spending, it was seventh in the total amount derived from industrial corporations and seventh in the amount derived from the federal government. The financial stability of the state is attested to by 1993 statistics. Pennsylvania was fifth among the states in insured commercial bank deposits and fourth in total assets of insured commercial banks. It was 14th in the number of bankruptcies in 1994.

The production and distribution of chemicals, food, and electrical machinery and equipment are important elements of Pennsylvania's industrial life. The state is also a leader in the cement industry, providing more than 10 percent of the nation's supply. Pennsylvania also produces quantities of clay products-brick, tile and fire clay-as well as glass, limestone and slate. However, by 1980 the apparels industry showed marked decline. Electronic data processing has increased tremendously, and computerization has improved many basic manufacturing and service processes.

Energy Resources
The market for Pennsylvania's coal began to decline at the end of World War II. Oil and natural gas were regarded as so much more convenient that they replaced anthracite coal as a heating fuel. The 1959 Knox Mine flood disaster in Luzerne County foretold the end of deep mining in the anthracite region. In the 1960s the market revived because large amounts of coal were used to produce electric power. Mining methods became much more efficient during this period, but in 1969 the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act was passed, followed in 1971 by the Federal Clean Air Act. Safety measures required so much additional labor that productivity per worker fell dramatically. Pennsylvania's coal was at a disadvantage by cleanliness standards because of its high sulfur content. Although the two world oil crises of the 1970s revived the market for coal again, by 1980 cheap oil was once again available. Anthracite production is now so low that it is not a major industry, although production by reclamation methods has risen since 1989.

The past two decades have not been favorable to the Pennsylvania coal industry, with the state's share of national output shrinking from nearly 15 percent to under 6 percent. The decline illustrates both a slip in competitive position and the rising output nationwide, especially in the West. Indeed, as U.S. production has risen 71 percent since 1970, Pennsylvania output dropped by over 17 percent. West Virginia and Kentucky lead the Commonwealth by substantial production margins, and Wyoming, in first place, mined more than four times as much coal as Pennsylvania in 1995. A disconcerting proportion of this production decline has been felt by the surface mining portion of the industry since 1977, the year that the U.S. Congress passed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Production from the state's surface operations has fallen over 60 percent since its peak that year.

Reasons for the decline in Pennsylvania's bituminous coal output are many. They include loss of coking coal markets brought on by the steel industry's decline; less use of higher sulfur coals; and competitive disadvantages relative to neighboring coal-producing states caused by Pennsylvania's more stringent-and costly-environmental regulations. More loss of market share is expected as electric utilities struggle to comply with new emissions requirements stipulated by the 1990 Federal Clean Air Act's acid rain amendments. It is widely hoped, however, that emerging clean coal technologies, such as advanced flue gas scrubbers and fluidized bed combustion, will ultimately brighten the market horizon for higher sulfur Pennsylvania coals in the twenty-first century.

In 1994, Pennsylvania's nine nuclear plants produced over one-third of our electricity, placing us second to Illinois in total nuclear produced electricity. Many object to it as a health hazard and point to the nuclear plant accident on Three Mile Island in March 1979.

Although one of John D. Rockefeller's associates once joked that he could drink all the oil that was not produced in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania now barely produces one-thousandth of the nation's crude oil. Natural gas, however, is still a major product.

Agriculture
While the number of farms and the acreage farmed have generally declined over the past fifty years, farm production has increased dramatically due to technical improvements. The state government has fostered many agricultural developments. Pennsylvania's over 51,000 farms are the backbone of the state's economy. Pennsylvania is an important food distribution center, supplying farm and food products to markets from New England to the Mississippi River. Pennsylvania agriculture continues to grow stronger through the statewide efforts of farm and commodity organizations, agricultural extension services, strong vocational agricultural programs, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, all of which keep farmers informed of new developments and assist them in promoting and marketing farm products. Today, Pennsylvania farmers sell more than $3.6 billion in crop and livestock products annually, and agribusiness and food-related industries account for $39 billion in economic activity annually. Over four million acres of land are harvested crop land, and another four million acres are in farm woodlands and pastures. This is nearly one-third of the state's total land area. Agricultural diversity in the Commonwealth is demonstrated by the fact that Pennsylvania ranks among the top ten states in such varied products as milk, poultry, eggs, ice cream, pears, apples, grapes, cherries, sweet corn, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese, maple syrup, cabbage, snap beans, Christmas trees and floriculture crops, pretzels, potato chips, sausage, wheat flour, and bakery products. The state is nineteenth in the nation in total farm income, although in total farm acreage it is thirty-seventh. In livestock Pennsylvania is ranked fifth in milk cows, seventeenth in total cattle, fifteenth in hogs, and twenty-fourth in sheep. It ranks seventh in noncitrus fruits.

Transportation

Highways
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, which set the pattern for modern super-highways throughout the nation, was expanded from the western boundary to the Delaware River, as well as northward into the anthracite region. A far-reaching federal highway act was passed in 1956, authorizing the federal government to pay 90 percent of the costs of new roads connecting the nation's principal urban centers. More turnpike miles would probably have been built had it not been for the toll-free interstate highway system established by the Federal Highway Act of 1956. Pennsylvania took advantage of these funds to build an interstate system that today stretches along 1,588 miles. The most outstanding example of the system is Interstate 80, known as the Keystone Shortway, which is 313 miles long and transverses 15 northern Pennsylvania counties.

In 1993, Pennsylvania was eighth in total highway mileage, a mere 621 miles behind seventh ranked Michigan. Our state is also seventh in number of cars, sixth in number of all vehicles, and sixth in total vehicle miles driven. Pennsylvania is third in highway funds disbursed by the state, behind only Texas and California. We rank eighth in total number of gasoline service stations. In the ratio of highway fatalities to the number of motor vehicle miles traveled, Pennsylvania is sixth highest among the 50 states.

Waterways
Waterways have always been of major importance to Pennsylvania. The state has three major ports: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie. The Port of Philadelphia complex, encompassing Philadelphia proper and four other cities along the Delaware River, is the largest freshwater port in the world and has the second largest volume of international tonnage in the United States. Located at the confluence of the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny Rivers, Pittsburgh has long been a center for barge transportation, especially of coal and limestone. Erie has been a major center for Great Lakes transportation, especially of steel and zinc, and is connected to the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Aviation
Constant expansion of passenger service has been the story of aviation in Pennsylvania since World War II. Today there are sixteen major airports, five of which have been granted international status. Instrument landing systems became standard at airports in all the smaller cities following the Bradford Regional Airport accidents of 1968-1969. In the 1970s, automated radar terminal systems were installed at all the major airports, to handle the increased volume of traffic with safety. The international airports of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are among the nation's twenty-nine major aviation terminals, and compete favorably with the others in total numbers of scheduled flights.

The expansion of All American Aviation to Allegheny Airlines, and then to U.S. Air, is typical of progress in the industry. The energy crises beginning in the late 1970s caused reorganization involving commuter lines, using smaller craft, operating as feeders from smaller cities to the major airports. Deregulation and the trend toward corporate mergers in the 1980s have caused further reorganization of the industry.

Two aircraft manufacturers prospered during this period. Piper Aircraft Corporation of Lock Haven outdistanced its competitors and produced America's most popular light airplane until the 1970s. Vertol Division of Boeing Corporation, successor to Piasecki Helicopter Corporation, located in Delaware County, was a major manufacturer of helicopters.

Railroads
Because of its extensive service during World War II, the railroad industry in 1946 was financially more sound than it had been since 1920, but by the end of the 1950s it was losing ground rapidly to the enlarging trucking industry. Diesel engines and a few electrified systems replaced the coal-burning locomotives which had been the railroads' pulling units for a century. In 1962 the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central merged as the Penn Central Railroad, but it did not receive federal ICC approval until 1968, after having made extensive reductions in services and divestiture of assets. The new giant was bankrupt in 1970, the same year the federal government created Amtrak, a service system subsidizing passenger service on the major rail lines of the northeastern states. The federal government took control of the major freight lines in 1974 by the formation of Conrail, which subsidized 80 percent of the freight lines in Pennsylvania. Rail mileage was reduced by eliminating obsolete and unnecessary lines, typically those to now non-productive coal mines. The work force was reduced by a quarter and commuter service trains which were at first the responsibility of Conrail were gradually eliminated. In 1981 Conrail finally began to operate profitably, and in 1987 the federal government sold it to private stockholders. Although passenger service to smaller municipalities has been eliminated, faster travel is possible on the remaining routes. Seamless rails, cement ties, and the elimination of grade crossings have made this possible.

Culture

Literature
A major figure in the American literary scene, Pearl S. Buck (1872-1973), won both a Nobel Prize and a Pulitzer Prize. She made her home in Perkasie. Christopher Morley (1890-1957) and John O'Hara (1905-1970) were other famous 20th century Pennsylvania novelists. Marquerite de Angelis (1889-1987) wrote and illustrated books that thrilled generations of children, such as Thee, Hannah! and Yonie Wondernose.

Among living writers associated with Pennsylvania are L. Sprague deCamp, science fiction author, and John Updike, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1982 for Rabbit Is Rich and received the 1983 Governor's Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award. James A. Michener, recipient of the 1981 Governor's Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award, is the author of forty books including the Pulitzer Prize winning Tales of the South Pacific. Poet Gerald Stern, born in Pittsburgh and now living in Easton, received the prestigious Lamont Poetry Prize for "Lucky Leaf", as well as a 1980 Hazlett Memorial Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 1981, David Bradley's novel The Chaneysville Incident won acclaim as a profound and sensitive analysis of the African American male in American life. Jerry Spinelli, of Radnor and Melrose Park, has preserved adventure and imagination in his children's books with stories taking place in our contemporary culture.

Performing Arts and Media
Among the famous Pennsylvanians who starred in the movies were W. C. Fields, Gene Kelly, Joe E. Brown, Richard Gere, Tom Mix, Jack Palance, and James Stewart, who received the first Governor's Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award in 1980. In 1984 Bill Cosby received this award. From the 1930s until the late 1950s, audiences throughout the country thrilled to the romantic musical drama of two native Pennsylvanians, singers Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

In 1977, Pennsylvania began to be the site of the filming of an ever increasing number of major motion pictures. Slapshot and The Deer Hunter were among the first of these productions.

In the field of dance the Pennsylvania Ballet, founded by Barbara Weisberger in 1964, has an international reputation, and the Pittsburgh Ballet is also widely known. Band leaders Fred Waring and Les Brown distinguished themselves in the 1940s and 1950s.

The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia has a worldwide reputation for the advanced study of music. Distinguished singers who are Pennsylvanians by birth or association include Louis Homer, Paul Athouse, Dusolina Giannini, Mario Lanza, Helen Jepson, Perry Como, Bobby Vinton, and Marian Anderson (who received the 1982 Governor's Distinguished Pennsylvania Artist Award). Leopold Stowkowski rose to fame as the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Victor Herbert was conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony during part of his career. Eugene Ormandy, conductor of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra for forty-four years, received the 1980 Hazlett Memorial Award for Excellence in the Arts in the field of music. For twenty-five years the Philadelphia Orchestra has been chosen for extended summer performances at the Saratoga Springs, NY, Performing Arts Festival. The Pittsburgh Symphony is proud to have had Andre Previn (recipient of the 1983 Hazlett Memorial Award for Excellence in the Arts) as its conductor. Samuel Barber, Peter Mennin, and Charles Wakefield Cadman are among the better-known Pennsylvania symphonic composers.

Television grew rapidly, and today Philadelphia is the fourth largest television market in the country and Pittsburgh is the 11th. Each city has three major network stations, a public broadcasting station, and smaller independent stations. WQED in Pittsburgh pioneered community-sponsored educational television when it began broadcasting in 1954.

In 1993, Pennsylvania was behind only Texas and California in the total number of daily newspapers and was fifth among the states in paid circulation of dailies and Sunday newspapers.

Religion
Pennsylvanians are typically religious. Although standards for enumerating followers differ greatly among the various religious bodies, confusing the statistics, it is estimated that 64.4 percent of the population adheres to some recognized religious faith. This places Pennsylvania among the top ten states in percentage of worshippers.

The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest religious body. It has 3.88 million adherents, which is about 32 percent of the population. There are three Catholic archdiocese in Pennsylvania cities: one Latin Rite and one Byzantine Rite in Philadelphia and one Byzantine Rite in Pittsburgh.

The Lutherans and United Methodists are the two largest Protestant denominations, each having more than three-quarters of a million adherents. There are slightly less than a half million Presbyterian adherents. Three other denominations have over one hundred thousand: The United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, and the American Baptists. The Quakers, so important in colonial times, had only 13,174 adherents in 1980. Significant smaller Protestant denominations are: Christian Scientists, Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Assembly of God, Disciples of Christ, Church of the Brethren, Nazarene Church, Evangelical Congregational, and Church of God.

Philadelphia was the home of Bishop Richard Allen, who founded the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in 1816; today this is a leading Protestant denomination with churches around the world. African Americans in Pennsylvania have belonged to many of the same churches (both Protestant and Catholic) as whites. Nonetheless, predominantly African-American denominations include the African Methodist Episcopal and A.M.E. Zion Churches, and two National Baptist Conventions.

The Jewish religious population is divided among Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. These four bodies have about 63,000 adherents in Pennsylvania, over half of them in Philadelphia. The secular Jewish population is much larger, being estimated as 347,000.

Reliable counts of the adherents to the twenty-one Eastern Orthodox churches do not exist. The largest of these denominations are the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Serbian Eastern Orthodox, and the Orthodox Church in America. In July 1990, His All Holiness Dimitrios I, Patriarch of 250 million Orthodox Christians around the world, visited the United States and participated in services at St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Allentown, and in the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox See in Johnstown. In addition to his efforts to unite all Orthodox Christians, his mission here emphasized the ongoing effort to reach an accord between his Church and Roman Catholics.

The German sects-the Mennonites and the Amish, for example-brought distinction to the Commonwealth through the appellation "Pennsylvania Dutch," but there are today more Plain People in Ohio and Indiana than there are in Pennsylvania. They are struggling to preserve their culture and religion in the face of technological change, popular fads and attitudes of the general American public.

Education
School consolidation became a major goal after World War II. By 1968 the number of school districts had been compressed from over 2,000 to 742; today there are only 500. Centralization and improved spending had the desired effects. In the 1970s programs for exceptional and for disadvantaged students were becoming available, and the vocational-technical secondary school option assisted many youths in finding career areas. In 1974, Pennsylvania's Human Relations Commission ordered that racial imbalance in public schools be eliminated by the end of the year.

Today, education is one of the Commonwealth's most treasured assets. Total enrollment in its schools and learning institutions is declining, although not as much as it had in the mid-1980s. Because many adolescents drop out of school, there is a crisis in school attendance in children from age 5 through 17. Enrollment in institutions of higher education within the state, which is not as closely linked to the Pennsylvania population as the primary and secondary school student bodies, is growing, and the state ranks sixth in the country in this category. Adult, post-secondary education, much of which is technical education, is also increasing, whereas the vo-tech high schools, so popular in the 1970s, are experiencing more rapid enrollment decline than the standard high schools. The state's executive administration is striving to upgrade the quality of teaching and the students' level of learning, both of which are considered critical to the future of emerging generations. Outcome based education was adopted as a guiding principle in 1993.

Based on U.S. Census data, about 88 percent of the rising generation of Pennsylvanians can expect to complete four years of high school, and 22 percent to complete four years of college. Of the total population over twenty-four years of age, 65 percent have completed four years of high school and 14 percent have completed four years of college.

Political Developments

Two-Party State
The New Deal, the rising influence of labor, and the growing urbanization of the state ended a long period of Republican dominance. In stride with the New Deal, the Democrats fielded a successful gubernatorial candidate in 1934, but the Republicans dominated the next four gubernatorial elections. The Democrats, however, took control of the two major cities, Pittsburgh in 1933 and Philadelphia in 1951, and achieved electoral majorities in seven of the eleven presidential elections from 1936 to 1976. In 1954 and 1958 the Democrats elected George M. Leader and David L. Lawrence successively as governors. They were followed in 1962 by Republican William Warren Scranton, and in 1966 by Republican Raymond P. Shafer. In 1970 the Democrats elected Milton Shapp and regained firm control of the legislature for the first time since 1936. Shapp became the first governor eligible to succeed himself under the 1968 Constitution, and he was reelected in 1974. In 1978 Republican Dick Thornburgh was elected governor. Within two years, the Republicans became the majority party when, in addition to the govemorship, they held both U.S. Senate seats, supported President Ronald Reagan's candidacy in 1980, and won majorities in both houses of the state legislature. In 1982 Thornburgh was reelected to a second term; President Ronald Reagan was reelected in 1984. In 1985 the Democrats became the majority party in the House of Representatives. In 1986 the Democrat Robert P. Casey of Scranton, a former State Auditor General, defeated Lieutenant Governor William W. Scranton III for the govemorship, becoming the 42nd person to hold that office. In 1990, Governor Casey was reelected by an overwhelming majority over the Republican candidate, Auditor General Barbara Hafer.

The accidental death of U.S. Senator John Heinz led to the appointment and then overwhelming election victory for the vacant seat by Democrat Harris Wofford, who raised the issue of reform of the nation's health care system. He defeated former Governor Thornburgh. In 1992 Democratic majorities were returned in both houses of the General Assembly for the first time since 1978. On June 14, 1993, Gov. Robert P. Casey underwent a heart-and-liver transplant operation necessitated by a rare disease, familial amyloidosis. He was the first American for whom this operation was performed as a cure for the condition. Lieutenant Governor Mark S. Singel exercised the powers and performed the duties of Governor until Governor Casey returned to work on December 21.

In November 1994, U.S. Representative Tom Ridge defeated Lieutenant Governor Singel and third-party candidate Peg Luksic of Johnstown in the gubernatorial election. In 1995 and 1996 the majority in the House of Representatives switched from Democratic to Republican by the shift of one seat, but the November 1996 elections gave Republicans a five member House majority and they maintained their majority in the State Senate.

The Cold War, Korean Conflict, Vietnam Involvement, and Persian Gulf War

Alter the end of World War II, the United Nations was established as a parliament of governments in which disputes between nations could be settled peacefully. Nevertheless, the United States and Communist countries started an arms race that led to a "cold war," resulting in several undeclared limited wars. From 1950 to 1953, individual Pennsylvanians were among the many Americans who fought with the South Koreans against the North Koreans and their Red Chinese allies. Pennsylvania's 28th Infantry Division was one of four National Guard divisions called to active duty during the crisis, being deployed to Germany to help deflect any aggression from Russia or its allies.

Pennsylvanians served their country faithfully during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. In Korea, Pfc. Melvin L. Brown of Mahaffey, Sfc. William S. Sitman of Bellwood, and Cpl. Clifton T. Speicher of Gray gave their lives in self-sacrificing combat deeds for which they were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Major General John Huston Church (1892-1953) commanded the 24th Infantry Division in the first year of fighting. Lieutenant General Henry Aurand commanded the U.S. Army-Pacific (which included the Korean operation) from 1949 to 1952. General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, a native of Honesdale, was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which brought the Cold War to an end.

In 1964 a conflict developed in Vietnam. American troops fought beside the South Vietnamese against the North Vietnamese and their supporters until 1973, and many Pennsylvanians served and died there. Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz of Philadelphia and Sgt. Glenn H. English Jr., a native of Altoona, were mortally wounded white performing courageous acts for which they were both awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Pfc. William D. Port of Harrisburg, Spec. David C. Dolby of Norristown, and Lt. Walter J. Marm Jr. of Pittsburgh received the Medal of Honor for conspicuous acts of leadership and personal valor. Major General Charles W. Eifler, a native of Altoona, directed the First Logistical Command in South Vietnam until May 1967. The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., includes 1,449 Pennsylvanians among the 58,715 who died as a result of combat.

In 1995, Pennsylvania's 1,363,000 veterans population still included 600 veterans of World War 1; 446,490 veterans of World War II; 229,930 veterans of the Korean Conflict, 376,240 veterans of the Vietnam era, and 67,320 veterans of the Persian Gulf War.

In 1990 and 1991 Pennsylvania units sent to Saudi Arabia, as part of the international force confronting Iraqi aggression, included the 121st and 131st Transportation Companies of the Pennsylvania National Guard, the 193rd Squadron of the Air National Guard and the 316th Strategic Hospital Reserve. On February 25, 1992, 13 members of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment, U.S. Army Reserves, a Greensburg unit, were killed by an Iraqi scud missile attack.

Government Modernization

After the Second World War there was a renewed emphasis on reorganizing state government. In 1945 the State Museum and State Archives were placed under the Historical and Museum Commission. In 1947 the Tax Equalization Board was created to review school tax assessments so that the burden of public education would fall evenly on all districts. In 1951 the Council on Civil Defense was created, and in 1978 it became the Emergency Management Agency. In 1955, during the administration of Governor Leader, an Office of Administration was set up within the executive branch. A government reorganization act permitted any governor to transfer functions from one department to another, subject to the approval of the General Assembly. The Human Relations Commission was established in 1955 to prevent discrimination in employment. In 1966 the Department of Community Affairs was created to deal with matters concerning local governments. The termination, in 1968, of the Department of Internal Affairs resulted in four of its bureaus being placed in other agencies. In 1970 the creating of a Department of Transportation and a Department of Environmental Resources were results of an enlarged concept of the role of state government. Both had broader functions than the departments they replaced, the Highways Department and Forest and Waters. The consolidation of two agencies into the Department of General Services in 1975 was another step in the direction of efficiency.The creation of a Commission for Women by executive order in 1975, and the replacement of the Council on Aging with a Department of Aging in 1978, both followed the trend toward serving population segments that have special needs. As a result of a constitutional amendment, the Attorney General became an elected official in 1980, and that office became an independent department. The designation Department of Justice was discontinued. Within the executive branch an Office of General Counsel was formed to continue the old function of an attorney appointed and subordinate to the Governor. A further result of the amendment was the eventual creation, in 1984, of a separate Department of Corrections. The establishment of an Ethics Commission in 1978 and an Independent Regulatory Review Commission in 1982 were two of the many measures dealing with particular problems that have surfaced in the governmental process. The augmentation of the Department of Commerce, in 1987, by the Economic Development Partnership, anticipated a more powerful economic policy. In June 1996 the Departments of Commerce and Community Affairs were merged to form the Department of Economic and Community Development.

A series of important constitutional amendments culminated in the calling of a Constitutional Convention in 1967-1968, which revised the 1874 Constitution. A significant provision prohibits the denial to any person of his or her civil rights. The General Assembly now meets annually and is a continuing body. The governor and other elective state officers are eligible to succeed themselves for one additional term. A unified judicial system has been established under the Supreme Court, a Commonwealth Court has been created and the inferior courts have been modernized. Broad extensions of county and local home rule are possible. In 1971 the voters amended the state constitution to guarantee that equal rights could not be denied because of sex. By an act of Dec. 6, 1972, the State Constitution so amended was declared to be henceforth known and cited as the Constitution of 1968.