Pennsylvania

Experience the Pennsylvania saga, told not by those who researched it, but by those who lived it.

For centuries, Pennsylvania has stood as a pillar of American life. From early Native American history through modern technological revolutions, the Commonwealth has witnessed heroism, heartache, and the pursuit of happiness. This rich, multigenerational tapestry is woven together through lived experiences and compelling memories, ranging from the 1688 Germantown petition against slavery to the 2002 Quecreek Mine rescue. However, these stories have largely been forgotten in archives, tattered newspapers, and obscure memoirs. Pennsylvania: An Eyewitness History changes that. With keen interpretation, sharp insight, and mindful curation, author Jared Frederick presents a revealing “snapshot history” of the Keystone State spanning more than four centuries. Within these pages, readers will discover one hundred primary sources that showcase Pennsylvania’s—and often the nation’s—transformative past. Drawn from vintage periodicals, personal reminiscences, aged texts, defunct newspapers, and digital libraries, these documents speak across time and space. The people, places, and products that define Pennsylvania come alive in the vivid details of this concise and highly accessible book. Covering every range of the human experience, the selected works span indigenous and colonial lifestyles, civic participation and political struggle, industrial labor and environmental change, civil rights, warfare, sports, and popular culture. Ideal for classrooms, scholars, and history enthusiasts, this volume resurrects voices of bygone eras to reveal the timelessness of shared human experience. With years of teaching state history as his guide, Jared Frederick reminds us of the important elements that bind past, present, and future. 

Jared Frederick’s many books include Dispatches of D-Day, Hang Tough, and Fierce Valor, and Into the Cold Blue. He has appeared on PBS, C-SPAN, and Turner Classic Movies. A former park ranger at Gettysburg and an Emmy nominee, Frederick is the host of YouTube’s Reel History and is a history professor at Penn State Altoona.