Ohio and Pennsylvania
The Buckeye State and The Keystone State
Two neighboring Midwestern states in these United States. Ok, well,
western Pennsylvania feels Midwestern, but eastern Pennsylvania definitely feels Mid-Atlantic. Heck,
you could even classify parts of Pennsylvania as part of the Northeast region of the country.
It’s a crossroads state, really. Um, but yeah, this video is about Pennsylvania
AND OHIO and you know what? BOTH are crossroads states, with easy access to
sooo many great places. Both states sure do have a lot in common, for real.
First of all, both are part of the Rust Belt, a region of the country known for declining
industry and run down factories. Even decades after most of these factories have shut down,
several cities in both states continue to lose population each year.
Both are probably about to lose one electoral vote in the Electoral College,
because the population of both hasn’t grown much in recent years.
Hey speaking of the Electoral College (ugh, Electoral College),
if a presidential candidate wins either Ohio or Pennsylvania, odds are they are winning the entire
election. Ohio and Pennsylvania pick winners, baby! Pennsylvania picked the winner for all
but two presidential elections between 1789 and 1880. Both Ohio and Pennsylvania tend to
be swing states in recent years, although Ohio seems to be more reliably Republican lately.
Both have one Republican U.S. Senator and one Democratic U.S. Senator. Now,
the governor of Ohio is a Republican and the governor of Pennsylvania is a
Democrat. But the state legislatures in both states currently have Republican majorities.
Ok, enough about politics! Let’s talk about the Amish. Seriously.
Both states have a larger Amish population than any other state in the country.
Both are two of the most populated states in the country. Both have a
very similar population density. (O- 282.3 per square mile, P- 286.2 per square mile)
Pennsylvania does have more people. (O- 11.7 million, P- 12.8 million) It’s the fifth largest
state by population, and Ohio is the seventh largest by population. Combined, both have
10 metro areas that are ranked in the top 100 of most populated metros in the country. While
Pennsylavnia has the two biggest metros overall- Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Ohio has the trio
of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus- all of which are almost as big as the Pittsburgh metro.
Both have similar climates. In general, humid continental in the north, and humid
subtropical in the south. Northern Ohio and the Northwestern corner of Pennsylvania has a climate
influenced by Lake Erie, however, and southwestern Pennsylvania’s climate can be influenced by the
nearby Atlantic Ocean. Pennsylvania is not a coastal state, though. Both get four seasons and,
with the exceptions of the mountainous areas, both are generally warmer in the summer
the further south you go and colder in the winter the further north you go.
The Appalachian Plateau, a rugged region made up of dissected plateaus,
runs right through both states. Both have the same type of natural disasters. Ya know,
the occasional severe thunderstorm, floods, and blizzards. Both also can get tornadoes.
The biggest industries in both are the same! That’d be healthcare,
manufacturing, retail, and education. Agriculture is also big in both.
The median age is similar in both. (O- 39.5, P- 40.8)
Both have a similar number of residents who identify
as Christian (73%) and “not religious” (O-22%, P-21%). However, more consider themselves Roman
Catholic in Pennsylvania and more consider themselves Evangelical Protestant in Ohio.
Before we get into the differences between the two states, I need to shave.
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So what about their differences?
First of all, Pennsylvania has been around longer. (O- March, 1, 1803, P- December 12, 1787) In fact,
it was one of the original 13 colonies. Yeah, let’s get into some history here.
Humans have lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of European arrival,
the dominant American Indian tribes in modern-day Pennsylvania were the Lenape Delaware, the Munsee
Delaware, Susquehannock, Erie, Iroquois, and Shawnee. The dominant American Indian tribes
in modern-day Ohio were also the Erie and Shawnee, but additionally the Kickapoo. Many of the first
Europeans to settle the area were fur traders, who regularly traded with the aforementioned tribes.
The French were mostly the ones who traded in the area, but the Dutch, English, and
Swedes also traded in parts of modern-day eastern Pennsylvania. Throughout the 1600s, this happened
mostly peacefully, but there were the Beaver Wars, which saw the Iroquois teaming up with the
English and Dutch and on the other side a bunch of Indian nations teaming up with the French.
In 1655, the Dutch took over future southeastern Pennsylvania,
but within a couple decades the English had full control of it.
Meanwhile, modern-day western Pennsylvania and Ohio were claimed by France as part of
New France. On March 4, 1681, Charles II of England granted a dude named
William Penn the Province of Pennsylvania to settle debt that he owed to William’s
father. Hey Charles even named it after his dad, dang. “sylvania,” by the way, is Latin
for “woodlands.” William, who by the way was a bit embarrassed by the name of his new colony,
founded it as a place of religious freedom that mostly attracted Quakers, Germans, Scots-Irish
frontiersmen, and others fleeing religious persecution and wars. Penn today is also known
for his fair treatment of American Indian tribes who lived in the colony. He founded Pennsylvania's
capital, Philadelphia, in 1682. Philadelphia would quickly become a major port and commercial city.
Throughout the 1700s, more and more colonists would move further west,
encroaching on both American Indian claims and French claims. The British called the
area west of Pennsylvania “Ohio Country.” The name “Ohio” comes from the Seneca word “ohi:
yo’” when translates to “great river.” What “great river” were they referring to?
The Ohio River of course! Anyway, a bunch of folks from Virginia created the Ohio Company to
settle Ohio Country and trade with American Indian tribes there. The problem was, France
was already there yo. However, the British won what became known as the French and Indian War,
and then all of Pennsylvania and Ohio Country were now part of Great Britain.
During the years between the French and Indian War and the American War of Independence,
Pennsylvania’s borders changed a few times. Famously, Jeremiah Mason and Charles DIxon
drew up the Mason-Dixon line, which officially became the Southern border and, over time,
an informal boundary between free states in the North and slave states in the South. Ohio
Country never had many slaves, but it did have a lot of violence and turmoil
in the years between the French and Indian War and the American War of Independence. But DURING the
American War of Independence, Pennsylvania saw much more violence and turmoil. Pennsylvania,
well Philadelphia specifically, was where the new country of the United States began-
where the First and Second Continental Congresses met and where the Declaration of Independence was
signed. In addition to Philadelphia, Lancaster and York even temporarily served as capitals
during the war. After independence was secured, the Congress of the Confederation
continued to meet in Philadelphia and it remained the country's capital for a few years.
That Congress of the Confederation created the Northwest Territory in 1787,
and a dude named Rufus Putnam led a group of Revolutionary veterans to settle in
Ohio the next year. Marietta, Ohio became the first European-American permanent U.S. settlement
in Northwest Territory. Many American Indian tribes still lived out there,
and treaties were broken as they were pushed further and further west due to American
encroachment on their lands. During the Northwest Indian War of 1785-1795, a confederation of tribes
united to fight the Americans and their American Indian allies. That confederation
of tribes lost and had to give up lots of territory, including most of modern-day Ohio.
As I hinted at earlier, Pennsylvania was one of the first states in the Union,
but that didn’t mean it didn’t also have some chaos during those years. In the early 1790s,
a bunch of farmers in Western Pennsylvania organized to not pay the federal tax on
certain alcoholic beverages, even when federal authorities showed up in person
trying to collect them. This became known as the Whiskey Rebellion, and it only ended when
freaking President George Washington himself and 15,000 soldiers showed up to put it down.
By the end of 1801, Ohio’s population had swelled to 45,000, and it prepared for a
path to statehood. When it did become a state 14 months later, it rejected slavery, and for many
decades afterward runaway slaves would cross the Ohio River into Ohio as they escaped the South.
45,000 people? That’s cute. Around that time Pennsylavnia had around 650,000 people and was the
second-largest state in the Union by population, really having a strong influence on the rest of
the country. Over the following decades, only New York would dominate more. In fact, only New
York had more electoral votes than Pennsylvania between the years of 1824 all the way up to 1960.
From 1811 to 1813, Ohio found itself impacted by Tecumseh’s War, between Shawnee leader Tecumseh
and his Confederacy and the United States. It overlapped with the War of 1812 with the British.
After it was over, pretty much every American Indian tribe had lost control of the Great Lakes
region, and things calmed down in both states over the next several decades. Until the American Civil
War, that is. At that time, both Pennsylvania and Ohio were the second and third largest states in
the country by population. Both stayed with the Union, of course, and played critical roles in
the war, and critical Union leaders came from both states. While Ohio didn’t see much action during
that war, Pennsylvania was where the biggest, bloodiest, and most famous battle took place-
the Battle of Gettysburg, which we now see as a major turning point of the Civil War.
For the rest of the 1800s, industrialization dramatically changed both states, and both
became economic powerhouses that most of the rest of the country came to depend on.
Between the Civil War and the end of the 1800s, the population of both states doubled, and that
rapid growth continued for the first half of the 1900s. Since the 1960s, the growth has cooled
off as many factories in both states have shut down. Hence, the aforementioned term Rust Belt.
However, the economies of both today have diversified quite a
bit and have attracted a lot of business opportunities due
to a lower cost of living compared to other places in the country. Although,
according to Forbes magazine, Pennsylvania is currently a better state for business.
Although it obviously varies from city to city,
overall Ohio has a lower cost of living than Pennsylvania. Ohioans do pay more in taxes,
overall. That said, Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the country.
Ok, let’s see...what other differences?
Well this surprised me a bit. Pennsylvania is bigger, but just by about 9%.
Ohio’s population is a little bit more spread out. Pennsylvania’s is more in the eastern and
western parts. I’m sure the mountains have a lot to do with it. Pennsylvania definitely has
more mountains than Ohio. The Appalachians run right through it. Driving across the state on
Interstate 80 is one of the most scenic stretches of interstate in the country. Most of the state is
rugged in one way or the other, whereas parts of Ohio are fairly flat, relatively speaking.
While both get plenty of precipitation, Pennsylvania gets a bit more, overall.
Pennsylvania has more residents who were born in a foreign country.
Pennsylvania has a higher median household income. (O- $56,111, P- $60,905) It also
has a lower poverty rate (O- 13.1%, P- 12%) or at least it did back in 2019.
However, Ohio has a lower violent crime rate.
More Pennsylvanians have college degrees (O-35.1%, P-37.4%). Although,
Ohio spends more per student on education. More Pennsylvanians are members of a union.
Ohio borders five states. Pennsylvania borders six. The southern border of Ohio is the mighty
Ohio River and the northern border of both states is the aforementioned Lake Erie. Pennsylvania,
just barely, though. This 300-square mile northwestern section of the state is known as the
Erie Triangle. It originally was disputed land. New York, and even Connecticut and Massachusetts,
all made claims on it, but ultimately the federal government took over the area and
sold it to Pennsylavnia so that the state would have access to a freshwater port on Lake Erie.
But yeah, anyway, the Delaware River makes up the eastern border of Pennsylvania.
Ohio has one more national park than Pennsylvania. Uh, yeah...Pennsylvania
doesn’t have a national park. But it has more historical landmarks! (O-76, P-169)
Eight American Presidents were born and/or spent most of their life in Ohio.
You know who is also from Ohio?
Geography Joe. That’s right, one of my new favorite channels on YouTube.
Hey this video is actually a collaboration with Joe, who has just released a video
about the history of East Cleveland over on his channel. Check it out after this one and stuff?
Now, Ohioans might disagree with this, but Ohio has better roads overall.
And let’s face it. Ohio also has a cooler,
much more unique flag. It’s the only American flag that’s not rectangular. I’m sorry Pennsylvania.
Ohio has the world’s largest cuckoo clock,
drumsticks, and basket. Although that basket is just a building. But there’s also this basket.
But Pennsylvania has some really big, um, Big Macs in its Big Mac Museum in North Huntingdon.
In several Pennsylvania towns, they celebrate Halloween earlier than October 31st.
Pennsylvania has Old Forge Pizza. Ohio has Steubenville style pizza.
Convenience stores in Pennsylvania actually have good food. There is a bit of a civil
war between phenomenal convenience stores in Pennsylvania. In the west,
Sheetz dominates. In the east, Wawa dominates. Ohio has some Sheetz stores,
but not Wawa stores. But it does have Casey’s so I guess that makes up for it.
A lot of the differences between the two states are because of Eastern Pennsylvania existing.
Eastern Pennsylvania actually has much more in common with the East Coast states. I mean, Philly
has more in common with New York and Washington D.C. than the three major Ohio cities, and even
Pittsburgh. Central and Western Pennsylvania definitely are much more similar to Ohio.
I’ll conclude by showing you this map. As you can kind of see, both are not that far from
the exciting East Coast, yet have quite a bit lower cost of living. Not just the East Coast.
Former Ohio governor John Kasich once said “We’re within 600 miles of 60%
of America,” and he was right. Both are so close to everything, yet both have a reasonable cost
of living. Better come take advantage of these prices before the area heats up again, baby.
A reminder that this is a collaboration with Geography Joe,
who runs a terrific channel, be sure to subscribe to it. Joe is from Cleveland, and just released
a video about East Cleveland. I’ve linked it below. Check it out. So which states should I
compare next? Let me know in those comments. And finally, here’s my monthly shout out to my Patreon
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