At the beginning of the 20th century, Pennsylvania's economy centered on steel production, logging, coal mining, textile production, and other forms of industrial manufacturing. A surge in immigration to the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided a steady flow of cheap labor for these industries, which often employed children and people who could not speak English from Southern and Eastern Europe. Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during the Spanish–American War. Pennsylvania was an important industrial center in World War I, and the state provided over 300,000 soldiers for the military. On May 31, 1918, the Pittsburgh Agreement was signed in Pittsburgh to declare the formation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia with future Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk.
At the beginning of the 20th century Pennsylvania's economy centered on steel production logging coal mining textile production and other forms of industrial manufacturing A surge in immigration to the US during the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided a steady flow of cheap labor for these industries which often employed children and people who could not speak English from Southern and Eastern Europe Thousands of Pennsylvanians volunteered during the Spanish–American War Pennsylvania was an important industrial center in World War I and the state provided over 300000 soldiers for the military On May 31 1918 the Pittsburgh Agreement was signed in Pittsburgh to declare the formation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia with future Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk