 Most immigrants had come from Pennsylvania in the 18th century and included Germans; Protestant Ulster-Scots, the largest group by far from the British Isles before the American Revolution; and settlers from states farther north.As early as the American Revolution, there was movement to create a state beyond the Alleghenies.In 1776, settlers presented a petition for the establishment of "Westsylvania" to Congress, on the grounds that the mountains made an almost impassable barrier on the east.