WILLIAM PENN

Founder of Pennsylvania

William Penn became a member of a new, radical religious group in 1667 when he was 23 years old. The group was The Society of Friends, known as the Quakers, and they were radical because they did not worship in traditional ways and beleived that slavery and violence were wrong. Because they were different, they were in conflict with the English government as well as with other religious groups.

Penn was born October 14, 1644. His parents were Admiral Sir William Penn and Margaret Jasper. He married Gulielma Maria Springett 1672. He first traveled to America in 1677, and wrote the charter for a group of Quaker colonists settling New Jersey. This charter, which included provisions like the right of trial by jury and freedom from imprisonment for debt, has been called the first statement in American history of man's rights over law.

England's King Charles II had borrowed money from William Penn's father. When Sir William Penn died before the loan was repaid, the King owed the debt to the younger Penn. Instead of the money, Penn preferred a tract of land in North America. The King agreed, and on March 4, 1681, gave him about 50,000 square miles of land. The name Sylvania (the woods) was changed to Pennsylvania (Penn's woods) as the King insisted to honor Penn's father.

In 1682 he arrived aboard the ship Welcome, and chose a site for his settlement, Philadelphia. The meaning, City of Brotherly Love, represents the religious tolerance for all faiths that the colony stood for. Other groups came to America to seek religious freedom and then discriminated against other religions. Penn insisted that all religions were welcome in Pennsylvania. Now Penn could practice his "holy experiment" - not a sanctuary for Quakers, but a place where any religion was accepted.

Not only religious groups, but the Natives were treated fairly. Though Penn was given the land by his English king, he then bought it from the natives who lived there. Penn made agreements with several tribes (most notably the Delaware, or Leni Lenape) whom he always treated with respect, and no treaty was broken during his lifetime.

Though William Penn spent very little time in his colony, (see Penn's Homestead) the leadership he provided was extremely important. His insistence on religious tolerance and respect for the native peoples were ahead of his time, and set the tone for the leadership Pennsylvania would provide.