William Penn Religious Beliefs

Pennsylvania colony had about 6 different Native American tribes. Pennsylvania is one of the Atlantic coast colony. The Pennsylvania became a colony in the year 1681. The religion that Pennsylvania had was Quaker. The purpose of the Pennsylvania is for Quakers did not have strict rules. Pennsylvania is also called Penn Woods. Also Penn Woods was named After Admiral

During the early colonization of the East coast of North America, many groups of people of Europe came to the New World such as the Puritans and Quakers. Both the Puritans, led by John Winthrop, and the Quakers, led by William Penn, were escaping persecution from England but each they had their own views and goals in religion, politics, and ethnic relations. Being on the native land of the local Indians, both Penn and Winthrop had to face issues and negotiations with the Indians. Penn and Winthrop had their own separate approaches to politics but they both sought a more just system than the one in England. After being persecuted, both Penn and Winthrop wanted their people to be free worship, but Penn and Winthrop each had their own

Quakers- those who condemned extravagance, sought to restore Christianity to its early simple spirituality; William Penn made Pennsylvania a refuge for his fellow Quakers who refused to pay taxes or serve in the military for the Church of England.

This paper will explore the history of the colonial settlements of the Quakers, who are also known as the Society of Friends, who settled in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in colonial times. The history surrounding the establishment and growth of the Quaker colonies of West Jersey and Pennsylvania will be discussed. William Penn’s efforts in establishing the colonies of West Jersey and Pennsylvania were paramount to Quakers immigrating to America. John Fenwick also played a major role in founding the colony of West Jersey, which is now known as New Jersey and the later immigration of Quakers to Pennsylvania. The abolitionist efforts of the Quakers in their fight against slavery, their equal treatment of slaves and the assistance that they provided to slaves will also be discussed. Quakers provided shelter, financial support and harbored many slaves so that they could avoid capture by their owners. Quakers were a large part of the abolitionist movement in the colonies while slavery was legal. Many Quakers played a role in the Underground Railroad, which assisted slaves in obtaining their freedom and avoiding capture. The terms “Quaker” and Society of Friends are interchangeable and will be used throughout this paper accordingly.

William Penn- was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker and the founder of Pennsylvania. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, known for his good relations with the Lenape Native Americans.

The original Pennsylvania colony was founded in 1682 by William Penn, when the king owed Penn’s father a large deal of money so he gave him land in the New World. Penn used the land to create a new colony so that people who belonged to one of the many religions that were being heavily persecuted at the time would have a place to go. Most of the people of the people that came to Pennsylvania were Quakers that had nowhere else to go. Though the colony did have religious freedom, it was lead by and the majority of the rules were set by Quakers. It was a very strictly run colony, as the Quakers were very intolerant of immorality, so activities like drinking, gambling, and lying were banned, to the point that owning cards or dice was illegal. While

Many places around the world, did not have religious freedom. If you lived in England during the 1600’s, you had to practice at the Church of England. Many people did not want to practice this religion because it was not their own. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was a

8.William Penn- An English Quaker who receieved a royal charter to form a colony in the New World, which he called Pennsylania. The colony became a safety net for all religious beliefs as himself being a Quaker and resisting the Church landed him in jail many times, and so he wanted tolerance.

Dissatisfaction with the lot of the Quakers in England led William Penn to undertake the founding of Pennsylvania. Similar concern for English Catholics was a factor in Cecil Calvert's founding of Maryland. And many colonists in Pennsylvania and North Carolina were dissidents from Germany and Ireland who sought greater religious freedom as well as economic opportunity.

The colonial capital was called New Amsterdam and was built in the mouth of the Hudson River. The colonies welcomed Europeans from Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, France, and Spain to live in their colonies. Settlers traded goods with Native Americans from the tribe Iroquois. Colonists also traded with the Delaware confederation. In 1644 England took control of the Dutch colony in the middle Atlantic region. They split the land giving each side one name New Jersey and New York (old New Amsterdam). Quakers also moved to the land. Quakers were a society of friends that left their countries to seek religious freedom. One of the most important Quaker was William Penn, he founded the colony of Pennsylvania. He believed in freedom of speech and his colony would stand above the differences of religion. Penn kept good relationships with the Indians. The middle Atlantic colonies were starting to take

The Quakers believed in the Bible as their truth. They believed in direct comunication with God himself. This is exprssed by George Fox in the statement, "Christ is come to teach his people himself.” They constantly preached their truth. This causes tension in Pennsylvania, where they resided, because the others in the community got tired of the Quaker’s preaching.

The Quakers of New England had strong convictions. After persecution of Quakers began, William Penn looked to the New World. William Penn was given land in the New World by the king who was repaying a debt to William’s father. The Quakers of the Middle Colony Pennsylvania would have friendly interactions with the Indians. This interaction was only possible because of their strict pacifism. Pennsylvania became very liberal due to the Quaker beliefs. No person would be taxed by a state church. Quakers also were tolerant of others. Thus, anyone of any faith could be a resident and worship in Pennsylvania. The Quaker pacifism was also extended to capital punishment. Few crimes were punishable by death. Through the Quakes’ beliefs, Pennsylvania became a hub of acceptance. Being of the most diverse colonies, the Middle Colonies were also impacted by a religion that was vastly different to those in the Chesapeake and New England colonies in the

B) William Penn regarded his colony as a "Holy Experiment" because he was founding a place where people of all religions would be able to live, specifically Quakers (his other experimental ideas included generating profit for himself and enacting liberal ideas in government). Being a Quaker himself, Penn wrote a constitution called the Charter of Liberties in 1701, which guaranteed freedom of worship for all people and made immigration unrestricted. This was his way of testing ideas he had created based upon his belies.

In New England there was very little religious tolerance in the colonies for anyone who wasn’t a Puritan. The only state which allowed religious freedom was Rhode Island. Many Quakers faced fines, punishments, and banishments. Non-Puritans didn’t have the right to vote

Philadelphia was founded when William got a charter from King George for all of Pennsylvania,which was known as New Sweden at the time, in 1681. Penn later took a large portion of Pennsylvania and named it Philadelphia, meaning ‘Brotherly Love’ in Greek. Penn was a Quaker and wanted to make sure that none of the same persecution that took place in England happened in his new city. There was always religious freedom throughout Philadelphia.