William Penn

down September 1682 William Penn proprietor of the new colony of Pennsylvania is making his first trip to America under the charter granted by the king of England Penn has the right to almost total sovereignty over his Colony but he's chosen to begin a bold experiment in democratic government and religious freedom an experiment that will help to shape American ideals for many years to come [Music] to understand the beginnings of Penn's bold experiment we must go back 15 years to 1667 in England as in most of Western Europe government is closely related to religion and Parliament has passed a law requiring all religious worship to follow the ceremonies of the official state church this law has effect not only in England but also in Ireland which is ruled by England in 1667 William Penn who is an Englishman by birth is living temporarily in Ireland managing the Estates owned by his father September 3rd 1667 in the Irish town of cork a meeting of a small religious group called The Society of Friends also known as Quakers Quaker meetings are held at night and in secret Discovery would mean arrest and imprisonment because Quakers reject the authority of the official state church and refuse to follow its ceremonies they believe that everyone possesses an inner light that can direct the soul to God without the help of ministers or priests or ritual worship among the worshippers at this meeting is a young man whose clothes and bearing Mark him as an aristocrat William Penn is the son of an admiral in the Royal Navy and a personal friend of the king Now 23 years old he has attended several Quaker meetings sitting with the others in silent meditation and listening to an occasional speaker who Rises at the prompting of the Inner Light to quote a passage of scripture or share an inspirational thought but this particular meeting is to become a turning point for William pen and for the Quaker Movement by accident the meeting has been discovered by a soldier of the King William Penn reacts not as a Quaker but as an aristocrat insulted by a member of the lower classes the Quaker movement opposes any form of physical violence and pens Outburst only proves that he's not yet a true Quaker later the soldier will return with reinforcements Penn and 18 others will be arrested tried and put in jail for their Quaker [Music] beliefs after a few days Penn is free again but the experience has helped to change the course of his life he's a skilled writer and he studied law and theology now he's determined to use all his resources to help the Quaker movement his writings and other activities as a Quaker will bring him into conflict with the church of England and the Royal government more than once he'll spend time in prison but Penn will use his knowledge of the law to defend the Quaker movement in court traveling to various parts of England and also to Holland and Germany Penn preaches the doctrines of his Quaker faith in Holland Quakers and other religious groups are free to practice their faith without fear of persecution William pen is greatly impressed by the spirit of religious freedom that he's found in Holland and by the year 1680 a bold plan has begun to take shape in his mind in the lands claimed by England in North America it might be possible to establish a new colony where Quakers and others might find Freedom from religious persecution there are already several settlements in North am America Virginia established in 1607 has grown and become prosperous by 1680 and the colonies farther north are also thriving in New England especially but in other colonies as well there are strict laws governing the practice of religion New England Puritans have often persecuted the few Quakers who have settled in the northern colonies and yet by the year 16 1880 the Quakers have begun to secure a small foothold in the new world the titles to the New Jersey colonies have been sold by the original owners to a group of Quakers including William Penn New Jersey already has a settled population but Northwest of New Jersey is a large area with very few inhabitants here A New Colony could be established for those who suffer from religious persecution in Europe Penn's father who died 10 years earlier had loaned a large sum of money to King Charles as payment for that debt Penn has decided to request a royal Charter for a new colony in America if he had asked the king for money the debt would probably never have been repaid but Penn's request for land offers King Charles a way to rid England of the Troublesome Quakers and at least partly for that reason he grants a much larger area than pennid as for the name chosen by Penn for his new Province was Sylvania which means Woodland but King Charles changes the name to Pennsylvania in honor of Penn's father Penn plans to remain in England temporarily to prepare a form of government for his colony and Recruit new settlers meanwhile he commissions his cousin William Markham to go to Pennsylvania as Deputy Governor one of markham's responsibilities when he arrives in America is to select the location for Pennsylvania's principal City and capital to be called Philadelphia eventually a site will be chosen near the junction of the Delaware and school kill Rivers the city to be built here will be carefully planned to ensure the health and safety of its people Penn wants to avoid the crowded and dangerous conditions typical of the cities of Europe he remembers the Great Plague of London in 1665 that claimed the lives of 70,000 people and the great fire that nearly destroyed London in 1666 Penn's instructions to Markham are also concerned with the European settlers already living in a few small communities along the Delaware River a total of about a thousand people including sweds Dutch and English by Royal Charter William Penn is almost unlimited Authority over these people to assure them of his good intentions he has written a letter and instructed Markham to read it to them my friends I hope you will not be troubled with your change you shall be governed by laws of your own making and live of free people I shall not usurp the right of any or oppress his person God has furnished me with a better resolution another letter from William Penn is addressed to the Indians of Pennsylvania I am very sensible of the unkindness and Injustice that hath been too much exercised toward you but I am not such a man I desire to win your love and friendship by a kind just and Peaceable life I shall shortly come to you myself at which time we may more largely and freely confer these matters I am your loving friend William Penn in October 1682 a year and a half after receiving his Charter William Penn arrives in America for the first time he has several meetings with the Indians as represented in this famous although somewhat inaccurate painting Penn demonstrates his respect for the Indians by learning their language and paying them a fair price for their land the Indians and the European settlers of Pennsylvania will remain at peace for a 100 years to come by the time of Penn's arrival work on the city of Philadelphia has already begun Thomas Holm the surveyor General has prepared a detailed plan for the city following Penn's instructions for a rectangular pattern of wide streets in his meetings with the colonists Penn discusses the Constitution he has prepared for the Pennsylvania colony this constitution or frame of government provides that anyone who believes in God will have the right to hold political office in practice that right will actually be restricted to Protestant Christians and yet for the most part the frame of government does provide a large measure of personal and religious freedom and it establishes other social reforms that are far ahead of their time after less than 2 years in America William Penn is forced to return to England to settle a border dispute and more serious problems await him whiteall palace in London home of the king in 1685 Charles II dies and his brother comes to the throne as King James II the new king is Roman Catholic and he's bitterly opposed by the Protestants who support the established church of England since William Penn is a close friend of the king it is widely suspected that Penn has secretly become a Roman Catholic in 1688 King James is forced to flee from England after being deposed by the Protestants William Penn remains in England but goes into hiding to avoid imprisonment and perhaps death the new Protestant rulers of England are Queen Mary and her husband William of Orange after 5 years with their power firmly established William and Mary withdraw the arrest warrants against William pen and so in 1699 after putting his Affairs in order in England Penn returns to America to live for 2 years at pensbury the estate that has been built for him near Philadelphia during Penn's absence The Colony has grown rapidly from several Nations people have been drawn to Pennsylvania to find Freedom from the oppression they had known in Europe a generous land policy has made it possible for even poorer immigrants to own their own Farms skilled Craftsmen from Germany have helped to make Pennsylvania a center of manufacturing and trade Pennsylvania is rapidly becoming the largest of the English colonies in North America and one of the most prosperous but Pennsylvania and all the English colonies face a threat from another world power French claims to part of North America have already been a cause of three Wars between England and France and another War seems likely to provide an effective defense the English government may decide to remove pen as Government and plac Pennsylvania under Direct Control of the king in 1701 to defend his Charter to the Colony pen returns to England Pennsylvania has proved to be a costly experiment and he's now deeply in debt after years of controversy and hardship he dies in England in 1718 but the colony that he established continues to grow by this time most of the land in eastern Pennsylvania has been claimed by earlier settlers newcomers from Europe are moving farther west pushing back the frontier and clearing land for farms and homes Philadelphia has become the largest city in the American colonies it's a major seap port and a cultural center as well and one of the city's buildings the Pennsylvania state house will become a major landmark in American history here on July 4th 1776 delegates to the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence and 11 years later in the same building renamed Independence Hall another important event takes place the drafting of the Constitution of the United [Music] States the principles first outlined by William pen in his frame of government have served as a model for the Federal Constitution and for most of the state constitutions as well in some ways Penn's experiment has not been as successful as he had hoped the colony's political leaders have not always followed his high ideals and yet by 1789 it has become clear that the growth of American democracy owes a great deal to the ideals of personal freedom established by William Penn in his colony of Pennsylvania [Music] w