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For other uses, see William Penn (disambiguation).
William Penn

William Penn
Born October 14, 1644(1644-10-14)
London, England
Died July 30, 1718 (aged 73)
Berkshire, England
Spouse Gulielma Maria Springett, Hannah Margaret Callowhill
Parents Admiral Sir William Penn and Margaret Jasper

William Penn (October 14, 1644 – July 30, 1718) was founder and "Absolute Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Hannah Callowhill Penn ( February 11, 1671 - December 20, 1726) was the second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn Sir William Penn ( 23 April 1621 &ndash 16 September 1670) was an English Admiral, and the father of William Penn Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was a North American colony granted to William Penn on March 4, 1681 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern He was known as an early champion of democracy and religious freedom and famous for his treaty with the Lenape Indians. The shannon (later named Delaware Indians by Europeans were in the 17th century organized bands of Native American peoples with shared cultural and linguistic

Well ahead of his time, Penn wrote and urged for a Union of all the English colonies in what was to become the United States of America. British colonization of the Americas (including colonization under the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland before the 1707 Acts of Union created The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The democratic principles that he set forth in the Pennsylvania Frame(s) of Government served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania was a Constitution for the Province of Pennsylvania, a Proprietary colony granted to William Penn by The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. As a pacifist Quaker, Penn considered the problems of war and peace deeply, and included a plan for a United States of Europe, "European Dyet, Parliament or Estates," in his voluminous writings. A federal Europe is a proposal that much of Europe be unified in the manner of a Federation.

Contents

Early life

Penn was born in London in 1644, the son of Admiral Sir William Penn and Margaret Jasper, the daughter of a Rotterdam merchant. Sir William Penn ( 23 April 1621 &ndash 16 September 1670) was an English Admiral, and the father of William Penn Rotterdam (pronounced) is the 2nd-largest City by population in the Netherlands, located in the province of His father served in the Royal Navy (controlled by parliament) during the English Civil War and was rewarded by Oliver Cromwell with estates in Ireland. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Later, though, his father took part in the restoration of Charles II and was knighted by him. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Penn was educated at Chigwell School, by private tutors in Ireland and then at Christ Church, Oxford. Chigwell School is an English co-educational Public school in Chigwell, in the Epping Forest district of Essex. Not to be confused with Christchurch, a city in New Zealand. Christ Church (Ædes Christi the temple or house of Christ and thus sometimes known as [1]

Religious beliefs

Although born into a distinguished Anglican family, Penn joined the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, at the age of 22. See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches Quakers were relatively strict Christians in the seventeenth century, and historically refused to bow or take off their hats to social superiors. Today, Quakers are concerned with personal choice and respect for humanity; many still refuse to fight in wars and kill other people, and Quakers continue to believe in direct communication with God for everyone. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity.

Penn was a close friend of George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, and in 1696 was married in an earlier building on the site of Quakers Friars in Bristol. George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691 was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers Quakers Friars ( is a historic building in Broadmead, Bristol, England. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London [2] These were times of turmoil, just after Oliver Cromwell's death, and the Quakers were suspected as heretics because of their principles which differed from the state-imposed religion and because of their refusal to swear oaths of loyalty to Cromwell or the King. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Quakers followed the command of Jesus not to swear, reported in the Gospel of Matthew, 5:34. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel

Penn's views were extremely distressing to his father, Admiral Sir William Penn, who hoped that Penn's charisma and intelligence would be able to win him favor at the court of Charles II. Sir William Penn ( 23 April 1621 &ndash 16 September 1670) was an English Admiral, and the father of William Penn Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In 1668, Penn was imprisoned for writing a tract (The Sandy Foundation Shaken) which attacked the doctrine of the trinity.

Penn traveled frequently with George Fox, through Europe and England, in their ministry. He also wrote a comprehensive, detailed explanation of Quakerism along with a testimony to the character of George Fox, in his introduction to the autobiographical Journal of George Fox. [3]

Persecutions

Penn had his earliest religious experience at Chigwell School. Thereafter, young Penn's religious views effectively exiled him from English society;he was sent down (expelled) from Christ Church, Oxford for being a Quaker, and was arrested several times. Among the most famous of these was the trial following his arrest with William Meade for preaching before a Quaker gathering. Penn pleaded for his right to see a copy of the charges laid against him and the laws he had supposedly broken, but the judge, the Lord Mayor of London, refused—even though this right was guaranteed by the law. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation.

Despite heavy pressure from the Lord Mayor to convict the man, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty". The Lord Mayor then told the jury, "If that be your verdict, your verdict be damned. " and not only had Penn sent to jail again (on a charge of contempt of court), but also the full jury. The members of the jury, fighting their case from prison, managed to win the right for all English juries to be free from the control of judges and to judge not just the facts of the case, but the law itself. [4] This case was one of the more important trials that shaped the future concept of American freedom (see jury nullification) and was a victory for the use of the writ of habeas corpus as a means of freeing those unlawfully detained. Jury nullification means making a law void by jury decision in other words "the process whereby a jury in a criminal case effectively nullifies a law by acquitting a defendant regardless Habeas corpus (ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔɹpəs ( Latin: command that you have the body is the name of a legal action or Writ, through which a person can seek relief The persecution of Quakers became so fierce that Penn decided that it would be better to establish a new, free, Quaker settlement in North America. Some Quakers had already moved to North America, but the New England Puritans, especially, were as hostile towards Quakers as Anglicans in England were, and some of the Quakers had been banished to the Caribbean. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting

The founding of Pennsylvania

First Draft of the Frame of Government, Pennsylvania's first constitution written by Penn (c. 1681)
First Draft of the Frame of Government, Pennsylvania's first constitution written by Penn (c. 1681)

In 1677, a group of prominent Quakers that included Penn received the colonial province of West New Jersey (half of the current state of New Jersey). New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. That same year, two hundred settlers from the towns of Chorleywood and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire and other towns in nearby Buckinghamshire arrived, and founded the town of Burlington. Chorleywood is a Town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles (7km west of Watford. Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. See also Burlington Township New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United Penn, who was involved in the project but himself remained in England, drafted a charter of liberties for the settlement. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania was a Constitution for the Province of Pennsylvania, a Proprietary colony granted to William Penn by He guaranteed free and fair trial by jury, freedom of religion, freedom from unjust imprisonment and free elections. Freedom of religion is the freedom of an individual or community in public or private to manifest religion or belief in teaching practice worship and observance

King Charles II of England had a large loan from Penn's father, after whose death, King Charles settled by granting Penn a large area west and south of New Jersey on March 4, 1681. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Penn called the area Sylvania (Latin for woods), which Charles changed to Pennsylvania in honor of the elder Penn. Perhaps the king was glad to have a place where religious and political outsiders (like the Quakers, or the Whigs, who wanted more influence for the people's representatives) could have their own colony, far away from England. One of the first counties of Pennsylvania was called Bucks County, named after Buckinghamshire (Bucks) in England, the Penn family seat and original home of many of the first settlers. Bucks County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania.

The freedom of religion in Pennsylvania (complete freedom of religion for everybody who believed in God) brought not only English, Welsh, German and Dutch Quakers to the colony, but also Huguenots (French Protestants), Mennonites, Amish, Catholics, Lutherans from Catholic German states, and Jews. The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ His ideas were later studied by Benjamin Franklin as well as the pamphleteer of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine, whose father was a Quaker. Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 1790 was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Thomas Paine (January 29 1737 &ndash June 8 1809 was an English Pamphleteer, Revolutionary, radical, Inventor, and Intellectual Among Penn's legacies is the unwillingness to force a Quaker majority upon Pennsylvania; he may have wished it but his officials (including in the first Provincial Assembly) were representative of the Dutch, German, Finnish and Swede settlers as much as of the members of the Society of Friends (Quakers).

Penn had hoped that Pennsylvania would be a profitable venture for himself and his family. Penn marketed the colony throughout Europe in various languages and, as a result, settlers flocked to Pennsylvania. Despite Pennsylvania's rapid growth and diversity, the colony never turned a profit for Penn or his family. In fact, Penn would later be imprisoned in England for debt and, at the time of his death in 1718, he was penniless.

Wampum belt given to William Penn at the "Great Treaty" in 1682
Wampum belt given to William Penn at the "Great Treaty" in 1682

From 1682 to 1684 Penn lived in the Province of Pennsylvania. Penn designed Philadelphia ("Brotherly Love") and conceived of it as a "greene Country Towne". Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə His design for the city was in a rectangular grid with large lots, dividing the city into four quadrants. [5] After the building plans for the city had been completed, and Penn's political ideas had been put into a workable form, Penn explored the interior. He befriended the local Indians (primarily of the Lenni Lenape, which Europeans referred to as the 'Delaware' tribe), and ensured that they were paid fairly for their lands. The shannon (later named Delaware Indians by Europeans were in the 17th century organized bands of Native American peoples with shared cultural and linguistic Penn even learned several different Indian languages in order to communicate in negotiations without interpreters. Penn introduced laws saying that if a European did an Indian wrong, there would be a fair trial, with an equal number of people from both groups deciding the matter. His measures in this matter proved successful: even though later colonists did not treat the Indians as fairly as Penn and his first group of colonists had done, colonists and Indians remained at peace in Pennsylvania much longer than in the other English colonies. Peace, in the modern usage is a concept defined by the ideal state of relationship as absence of hostility at the international level that of a War.

Penn began construction of Pennsbury Manor, his intended country estate in Bucks County on the right bank of the Delaware River, in 1683. Pennsbury Manor, near Morrisville, Pennsylvania, was the American home of William Penn, Bucks County is a County located in the US state of Pennsylvania. The Delaware River is a river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.

Penn's Treaty with the Indians, from US Capitol Rotunda.
Penn's Treaty with the Indians, from US Capitol Rotunda. The rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol, below the Capitol dome.

Penn also made a treaty with the Indians at Shackamaxon (near Kensington in Philadelphia) under an elm tree. Elms are Deciduous and Semi-deciduous Trees comprising the genus Ulmus, family Ulmaceae, found A park (Penn Treaty Park) and a monument mark the site where the Treaty took place, as well there is an online museum that documents the treaty (see the external links below under Penn Treaty Museum)

Penn chose to acquire lands for his colony through business rather than conquest. He paid the Indians 1200 pounds for their land under the treaty, an amount considered fair. Voltaire praised this "Great Treaty" as "the only treaty between those people [Indians and Europeans] that was not ratified by an oath, and that was never infringed. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French " Many regard the Great Treaty as a myth that sprung up around Penn. However, the story has had enduring power. The event has taken iconic status and is commemorated in a frieze on the United States Capitol (see image at right).

Penn visited America once more, in 1699. In those years, he put forward a plan to make a federation of all English colonies in America. There have been claims that he also fought slavery, but that seems unlikely, as he owned and even traded slaves himself. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another However, he did promote good treatment for slaves, and other Pennsylvania Quakers were among the earliest fighters against slavery.

Penn had wished to settle in Philadelphia himself, but financial problems forced him back to England in 1701. His financial advisor, Philip Ford, had cheated him out of thousands of pounds, and he had nearly lost Pennsylvania through Ford's machinations. The next decade of Penn's life was mainly filled with various court cases against Ford. He tried to sell Pennsylvania back to the English Crown, but, while the deal was still being discussed, Penn suffered a stroke, in 1712, after which he was unable to speak or take care of himself. A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain

Penn died, in 1718, at his home in Ruscombe, near Twyford in Berkshire, and was buried next to his first wife in the cemetery of the Jordans Quaker meeting house near Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire in England. Ruscombe is a small Village and Civil parish, east of Twyford in the Borough of Wokingham, in the English county of Berkshire For other places of the same name see Twyford. Twyford is a large village and Civil parish in the English Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Jordans is a Village located in Chalfont St Giles Parish in Buckinghamshire, England. Chalfont St Giles is a Village and Civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge

His family retained ownership of the colony of Pennsylvania until the American Revolution. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" However, William's son and successor, Thomas Penn, fought to restrict religious freedom (particularly for Roman Catholics and later Quakers), weaken or eliminate the elected assembly's power, and run the colony instead through his appointed governors — he was a bitter opponent of Benjamin Franklin and Franklin's push for greater democracy in the years leading up to the revolution. Thomas Penn (1702 – 1775 was a son of William Penn, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American Colony that Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 1790 was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

Family

Penn first married Gulielma Maria Springett (1644-1694), daughter of William S. Springett and Lady Mary Proude Penington. They had three sons and four daughters.

His second marriage was to Hannah Margaret Callowhill (1671-1727), daughter of Thomas Callowhill and Anna (Hannah) Hollister. Hannah Callowhill Penn ( February 11, 1671 - December 20, 1726) was the second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn William Penn married Hannah when she was 24 and he was 52. They had eight children in twelve years. The first two children had died in infancy. The other children were:

Penn's family line still resides in England, America, Australia and Canada.

Posthumous Honors

Bronze statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall
Bronze statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall

On November 28, 1984 Ronald Reagan, upon an Act of Congress by Presidential Proclamation 5284 declared William Penn and his second wife, Hannah Callowhill Penn, each to be an Honorary Citizen of the United States. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Hannah Callowhill Penn ( February 11, 1671 - December 20, 1726) was the second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn A non- United States citizen of exceptional merit may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress, or by a proclamation issued by the [6]

There is a widely told, probably apocryphal, story that one time when Fox and Penn met, Penn expressed concern over wearing a sword (a standard part of dress for people of Penn's station), and how this was not in keeping with Quaker beliefs. George Fox responded, "Wear it as long as thou canst. " Later, according to the story, Penn again met Fox, but this time without the sword; Penn said, "I have taken thy advice; I wore it as long as I could. "

There is a statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia City Hall, sculpted by Alexander Milne Calder. A statue is a Sculpture in the round representing a person or persons an animal or an event normally full-length as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Alexander Milne Calder ( August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) was an American sculptor. At one time, there was a gentlemen's agreement that no building should be higher than Penn's statue. A gentlemen's agreement is an informal Agreement between two or more parties One Liberty Place was the first of several buildings in the late 1980s to be built higher than Penn. The One Liberty Place Building is currently the second tallest Building and Skyscraper in the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The statue is referenced by the so-called Curse of Billy Penn. The Curse of William Penn is an alleged Curse, sometimes used to explain the failure of professional sports teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A lesser-known statue of Penn is located at Penn Treaty Park, on the site where Penn entered into his treaty with the Lenape. Penn Treaty Park is a small park on the western bank of the Delaware river, in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown. In 1893, Hajoca Corporation, the nation's largest privately held wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating and industrial supplies, adopted the statue as its trademark symbol.

Penn in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans
Penn in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans

A common misconception is that the smiling Quaker logo shown on boxes of Quaker Oats is a depiction of William Penn, but the Quaker Oats Company has stated that this is not true. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans, is the original " Hall of Fame " in the United States The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago.

Notes

  1. ^ "William Penn", Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale. 2007.
  2. ^ Brace, Keith (1996). Portrait of Bristol. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0709154356.  
  3. ^ Journal of George Fox (retrieved September 25, 2007)
  4. ^ Lehman, Godfrey (1996). The Ordeal of Edward Bushell. Lexicon. ISBN 9781879563049.  
  5. ^ Forrest, T. J., William Penn, Visionary Proprietor
  6. ^ Proclamation of Honorary US Citizenship for William and Hannah Penn by President Ronald Reagan (1984)

External links

Penn's works online

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