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William Penn ( October 14, 1644– July 30, 1718) founded the Province of Pennsylvania, the North American colony of Great Britain that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The democratic principles that he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution.

Although born in a well-to-do Anglican family, Penn joined the Quakers at the age of 25. The Quakers obeyed their "inner light", which they believed to come directly from God, refused to bow to the authority of the king, and endorsed pacifismPacifism is opposition to the practice of war. Many (but not all) pacifists have a commitment to non-violence in general in society, making a commitment to achieving one's goals only through actively non-violent resistance or non- aggressive means. Other. These were times of turmoil, just after CromwellOliver Cromwell ( April 25, 1599 September 3, 1658) was an English military leader and politician. After leading the overthrow of the British monarchy he ruled England, Scotland and Ireland as Lord Protector from December 16, 1653 until his death, which i's death, and the Quakers were suspect, because of their heretical ideas and because of their refusal to pay respect to the king or swear an oath of loyalty to him (Quakers do not swear any oaths).

Penn's religious views were extremely distressing to his father, who had through naval service earned an estate in IrelandThe island of Ireland ire in Irish, Airlann in Ulster Scots) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Irelan and hoped that Penn's charisma and intelligence would be able to win him favor at the court of Charles IICharles II ( 29 May 1630 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 30 January 1649 de jure or 29 May 1660 de facto until his death. Charles II's father, Charles I, had been executed in 1649 following the English Civil War; the mo.

Penn was educated at Chigwell SchoolChigwell School is an English public school in the county of Essex, south-east England. It was founded by Samuel Harsnett in 1629. Pupils are aged between 7 and 18 years. Selection is by examination and interview. Some pupils choose to board. William Penn, EssexThis article is about the county of Essex in England. For other places named Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). Essex is a county located northeast of London, part of the East of England region. As well as Greater London it borders on Hertfordshire, Cambr where he had his earliest religious experience. Thereafter, young Penn's religious views effectively exiled him from English society—he was expelled from Christ Church, OxfordUniversity of Oxford Motto Dominus Illuminatio Mea ("The Lord is my Light") ( Psalm 27) Established c. 1096 School type Public Chancellor The Right Hon. Chris Patten Vice-Chancellor Dr. John Hood Location Oxford, United Kingdom Enrolment 17,000 total (5,6 for being a Quaker, and was arrested several times. Among the most famous of these was the trial following his arrest with William MeadeWilliam Meade ( November 11, 1789 March 14, 1862), was a United States Protestant Episcopal bishop. The son of Richard Kidder Meade (1746-1805), one of George Washington's aides during the War of Independence, he was born near Millwood, in what is now Cla 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. Despite heavy pressure from the Lord Mayor to convict the men, the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty". The Lord Mayor then 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.

The prosecution of Quakers became so fierce that Penn decided that it would be better to try to found a new, free, Quaker settlement in North America. Some Quakers had already moved to North America, but the New England Puritans, especially, were as negative towards Quakers as the people back home, and some of them had been banished to the Caribbean.

In 1677, Penn's chance came, as a group of prominent Quakers, among them Penn, received the colonial province of West New Jersey (half of the current state of New Jersey). That same year, two hundred settlers arrived, and founded the town of Burlington. Penn, who was involved in the project but himself remained in England, drafted a charter of liberties for the settlement. He guaranteed free and fair trial by jury, freedom of religion, freedom from unjust imprisonment and free elections.

King Charles II of England had a large loan with Penn's father, and settled it by granting Penn a large area west and south of New Jersey on March 4, 1681. Penn called the area Sylvania (Roman for woods), which Charles changed to Pennsylvania. 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 place, far away from England. Although Penn's authority over the colony was officially subject only to that of the king, he implemented a democratic system with full freedom of religion, fair trials, elected representatives of the people in power, and a separation of powers—again ideas that would later form the basis of the American constitution. The freedom of religion in Pennsylvania (complete freedom of religion for everybody who believed in God) brought not only English, German and Dutch Quakers to the colony, but also Huguenots (French Protestants) as well as Lutherans from Catholic German states.

From 1682 to 1684 Penn was, himself, in the Province of Pennsylvania. After the building plans for Philadelphia had been completed, and Penn's political ideas had been put into a workable form, Penn explored the interior. He befriended the local Indians, and ensured that they were paid fairly for their lands. He also 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.

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. 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 state, but while the deal was still being discussed, he was hit by a stroke in 1712, after which he was unable to speak or take care of himself. Penn died in 1718, and was buried next to his wife in the cemetery of the Quaker meetinghouse in Jordans. His family retained ownership of the colony of Pennsylvania until the American Revolution.

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.

There is a story widely told but is perhaps apocryphal, that at one time George Fox and William Penn met. At this meeting William 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 then said, "I have taken thy advice; I wore it as long as I could."

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