Chapter 5
●
79
is a clue: Remember how the colony of
Pennsylvaniagot itsname?That is right. It is
tough to plant a corn field in a forest! The
settlers had to clear the land of trees. The
wood was used for building homes, for
making furniture, and for home fuel.
Many people also came to Philadelphia.
Where there are people, there are needs to
be met. Not all settlers were farmers.
Philadelphia was a port city. This required
blacksmiths, shoemakers, store keepers,
carpenters, and so on. Active trading took
place between England and Pennsylvania.
By 1700, there were more than 5,000
people living in Philadelphia. Now let us
find out about the many ethnic and
religious groups of people who moved to
our colony.
The
Quakers
were started in England by
George Fox three years after William Penn
was born. They believe in a simple lifestyle
and peace. It was (and is) their belief that
the purpose to life is to worship God
through friends and fellowship — that is
why they name themselves the Society of
Friends. Instead of churches, they hold
their fellowship in aQuakermeetinghouse.
They started our colony’s first school.
They also started our colony’s first jail.
However, they believed a person should be
trained in a trade or craft while in jail.
The Quaker religion also had spread into
Europe. German Quakers started the town
of Germantown. This place is now part of
Philadelphia. Today, there are nearly
360,000Quakers worldwide.
AnotherGerman religious group tomove
to Pennsylvania was called the
Moravians
.
They started a town on the Lehigh River.
Today, it is named Bethlehem. They also
lived simple lives. Unmarried men and
women, called Brothers and Sisters, lived
apart in separate houses. Married people
also lived in separatehouses. Childrenwere
cared for in a day care house. They did not
livewith their parents!
TheMoravians were on good terms with
the Native Americans. They built a large
house for those Native Americans who
changed to the Christian religion. The
Moravians also bought African-American
slaves. They freed them and allowed them
towork to earnmoney.
AnotherGerman religious group tomove
to our colony was known as
Church of the
Brethren
.
Brethren
means brothers. The
Brethrens believed in baptizing, or
dunking, their young adults in a stream.
Because of this, they were nicknamed the
Dunkards. They also lived simply and did
not believe in war. Today, there are many
people who follow the teachings of the
Church of the Brethren.
The largest group of German and Swiss
Mother Bethel AfricanMethodist Episcopal
Church in Philadelphia.
