Penn began to think about starting a colony where
people of all religions could live in peace, without fear
of being
persecuted
or treated unfairly. Williamhad
inherited his father’s land and wealth. When the King
could not repay money he had borrowed from
William’s father, the time was right to ask the King for
a land grant in North America. In 1681, the English
King granted what is known as
Penn’s Charter
. This
charter was a formal written document authorizing
WilliamPenn to establish a colony.
Williamwas given control of most of the land
that today is known as Pennsylvania. In return for the
colony, the King wanted one-fifth of all the gold and
silver found and two beaver skins. Acquiring
Pennsylvania was a fantastic deal for WilliamPenn
because there was no gold or silver to be found in
the colony! To sweeten the deal, in 1682, the King’s
brother, the Duke of York, deeded to Penn the three
lower counties on the Delaware River, which are now
the state of Delaware.
Williamwanted to name his new colony Sylvania,
whichmeant woods. The King of England wanted to
honor William’s father by adding Penn to Sylvania.
That is how this colony acquired its name of
Pennsylvania, or Penn’sWoods.
It is a very difficult job to start a working
government, and yet, that is what WilliamPenn did. He
did so by writing four
Frames of Government
at
different times. His first Frame of Government was
written in England in 1681. It became Pennsylvania’s
first constitution, or written plan for government. Penn
felt that “governments, like clocks, go from themotion
men give them. Let men be good, and the government
cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will care for it.” He called
for two, separate law-making bodies. This plan allowed
for a
Council
and
General Assembly
to be chosen from
the landowning citizens of Pennsylvania.
William’s first plan set forth a number of other
amazing ideas in government. He 1) established trial
by jury; 2) granted freedomof the press; 3) allowed
freedomof religion; 4) created a penal code for
criminals; 5) established a process for amending, or
changing, laws; and 6) stated that all children by age
12 should begin training in a useful trade or skill.
Although common ideas now, they were unheard of
during the 1680s.
Thus, in 1681, WilliamPenn began to plan his
Holy Experiment
, where people were viewed as
equals, where people could worship as they chose,
and where people had a say in how they were
governed. In 1681, Penn sent a small group of
settlers to Penn’sWoods to start his colony. He
joined them in 1682 with a group of Quakers on a
small ship namedWelcome. Here, he planned
Philadelphia
, whichmeant in the Greek language
“City of Brotherly Love.”
WilliamPenn’s first Frame of
Government was written in
England in 1681. It became
Pennsylvania’s first constitution, or
written plan for government.
This map of the Philadelphia area shows the city, neighboring
townships, and building lots during the time ofWilliamPenn.
The Founding of Pennsylvania
31
