William Penn
(1644-1718)

birthdate: October 16
birthplace:
London, England

William Penn was one of the first heroes of freedom in America. After becoming a Quaker in his twenties, Penn became a leading voice for religious freedom in England and was imprisoned numerous times. When a group of Quakers received the charter for the colonial province of West New Jersey in 1677, Penn wrote a charter of liberties for the colony that guaranteed freedom of religion, free elections, freedom from unjust imprisonment and fair trial by jury. In 1681 King Charles gave William Penn the charter for Pennsylvania in repayment for a debt he owed Penn's father. William Penn then set out to create his dream -- "a holy experiment" as he called it - to establish a virtuous society which would be a model for all humanity. He wanted to establish a colony where religious and political freedom could flourish, and advertised plans for the city of Philadelphia he was building throughout Europe. Unlike many settlers, William Penn made friends with local Indian tribes, negotiating treaties, paying them for the land, and instituting laws that protected Indians from Europeans. William Penn set up a constitution for Pennsylvania with democratic principles which would serve as inspiration for the Constitution of the United States a century later.

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