Founding Pennsylvania

William Penn was born in England in 1644. His father was a wealthy Admiral in the Royal Navy, so William Penn grew up in luxury. Eventually he grew distrustful of his spoiled lifestyle after hearing the teachings of a new religious group, the Society of Friends or the Quakers. The Quakers were a very rebellious group for the 17th Century, they believed that everyone should be treated equally, and these teachings began to affect the young William Penn.

Over the course of his life, William Penn was thrown into prison many times for speaking up for Quaker ideals, things like Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion. When he was tried for his crimes in court the jury found William Penn not guilty, but the judge disagreed and threw the jury into prison. Eventually, the jury was let out of prison but as a result William Penn added fair trials by jury to his list of “rights” he wanted all people to share.

But problems for William Penn and other Quakers continued to grow in England, so Penn and his fellow Quakers began looking for a place to go where they would not be prejudiced for their beliefs. By a happy accident William Penn’s fortune was about to change. The King of England owed William Penn’s father a massive debt, but the King was broke and William Penn’s father had just passed away. To repay this debt to the Penn family and to get the Quakers out of England the King of England gifted William Penn the rights to a huge land grant in North America. This land William Penn wanted to call Sylvania but the King wanted to name it after William Penn’s father. So they settled on the name Pennsylvania. William Penn set sail on the ship the Welcome in 1681 with many other Quakers in tow. After his arrival he began laying out Philadelphia, a city that was to utilize modern science to prevent fires and plagues.

Compare:

William Penn had lived through the Great Fire of London and the Plague; his layout of Philadelphia, a layout that we still use for Philadelphia today was designed to prevent the spread of both. What design elements helped with these preventative measures?

When William Penn arrived he was not the first European to arrive here. Several thousand Swedish settlers and a mix of other Europeans including the Dutch also called the area that would become Pennsylvania home. William Penn did not arrive as a conquering general but as a peaceful Quaker, so he welcomed all of these people into his newly formed colony. Soon thousands of people from all different ethnic backgrounds would be living in Pennsylvania, making Penn’s new colony a unique melting pot of culture.

Of course the Swedes and the British were not the only people living in Pennsylvania, for thousands of years Native Americans had lived along the banks of the Delaware River. As Europeans invaders arrived many tribes were pushed further and further west, and over hundreds of years were systematically persecuted by the British and later the newly formed United States.

William Penn tried to live in peace with the Native Americans in Pennsylvania. The tribe that lived here was the Lenape Nation. As a businessman, William Penn knew that peace was good for business so he tried to establish treaties with the Lenape to guarantee peace. While it’s hard to say if the Lenape knew what they were signing, they did gift William Penn several ceremonial Wampum belts, to signify the Lenape’s hope for a lasting peace.

Wampum Belt Craft

Try making your own Wampum Belt by following the instructions in this link!

Pop Quiz

What does Sylvania mean in latin? So what does Pennsylvania mean?
What does Philadelphia mean?
What is the other name for the Lenape Nation (HINT: another State shares this Native American nations name)?

4.Which words are Lenape and which are Dutch?

Manayunk

Conshohocken

Neshaminy

Schuylkill

Wissahickon

Making Laws

William Penn tried to establish freedom and equality for many people in Pennsylvania, he tried to perfect these freedoms in his Charter of Privileges which outlined the form of government that Pennsylvania was going to have and what rights were guaranteed to its people. Much like the United States Constitution does for all Americans today.

Writing Activity

Write your own Charter of Privileges (5-10 rights that you think you should have):

Need some help writing your own “Charter of Privileges,” here are some tips: Think about things you want for yourself or for your friends and family, these can be small things, like I want more chocolate at dinner or they can be big things like I want everyone to treat each other with respect. Remember the point of having a Government is for them to write rules “laws” to help people or to give people what they want. In the 21st Century this manifests itself in the form of services provided by tax money, such as public schools, fire departments, or providing drinking water through the Water Department. This idea can also manifest itself in the form of rights guaranteed to all people in Pennsylvania and the United States, such as the right to marriage equality or the right to trial by jury.

Video

Need a recap watch this video to learn more about the founding of Pennsylvania.

Answer Key

1. Woods, Penn's Woods

2. The City of Brotherly Love

3. Deleware Nation

4. Manayunk - Lenape, Conshohocken - Lenape, Neshaminy - Lenape, Schuylkill - Dutch, Wissahickon - Lenape