Quakers and Pennsylvania
William Penn, the Quaker entrepreneur and philosopher born in London, had the vision to create the Quaker founded colony of Pennsylvania. Quakerism, or better known as the Society of Friends to the members of the group, settled in what is now Pennsylvania around 1681 from a land grant given to Penn. Many left the British Isles to settle on this grant, the majority at first being the Quakers. Then, in 1682, he gave his Charter of Liberty to the assembly. This would designate the structure of this colony. William Penn’s creation of the colony was unlike any other colony in the New World at the time, as he would set it apart.
Penn wanted this new Quaker land to be different, in his vision. According to Eric Foner, “Religious
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His Charter of Liberty, approved by the assembly in 1682, offered “Christian liberty” to all who affirmed a belief in God and did not use their freedom to promote “licentiousness.” There was no established church in Pennsylvania, and attendance at religious services was entirely voluntary, although Jews were barred from office by a required oath affirming belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ” (Foner 93). Unlike what all of the other colonies were establishing, Penn allowed people to practice religion as they liked at their own church. If you believed in God, you were good to practice. Religious uniformity can hinder a colony’s ability to grow and become a strong society. This truly was a great “holy experiment,” as there was not anything like this going on in the colonies. This meant that the liberty to practice Christianity was guaranteed to all who were in this new Quaker land. Religious freedoms were not the only liberties granted to those who were in this new Quaker land. Foner says, “Penn considered his colony a “holy experiment,” but of a different kind—“a free colony for all mankind that should go hither.” He hoped that Pennsylvania could be governed