Penn’s Woods:

The Godly Utopia

of the

Society of Friends

The Seed of a Nation

“ Penn, more than any other individual founder or colonist, proved to be the chosen vessel through which the stream of demand for respect for individual rights was to flow so richly into our American reservoir of precious ideals.”

William Wistar Comfort

American Quaker, 1947

Who was William Penn?

• Born in England 1644.• Converted to Quakerism in his mid twenties.• Imprisoned for sharing his religious beliefs.• Inherited a debt owed to his father by King

Charles II.• Given a large chunk of New World land to pay

off the debt.• Planned a new colony based on Quaker ideals

of peace and brotherly love.• Called his new colony a “Holy Experiment”.

Original Charter of Charles II to William Penn

King Charles signing the Charter of Pennsylvania

If William Penn believed in peace ad brotherly love, why is he wearing a suit of

armor in this portrait?

What did the Quakers believe?

• They believed in equality, simplicity, peace, human integrity and truth.

Penn expanded upon the experiences of the Quaker Society of Friends already in the New

World to create his colony’s government.

• Frame of Government• Great Law• Charter of Privileges• County Commission

• Many historians believe Penn’s “Holy Experiment” formed the pattern for the system of government we have today.

William Penn’s Purchases from the Indians

Penn designed Philadelphia and other towns

with a grid pattern of streets.

Penn’s city design was organized to promote health and fire safety among the

citizens.

In 1639, Penn wrote a plan for “Present and Future Peace of

Europe”.

• This plan is considered to be the prototype of the United Nations.

• UN Day is celebrated on Penn’s birthday.

Was Penn fair to the Native Americans?

Did he respect the other religions?

When in 1733 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was founded in Pennsylvania, it was the only place in the entire English speaking world where public celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was permitted by law.

How do you think the Society of Friends felt about the practice of slavery?

What did The Society of Friends think about the environment

Quakers were activists for many causes.

• Women’s Rights

• Concern for the Poor and Handicapped

• Prison Reform

• Animal Rights

Would you have liked to have been a part of William Penn’s Holy Experiment?