Religious tolerance, freedom, fame, and fortune. These advantages and many others are what awaited anyone who boarded a ship and sailed across the Atlantic to America. For many rich and clergy men it was easy. They could be on their way with no questions asked. The first ship to America did not even have one woman. Nevertheless, once they got a taste of the western world, there was no stopping.
In 1493 Spain led the popular discovery of America when Columbus first settled in the New World. While England's first colony was Jamestown, established over 100 years later in 1607. After the settlement of Plymouth, in 1620 America's eastern sea board soon became over crowded. Establishing the first thirteen colonies was no easy task. In Foner's textbook we study a great many men whom he claims to have a perpetual role in Americas colonial period (Foner). Foner gives an overview of the greatest men, sometimes leaving out a few equally great men. William Penn, for example, is one of these great men.
William Penn and his accomplishments changed the way we think about the early colonization of America. Penn founded Pennsylvania as well as Philadelphia, which became the greatest city in the new world. Penn was devoted to religious freedom. Most early settlers only wanted to convert people but Penn wanted tolerance for all religions. Penn also developed important legislature, for that time. William Penn was a great Quaker advocate, colonial proprietor, and a very influential politician.
William Penn founded Pennsylvania. King Charles II of England had a large loan with Penn's father, after whose death, King Charles settled by granting Penn a large area west and south of New Jersey on March 4, 1681. Penn called the area Sylvania, Latin for ...
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... Penn visited America once more, in 1699. In those years he put forward a plan to make a federation of all English colonies in America. There have been claims that he also fought slavery, but that seems unlikely, as he owned and even traded slaves himself. However, he did promote good treatment for slaves, and other Pennsylvania Quakers were among the earliest fighters against slavery. This was Penn's Holy Experiment because he wanted it to be a place of religious freedom. He created a Constitution and a set of laws. William Penn had a dream to create a place where people could have the freedom to choose their religion. This dream is still alive today. He laid the foundation for a government that gave the people a say in how they lived. Because of him, we are able to live freely today.
Unlike Winthrop who called for shared cooperation, Penn upheld liberty of conscience and affirmed that no entity has the authority to rule over one’s consciousness. Specifically writing the law, “That, in all courts all persons of all persuasions may freely appear in their own way, and according to their own manners and there personally plead their own cause themselves” (Frame of Government of Pennsylvania). Certainly, he understood the individual’s right to his own thinking, even going as far as entrusting them to advocate for themselves in the court of law. Further, religious liberty also took root in
Have you ever wondered whose hands our country was in at the start of our time? Captain John Smith was one of the first American heroes. He was the first man to promote a permanent settlement of America. William Bradford was a Puritan who was courageous and determined to set up a colony where citizens could worship freely. Although both of these men were two of America’s heroes, they had more differences than known.
In 1419, Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal began the period of time known as the “Age of Exploration”. Europe’s leading superpowers, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and England, all competed for colonization in unknown territories. Samuel de Champlain colonized along the St. Lawrence River in 1608, Henry Hudson of Holland established Albany in 1609, and Spain established colonies in Mexico and Mesoamerica. In 1607, England established its first colony in North America around the Chesapeake Bay, and nearly a decade later established a second colony in present-day New England. Both New England and the Chesapeake were founded by the British around the same time; however, both colonies developed a different economy, government, and many other ways of life.
It was not until the 1700s that the thirteen colonies finally started to flourish on their own. The east coast of North America was soon booming with success. But the Northern and Southern colonies’ did not take exactly the same routes in order to reach success. The Southern and Northern colonies began to show similarities in immigration and social structure and began to show differences in their economy.
The establishment of colonies in America took place within distinct circumstances. Some colonies were founded for the purpose of political and religious havens and pursuit of individual freedom and happiness. People came to the New World expecting a place where the rules in the Old World, such as hereditary aristocracies and dominance of church and state, would not apply. Other colonies such as the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania were established by either proprietors, or individuals who had an ideal for a place that could embrace everyone with his/her own will. With people who sought liberty in believes and equality in rights and founders of colonies who were not under direct rule or servitude to the Kings and Queens in Europe, the English colonies
The colonists immigrated to the New World in search of religious freedom. Their entire early experience was a constant struggle for survival. To the colonists the New World was their way out of poverty and into the
William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, soon after wrote the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges and Liberties, a constitution for the colony of Pennsylvania, which enabled the people to freely practice their religion of choice without fear of government punishment.
Between 1607 and 1733, Great Britain established thirteen colonies in the New World along the land’s eastern coast. England’s colonies included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Though the colonies were classified as New England, middle or southern colonies, the colonists developed a unifying culture. With this new American culture, the colonists throughout the colonies began to think differently than their English cousins. Because colonial America displayed characteristics of a democratic society and, therefore, deviated from England’s monarchic ways, it was established as a democratic society.
When the first American settlement on Roanoke Island was established in 1585 it’s primary force, Sir Walter Raleigh, had no idea that this “New World” would evolve into one of the most powerful voices in the modern world. But before it developed it would have to shaped by it’s founders from the Western world. Two of the largest voices in America’s early development are John Smith, who with a group of English merchants, hoped to get rich in this new land, and William Bradford, a puritan farmer who was one of the most influential men involved with the Mayflower compact. In their two pieces they both convey America as a place to escape but fail to reach many other similar conclusions on what America was like at this time.
“Religion is the backbone of evolution.” Without the cultural differences and belief systems we would not have a regulated religious base. It is evident some religions can be both alike but yet still very different. The historical William Bradford and Jonathan Edwards demonstrate this theory. William Bradford portrays more leniencies while allowing for more religious tolerance within the puritan community. With some contrasting beliefs but familiar goals, Jonathan Edwards, pursued a stricter religious background. Both of these author’s play an important role in sculpting the puritan way of life.
William Penn was born in England and belonged to a wealthy family “possessed of wealth and status, which gave him almost immediate access to the halls of power in Restoration, England” (Moretta xii). I personally believe that the importance of status and wealth must have played a gigantic role in Penn’s life and his career. He lived a simple life and wanted the good of others, but knowing the status of your family would’ve generated something in his mind. He was a social individual and was liked by his peers until he was caught attending a Quakers meeting and arrested. His father left him homeless at the age of twenty-two and he started residing with the Quakers. He had to struggle in his early twenties but as they say; “with no struggle there is no inspiration.” He knew the consequences of attending the meetings but the interest kept him going. I believe this is when Penn realized the important things in his life and started to prioritize things that meant something to him.
America was just colonies in this era, and were under England’s rule completely. Jamestown was the first English Colony on American land and was established by John Smith in 1607.
The first effort by the English to establish a colony in the New World was when Sir Walter Raleigh issued a charter to establish a colony at Roanoke. It was the responsibility of Raleigh to make the necessary provisions to complete the journeys to the New World and accomplish the goals of the charter. This entailed hiring ship captains and their crews, recruiting possible colonists, purchasing food and other supplies, and finding those who would invest capital in the missions. Raleigh however did not actively participate in the journeys to Roanoke Island; he was just the organizer and major financier.
The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the New Jerseys (both East and West) and Pennsylvania. In 1607, Jamestown, the first English colony in the New World (that is, the first to thrive and prosper), was founded by a group of 104 settlers to a peninsula along the James River. These settlers hoped to find gold, silver, a northwest passage to Asia, a cure for syphilis, or any other valuables they might take back to Europe and make a profit. Lead by Captain John Smith, who "outmaneuvered other members of the colony's ruling and took ruthlessly took charge" (Liberty Equality Power, p. 57), a few lucky members of the original voyage survived. These survivors turned to the local Powhatan Indians, who taught them the process of corn- and tobacco-growing. These staple-crops flourished throughout all five of these colonies.
In Pennsylvania, progress was made toward social reform. No provisions had been made in order to receive military defense. This colony promoted peace. Also, no restrictions were placed on immigration, and naturalization was made easy, making it easier for new immigrants to move there. Many people in the colony disliked the idea of black slavery. Therefore, all of the social characteristics made it easier for the citizens to grasp the concept that there was no need for contradictions in social status.