William Penn

William Penn was a great individual who contributed tremendously to this nation. John Moretta’s “William Penn and the Quaker Legacy” talks about the courageous efforts by Penn and his perspectives on things. Penn was a spiritual human being who believed in god and wanted a peaceful society for one to live in. He was a brave individual who wanted everyone to be equal and was democratic. Religious tolerance alleged by Penn changed the views of many individuals who lived in that era. The importance of Penn’s background, Quakerism and the development of his society due to his view on religious tolerance will be discussed in this paper.

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.

George Fox “founded the Quaker religion in 1647... rejected the use of formal sacraments and ministry, refused to take oaths a...

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...vision was a heartbreaking failure.

William Penn was a great human being who went through tremendous hurdles in life, went against his family’s views but had a strong vision and a will to accomplish pacifism in a colony. Creating Philadelphia was a great accomplishment for the years he spent there and the belief of religious tolerance attracted many individuals to practice freely. I am overwhelmed by his actions he took at a young age and his strong will power to accomplish his goal. Even though, his colony negatively transformed after his departure, his vision was to care for the people and to eliminate differences based on ones’ skin, color, gender, or religious beliefs. To conclude, William Penn was a great human being who envisioned something different and tried his utmost best to create a peaceful colony for one to dwell in and allowing religious tolerance.