There can be no friendship when there is no freedom; Friendship loves the free air, and will not be fenced up in straight and narrow enclosures.
― William Penn
William Penn (24 October [O.S. 14 October] 1644 – 10 August [O.S. 30 July 1718] 1718) was an English writer, religious thinker and an early advocate of religious freedom and democracy. He founded the Province of Pennsylvania and also made peace with the Delaware Indians.
Biography[]
Born to Anglican family, William Penn was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn. He studied at the Chigwell School and then at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was expelled due to his religious views. In 1666, Penn joined the Quakers at the age of 22.
After his conversion, Penn began writing and publishing many books and pamphlets about his beliefs, for which he would be arrested four times – the most famous of which was in 1670 for preaching in the street of London. He was acquitted of this charge due to the jurors, led by Edward Bushel, refusing to convict him simply for "speaking". Penn became involved in American colonization, hoping to find a place where the Quakers would be free from persecution. In 1681, Penn received a land grant of a large area west and south of New Jersey from Charles II of England, as a debt to his deceased father. Penn negotiated the purchase with the Lenape Native Americans, establishing friendly relations with them as well. He founded the land as the Province of Pennsylvania (which would become the state of Pennsylvania), implementing a governing system that valued the freedom of religion, fair trials and democratic ideals. Despite the growth of the Pennsylvania colony, Penn did not profit much from it. He went in debt during his final years, imprisoned in England for it as well. He suffered a stroke, in 1712, which would impair his memory and ability to speak. He died penniless in 1718.
Penn was also a supporter of unification of the American colonies. The democratic principles he promoted would later serve as an inspiration for the framing of the U.S. Constitution.