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William Penn's Holy Experiment

In the 17th century, many groups of British Christians rose and fought against religious intolerance and corruption. The Puritans sought a return to biblical religion and a purified form of Christianity in England . This resulted in the Puritan Revolution, as well as a migration to America to find a place to worship God in what they considered the 'correct' fashion.

Another group, called the Quakers, who approached Christianity from an extreme spiritual interpretation, also pushed against the status quo. They were often criticized and abused for their faith, both by the religious and the civic world. One of their members, William Penn (1644-1718), was influential in the establishment of that faith in America and was responsible for creating a colony in America where a government was established that earnestly and actively sought to protect religious and civil rights. Quaker specialist Bonnelyn Young Kunze writes in her article:

William Penn's chief claim to historical fame was his founding of the Quaker colony of Pennsylvania, as well as his prolific writings in defense of Quakerism and religious toleration in England. (170)

William Penn's parents were an interesting mix. According to American sociologist and historian Harry Wildes, Penn's father was an admiral in the royal navy and was "by conviction pro-Anglican and royalist" (Wildes, 10). He was a stern and serious man who lived and worked amidst the political chaos of the time. Not a great deal is known about Penn's mother except that she was "energetic, extroverted" (Wildes, 9), and was left alone for long periods of time to raise her children by herself. Her initial style of parenting was unorthodox, but later on, she attempted to improve upon her approach.

William Penn was described as quiet and introspective, although he was reported to have "exhibited a strong mystical streak. By his own account, he had mystical experiences by the time he was twelve or thirteen" (Dunn and Dunn, 4). No doubt this would be a determinant factor in his joining the Quakers.

At this same time, Penn and his father had "fairly stormy relations" (Dunn and Dunn, 4) that are documented in correspondences between the two. He often rebelled against his father's wishes and demands of him. This rebellious streak led him into trouble a great deal as a young man. He was expelled from Oxford in 1662 for objecting "to the prayer book and to ritual which seemed too popish" (Dunn and Dunn, 7) and was severely punished for his involvement with the Puritans. According to historian Hans Fantel, Penn's father, hoping to separate him from the "company of subversives" (Fantel, 45), sent him abroad to Paris, France. There, he mingled with many great men, including King Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715) and Moïse Amyraut (1596-1664), a famous Protestant Christian humanist.

During this time, contrary to what his father hoped to accomplish, Penn honed his challenging views even more, but he did learn some tact and diplomacy. He returned home a more mature, even-tempered man (much to his parents' delight), but he still had questions. His father, too, questioned why Penn was wasting his time on so much theology and enrolled him in law school. Fortunately for Penn, he was able to spend more time with his father and observed him in his military duties, which no doubt influenced Penn's later administration of the Pennsylvania colony.

At this time, Penn was also introduced to the English royal court, providing contacts that would serve him well later on. As a responsible adult, Penn was given more family responsibilities, and his father sent him to Ireland to take care of some family holdings and estates.

Penn Befriends The Quakers

While away from his family's influence, Penn began attending Quaker meetings. These meetings were forbidden under the Claredon Code, which "forbade all religious gatherings except those under the auspices of the official Church of England" (Fantel, 66). Again, Penn found himself pitted against authority concerning his religious rights. During one meeting, Penn had the opportunity to listen to Thomas Loe, a famous Quaker leader. There, Penn was deeply affected by what he heard.

]Penn] recognized the Quaker meeting as a community through which a free faith of separate individuals could take on socially effective forms. ... Penn had found ... a practical intersection of faith and society." (Fantel, 68)

Eventually, Penn joined the Quakers and was subsequently arrested and jailed after a meeting of theirs was discovered with him in attendance. He was given the opportunity to escape imprisonment by a politically savvy judge, but he stood fast to his ideals. At age 22, William Penn had declared himself a Quaker, much to his father's sorrow and anger.

Penn's conversion was predictable considering his mystical background. With the Quakers, "He could share ... powerful feelings of possession by the spirit and enjoy a certain freedom to interpret and act on those feelings in an individual way" (Dunn and Dunn, 5). Furthermore, this new faith of Penn's also managed to justify some of his belligerence with his parents. Being a Quaker "gave Penn good religious grounds for disobeying his parents" (Dunn and Dunn, 6) if they made religious demands that challenged his beliefs. The ultimate result of this was bad relations with his father until his father's death in 1670.

Penn not only had difficult relations with his family but also managed to get himself in much trouble with the Church of England. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1667 for writing a tract entitled, The Sandy Foundation Shaken Speaking Against the Doctrine of the Trinity . While in the Tower, he wrote No Cross, No Crown and Innocency with Her Open Face, and he later went on to write several other works. Many of his tracts were written by Penn to defend his Quaker brethren or in defense of religious freedom. According to Quaker historian Melvin Endy Jr.,

Penn's originality as a tolerationist consisted largely in the ingenuity with which he drew up variations of arguments intended to convince his readers that it was to their interest as individuals, citizens, and merchants to replace coerced uniformity with the blessings of toleration. (Endy, 323)

Penn also began to preach, and in 1671, he was arrested and imprisoned for preaching at a worship service. Still, "Despite filthy and crowded conditions, Penn wrote three lengthy tracts and several epistles focusing on liberty of conscience" (Adams and Emmerich, 63). He took the matter of religious liberty very seriously and hoped to use his talents in a just and righteous cause. He found that cause in the establishment of a Quaker colony in America. There, Penn hoped to put his religious and political beliefs to the test in one grand 'Holy Experiment.'

The Pennsylvania Colony & the Holy Experiment

In 1680, an older debt of King Charles II of England (r. 1660-1685) was passed from the deceased Admiral Penn to his son, William Penn, but instead of that money owed to him, young Penn asked to receive "proprietary title to a huge territory in America" (Dunn and Dunn, 41). He asked for this because “by obtaining the proprietorship to a Quaker colony, he could vastly expand his service to his coreligionists and to the general cause of religious and political liberty – and at the same time greatly enlarge his property holdings" (Dunn and Dunn, 42). It was Penn's overwhelming desire to "create a theocentric society without resorting to compulsion in religious matters" (Adams and Emmerich, 66). In that utopian society, Penn "sought to reconcile liberty and authority in his frame of government" (Stern, 85).

Therefore, Penn established this colony with the hope that religious toleration would be maintained without abuse by the government. He "argued that intolerance was contrary to reason. To sacrifice the liberty and property of a man for religious causes would not win the loyalty of that man for the prince. Enforced conversion ... resembled forced marriage" (Beatty, 134). Of course, as the head proprietor and governor of those holdings in America, Penn had complete authority as detailed in the Pennsylvania charter of 1681. However, he used this position as much as possible to procure liberties for the colonists and not to help himself. Sadly, he did not succeed as fully as he had hoped.

Penn's earliest plan of government was called the Fundamental Constitutions of Pennsylvania. This document, probably drafted by Penn himself, was the "most liberal of the early plans of government for Pennsylvania. Its opening section declares religious liberty for all inhabitants" (Soderlund, 96). Furthermore, it was extremely democratic in spirit and law. Much of the power rested in the hands of the people, rather than with the governor and the administrative council.

Unfortunately, this plan was rejected for political reasons at the time and was neither ratified nor signed by the new colonists (not even by Penn). Instead, a new Frame of Government was enacted. It had a stronger hierarchical style of government with most of the earlier plan's extreme democratic representation being removed from its provisions. According to Historian Jean Soderlund, it still guaranteed "religious freedom to all inhabitants who believe in one God" (119) and established an electoral legislative system, prohibited taxation without representation, and guaranteed free trade .

This experiment in religion and government thrived, with new colonists coming in from all parts of Europe . Interestingly, not all immigrants to Pennsylvania were Quakers. There were many Puritans, Catholics, and people from other sects, but Penn's system of government still incorporated them. Things began to change for Penn and his colony, however, with the advent of the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689).

Penn's association and friendship with the fleeing king of England made him a hunted man, and he had to spend some time hiding to save his life. During this period, the control of the Pennsylvania colony was taken away from him because of the lack of military support for the French-Indian War by its colonists. Eventually, Penn regained control in the colony, but by that time, there was great "political disorder, religious factionalism, and a General Assembly hostile to his executive power" (Adams and Emmerich, 68).

Ever the man of peace, Penn approved a Charter of Privileges in 1701, which gave the Pennsylvania legislature even greater powers. He also returned to England to fight against a bill in Parliament seeking to re-establish royal control over the colonies, never to return to his colony in Pennsylvania again. In 1718, he died in England from complications from several debilitating strokes he suffered earlier that year. Initially, Penn's charter was split between his sons, but eventually, the Penn family sold it back to the Crown.

Penn's Holy Experiment proved true to its name. It was a testing ground for new and innovative ways of dealing with religious tolerance alongside civic administration. It showed that, at least for a time, the two kingdoms of faith and government could co-exist in ways that were free and fruitful. This form of society could prosper and flourish despite hardships, military struggles, and religious diversity.

The colony in Pennsylvania did more than just succeed for itself; it provided the framework and example for other colonies to follow in America. Even beyond that, it greatly influenced the eventual constitution of the United States of America. Adams and Emmerich have stated, "No other colony inspired the Founders more in the area of religious liberty than Pennsylvania" (68).

This incitement did not just happen on its own; William Penn was the force responsible for the creation of this important colony. As Edward Beatty concluded, Penn's "great enterprise in the New World was an endeavor to set up a social order blessed with religious toleration and controlled by humanitarian ideals" (305). Without him, there may not have been as strong a desire to create an environment for the cultivation of religious freedoms.

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Bibliography

Arlin Adams and Charles J. Emmerich. "William Penn and the American Heritage of Religious Liberty." The Journal of Law and Religion , 1/8/1990.
Beatty, Edward Corbyn Obert. William Penn As Social Philosopher. Kessinger Publishing, 1970.
Bonnelyn Young Kunze. "Religious Authority and Social Status in Seventeenth-Century England: the Friendship of Margaret Fell, George Fox, and William Penn." Church History , 2/57/1988.
Dunn, Richard S. & Dunn, Mary Maples. The World of William Penn. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
Edwin Broner and David Fraser. William Penn’s Published Writings: 1660–1726. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986
Endy Jr., Melvin B. William Penn and Early Quakerism . Princeton University Press, 2016.
Fantel, Hans. William Penn. Morrow, 1974.
Soderlund, Jean R. William Penn and the Founding of Pennsylvania: A Documentary History. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.
T. Noel Stern. "William Penn on the Swearing of Oaths: His Ideas in Theory and Practice." Quaker History , 2/70/1981.
Wildes, Harry Emerson & illus. William Penn. Macmillan, 1974.

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Quakers in the World

The Holy Experiment, in Pennsylvania

Between 1681 and 1683, William Penn established the colony of Pennsylvania. He sought to put into practice all his Quaker ideals, and he called it his ‘Holy Experiment’. He thought that everything would be possible in the New World, unlike in the England of his time.

This summarises the philosophy underpinning the Holy Experiment. Its key features were:

Fair treatment for Native Americans : King Charles II had given Penn the land. But Penn did not think it was the King’s to give: in his view the land belonged to the Leni Lenape Indians who had been living there long before the colonists arrived. He was determined to buy the land from them, at a fair price. He signed a treaty with them at Shackamaxon in 1682.

No military : the King was amazed when Penn chose not to bring arms and soldiers with him. This was a complete contrast to other colonies, where there were frequent battles with the Native Americans.

In 1682 Penn set out the first version of Pennsylvania’s Constitution in the ‘Great Law’. In 1683 this was augmented, in the ‘Second Frame of Government’. When he returned to Pennsylvania in 1699 it was revised to become the ‘Charter of Privileges’. This remained in place until the War of Independence, in 1776.

The key features of all these documents were:

Freedom of religion : all could worship freely, as they chose. Pennsylvania would be open to people of all religious persuasions, not only Quakers. At the time, Quakers and many others were still being persecuted in Britain, where the only form of religion allowed was the Church of England. So Pennsylvania was a haven of religious freedom, and many new settlers came.

An enlightened penal code ; prison was to reform, not only to punish. People in prison were to be taught a trade, so that they could be gainfully employed on release, and they were to be treated humanely. The death penalty was to be confined to murder and treason. In Britain at the time many relatively trivial offences incurred the death penalty and prisons were terrible places.

Work for everyone : he made occupations in agriculture, crafts and trade much more accessible than elsewhere. Pennsylvania became known as "the best poor man's country."

Education for everyone : girls and boys were all to be educated. This was a remarkable innovation at a time when most children were illiterate, especially girls. And the education was to be useful, and practical, so that all could find employment. This was characteristic of Quakers in Britain too.

A widened franchise : all men were to be given the vote. Equality did not extend to giving women the vote, but in England only a small proportion of men could vote, namely those owning property. There was no mention of slaves or 'Indians' however.

T own planning for healthy living : he designed Philadelphia on a grid pattern, with wide public squares and parks. He had seen the ravages caused by the Great Plague in London, and the fire that followed, and he was determined that his ‘greene countrie towne‘ would be healthy and safe. This approach to design was later emulated all over America.

Penn only spent 4 years in Pennsylvania, and not everything he did outlasted him. But much did. A great deal of Penn’s thinking about governance can be seen in later constitutional documents. Thomas Jefferson, third US President, and key author of the Declaration of Independence, called Penn the greatest lawgiver the world has ever seen, and drew on his ideas. Penn's legacy is considerable.

The Pennsylvania Colony: A Quaker Experiment in America

William Penn's 'Holy Experiment' on the Delaware River

Corbis / VCG via Getty Images

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The Pennsylvania colony was one of the 13 original British colonies that became the United States of America. It was founded in 1682 by the English Quaker William Penn.

Escape From European Persecution

In 1681, William Penn, a Quaker, was given a land grant from King Charles II, who owed money to Penn's deceased father. Immediately, Penn sent his cousin William Markham to the territory to take control of it and be its governor. Penn's goal with Pennsylvania was to create a colony that allowed for freedom of religion. The Quakers were among the most radical of the English Protestant sects that had sprung up in the 17th century. Penn sought a colony in America—what he called a "holy experiment"—to protect himself and fellow Quakers from persecution.

When Markham arrived on the western shore of the Delaware River, however, he found that the region was already inhabited by Europeans. Part of present-day Pennsylvania was actually included in the territory named New Sweden that had been founded by Swedish settlers in 1638. This territory was then surrendered to the Dutch in 1655 when Peter Stuyvesant sent a large force to invade. Swedes and Finns continued to arrive and settle in what would become Pennsylvania.

Arrival of William Penn

In 1682, William Penn arrived in Pennsylvania on a ship called the "Welcome." He quickly instituted the First Frame of Government and created three counties: Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks. When he called a General Assembly to meet in Chester, the assembled body decided that the Delaware counties should be joined with those of Pennsylvania and that the governor would preside over both areas. It would not be until 1703 that Delaware would separate itself from Pennsylvania. In addition, the General Assembly adopted the Great Law, which provided for the liberty of conscience in terms of religious affiliations.

By 1683, the Second General Assembly created the Second Frame of Government. Any Swedish settlers were to become English subjects, seeing that the English were now in a majority in the colony.

Pennsylvania During the American Revolution

Pennsylvania played an extremely important role in the American Revolution . The First and Second Continental Congresses were convened in Philadelphia. This is where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. Numerous key battles and events of the war occurred in the colony, including the crossing of the Delaware River, the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Germantown, and the winter encampment at Valley Forge. The Articles of Confederation were also drafted in Pennsylvania, the document that formed the basis of the new Confederation that was created at the end of the Revolutionary War.

Significant Events

In 1688, the first written protest against enslavement in North America was created and signed by the Quakers in Germantown. In 1712, the trade of enslaved people was outlawed in Pennsylvania.
The colony was well-advertised, and by 1700 it was the third-biggest and the richest colony in the New World.
Penn allowed for a representative assembly elected by landowners.
Freedom of worship and religion was granted to all citizens.
In 1737, Benjamin Franklin was named the postmaster of Philadelphia. Before this, he had set up his own printing shop and started publishing "Poor Richard's Almanack." In the following years, he was named the first president of the Academy, performed his famous electricity experiments, and was an important figure in the fight for American independence.
Frost, J.W. " William Penn's Experiment in the Wilderness: Promise and Legend ." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 107, no. 4, October 1983, pp. 577-605.
Schwartz, Sally. " William Penn and Toleration: Foundations of Colonial Pennsylvania ." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, v ol. 50, no. 4, October 1983, pp. 284-312.
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William Penn: His “Holy Experiment” in Religious Tolerance in Pennsylvania

The Birth of Pennsylvania, 1680 , by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. King Charles II granted a title of land in America to William Penn to repay a debt to Penn’s father, Sir William, who was a friend of the Crown.

William Penn was one of America’s most notable advocates and movers for religious freedom in early America . Penn believed everyone had the God-given right to choose what to believe and how to peaceably worship.

William Penn’s Early Life and Advocacy for Liberty of Conscience

William Penn

As a Quaker in England who believed in the “Inner Light of Christ” and criticized formal external religion, Penn was expelled from the Church of England. He was sent to France by his father to shake his non-conformist views but there, studying among persecuted Huguenots (or French Protestants), became a stronger dissenter. Penn traveled Europe, visiting Quakers and met philosopher John Locke . When non-conformists were persecuted in Britain, he became an advocate for religious freedom and was imprisoned. He corresponded with Roger Williams of Rhode Island and protested to colonial authorities when Quakers in Massachusetts were mistreated.

In 1670, Penn wrote A Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Debated and Defended by the Authority of Reason, Scripture, and Antiquity in support of freedom of belief and against religious coercion and persecution as violating the Bible and human rights. Some of Penn’s views reflected those of Martin Luther and Roger Williams. Penn argued that coercion discredits the honor of God, the meekness of the Christian religion, the authority of Scripture, the privilege of nature, the principles of common reason, the well-being of government and society, and the teachings of wise men in historical and modern times. One early historian called Penn’s treatise “the completest exposition of the theory of toleration of the time.”

Penn’s Founding of Pennsylvania and Experiment in Religious Tolerance

In 1681, Penn was granted a charter and title of land in colonial America by King Charles II to repay a debt to Penn’s father and to remove Penn and his protests from England. King Charles named the land Pennsylvania, meaning “Penn’s woods” or “Penn’s forest,” to honor Penn’s father, Sir William, who had been a friend of the Crown. In founding a new colony, Penn hoped for revenue to pay off debts and to create a “tolerance settlement” in America for persecuted Christians. He called this colony a “Holy Experiment” in religious tolerance and hoped it would be an example for Christians everywhere.

Penn’s ideas of religious tolerance, like Williams’s, differed from those of others who sought a conformed religious society that followed a state church. Penn wanted to allow differences in Christian belief and worship. He thought believers’ doctrinal differences were less important than their shared, fundamental Christian belief.

Implementing the Holy Experiment

Penn’s colony of Pennsylvania was self-governing, had no state church, and allowed religious pluralism . It forbid irreverence against God but did not impose conformity to one sect. One had to be a Christian to be a citizen or hold public office, but no denominational restrictions existed. The government maintained peace, order, and other necessary affairs. Penn placed power in the hands of the people and in their consent of governance and laws.

Pennsylvania’s Frame of Government of 1682 declares, “Any government is free to the people under it where the laws rule, and the people are a party to those laws, and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion.” The colony provided, says lawyer David Gibbs, Jr. in his book One Nation Under God , “not freedom from religion but freedom of religion—not a separation of government from all religion, but a government that respected the religious consciences of all its citizens.” Penn hoped the environment would allow colonists to pursue and find true faith in God.

Penn recruited Christians of all sects from England and Europe. Refugees came from many parts of Europe that were affected by the Protestant Reformation , European religious wars, and English Civil War. Such Christian groups included:

Presbyterians
Roman Catholics
Methodist Episcopalians

Colonists often described the settlers as “a great mixt multitude.” Pennsylvania became one of the most religiously tolerant places in New England and the world at that time. It became an example for the future nation of the United States of America.

Legacy of the Holy Experiment

The legacy of William Penn’s Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania had a profound impact on American religious freedom, making the colony one of the most religiously tolerant places in New England and the world at that time. Penn’s progressive ideas of religious tolerance directly influenced the framers of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights , embedding the principles of religious freedom into the foundation of American law. This enduring legacy set a lasting example for the future nation of the United States, demonstrating the importance and viability of a society based on religious tolerance and freedom.

Support the American Heritage Education Foundation

At the American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF), we are dedicated to preserving and promoting the foundational principles of American history, including the values of religious tolerance and freedom championed by visionaries like William Penn. Your support helps us create educational resources, conduct workshops, and provide teachers with the tools they need to inspire students about the importance of these principles in shaping our nation.

Join us in our mission to educate future generations about the rich heritage of religious freedom and tolerance that forms the cornerstone of American democracy. By donating to AHEF or participating in our programs, you can make a lasting impact on the quality of history education and ensure that the legacy of the “Holy Experiment” continues to inspire and guide us.

Contributed by AHEF and Angela E. Kamrath.

—–

Source for more information: Kamrath, Angela E. The Miracle of America: The Influence of the Bible on the Founding History and Principles of the United States of America for a People of Every Belief . Second Edition. Houston, TX: American Heritage Education Foundation, 2014, 2015.

Related posts/videos: 1. An Introduction t o Popular Sovereignty 2. Challenges in the Early Puritan Colonies: The Dilemma of Religious Laws and Dissent 3. The Two Kingdoms Doctrine : Religious Reformers Recognize the Civil and Spiritual Kingdom 4. The First Experiments in Freedom of Belief & Religious Tolerance in America 5. Roger Williams: His Quest for Religious Purity and Founding of Rhode Island 6. Roger Williams: First Call for Separation of Church and State in America 7. Early Americans supported Religious Tolerance based on God as Judge of Conscience 8. Early Americans opposed Religious Persecution as contrary to the Biblical Teachings of Christ . 9. Early Americans argued Religious Coercion opposes Order of Nature 10. Early Americans Believed Religious Coercion Opposes Reason 11. Early Americans Supported Religious Tolerance within Civil Peace and Order 12. Philosopher John Locke & His Letters Concerning Toleration 13. The Religious Landscape of the Thirteen Colonies in Early 1700s America

Additional Reading/Handout: Why Religious Freedom Became an Unalienable Right & First Freedom in America by Angela E. Kamrath, American Heritage Education Foundation. Paper available to download from member resources, americanheritage.org .

Activity: Miracle of America High School Teacher Course Guide, Unit 4, Part 1 of 2, Activity 6: Thinking About Freedom of Conscience and Religion, p. 147. MS-HS.

Thinking About Freedom of Conscience and Religion

Purpose/Objective: Students learn about the arguments, motives, and actions of Roger Williams and William Penn who founded or influenced the religiously tolerant colonies of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

Suggested Readings: 1) Chapter 4 of Miracle of America sourcebook/text. Students read sections from Introduction to 4.15. 2) Paper/handout titled Why Religious Freedom Became an Unalienable Right & First Freedom in America by Angela E. Kamrath (AHEF). Paper available to download from member resources, americanheritage.org . 3) Related Post: The First Experiments in Freedom of Belief & Religious Tolerance in America

Activity: A) Short-Paragraph Test. Students think about, write on, discuss in small groups/whole class (with chairs in a circle, if possible) the questions below. In writing on these questions, students may use more informal journaling/reflective writing. Students may use this activity or parts of it as test preparation for a short-answer test on the same questions: 1. How did the beliefs of Williams and Penn differ from those of the Puritans? How were they similar? 2. How do the experiences of Roger William and William Penn influence your own views about religious tolerance and freedom of belief? 3. What main points from the Bible and other sources were used by Williams and Penn to argue against religious coercion and in support of religious tolerance and freedom of belief? 4. Why do you think Williams and Penn based their arguments against religious intolerance and coercion largely on the Bible and Christian principles? 5. Why is it important for people to have freedom of conscience and to be tolerant toward other people’s peaceful religions? (These and other questions are also found in Chapter 4 of Miracle of America sourcebook/text, p. 125.)

B) Text Analysis. Have students discuss and rephrase in their own words two or more quotes from Williams and Penn.

To download this whole unit, sign up as an AHEF member (no cost) to access the “resources” page on americanheritage.org . To order the printed binder format of the course guide with all the units, go to the AHEF bookstore .

Dr. Danilo Petranovich is an Advising Scholar for AHEF. Dr. Petranovich is the Director of the Abigail Adams Institute at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Previously, he taught political science at Duke University and Yale University. His scholarly expertise is in nineteenth-century European and American political and social thought, with a special emphasis on American culture and Abraham Lincoln. He has authored a number of articles on Lincoln and is currently writing a book on nationalism and the North in antebellum America. He is a member of Harvard’s Kirkland House. He holds a B. A. from Harvard and a Ph. D. in Political Science from Yale University.

Dr. Richard J. Gonzalez (1912-1998) is Co-Founder of AHEF. Dr. Gonzalez served as Chief Economist and a member of the Board of Directors for Humble Oil and Refining Company (later Exxon Mobil) in Houston, Texas, for 28 years. Later, he served as an economic consultant to various federal agencies and studies including the Department of Defense and the National Energy Study.

He consulted with the Petroleum Administration for Defense and the Office of Defense Mobilization. In 1970, he was appointed by the U. S. Secretary of the Interior to the National Energy Study. In addition, Gonzalez chaired and directed many petroleum industry boards and committees. He served as director of the National Industrial Conference Board, chairman of the Economics Advisory Committee-Interstate Oil Compact Commission, and chairman of the National Petroleum Council Drafting Committee on National Oil Policy. Gonzalez also held visiting professorships at the University of Texas, University of Houston, University of New Mexico, Stanford University, and Northwestern University. From 1983-1991, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Texas IC2 Institute (Innovation, Creativity, and Capital).

Gonzalez authored many articles and papers on topics ranging from energy economics to the role of progress in America. His articles include “Economics of the Mineral Industry” (1976), “Energy and the Environment: A Risk Benefit Approach” (1976), “Exploration and Economics of the Petroleum Industry” (1976), “Exploration for U. S. Oil and Gas” (1977), “National Energy Security” (1978), and “How Can U.S. Energy Production Be Increased?” (1979).

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Gonzalez earned his B.A. in Mathematics, M.A. in Economics, and Ph.D. in Economics (Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors) from the University of Texas at Austin. He was and still is the youngest candidate ever to earn his Ph.D. from UT-Austin at the age of 21 in 1934.

In 1993, Dr. and Mrs. Gonzalez were recognized by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) with the Bronze Good Citizenship Medals for “Notable Services on Behalf of American Principles.”

Selected Articles: 1. “What Makes America Great? An Address before the Dallas Chapter Society for the Advancement of Management” (1951) 2. “Power for Progress” (1952) 3. “Increasing Importance of Economic Education” (1953) 4. “Federal Spending and Deficits Must Be Controlled to Stop Inflation” (1978) 5. “What Enabled Americans to Achieve Great Progress? Keys to Remarkable Economic Progress of the United States of America” (1989) 6. “The Establishment of the United States of America” (1991)

Eugenie Gonzalez is Co-Founder of AHEF. Mrs. Gonzalez was elected to the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Trustees with Dr. Herman Barnett III and David Lopez from 1972-1976 and was a key designer and advocate for HISD’s Magnet School program. With HISD and AHEF in 1993, she designed and implemented HISD’s annual American Heritage Month held every November throughout HISD.

Jeannie was recognized in 1993 by the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) for “Notable Services on Behalf of American Principles” with the Bronze Good Citizenship Medal and in 2011 by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) for “Outstanding Achievement through Education Pursuits” with the Mary Smith Lockwood Medal. In 2004, she was honored to receive HISD’s first American Heritage Month Exemplary Citizenship Award.

Jeannie was a volunteer, participant, and supporter of M. D. Anderson Cancer Hospital, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Gethsemane United Methodist Church, Houston Grand Jury Association (board member), League of Women Voters, Houston Area Forum, the Mayor’s Charter Study Committee, Vision America, Houston Parks Department, and Houston Tennis Association. She was instrumental in the founding of the Houston Tennis Association and Houston Tennis Patrons.

In her youth, Jeannie was the leading women’s tennis player in the Midwest Section of the US Lawn Tennis Association and competed at the U. S. National Championships. She attended by invitation and became the first women’s tennis player at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1932, 1933, and 1934, Jeannie was women’s finalist at the Houston Invitational Tennis Tournament which became the River Oaks Invitational Tennis Tournament and is now the USTA Clay Court Championships. She was instrumental in bringing some of the nation’s top amateur tennis players to that event. Jeannie became the first teaching tennis professional at Houston Country Club and River Oaks Country Club, starting active junior programs at each. Jeannie and her father, Jack Sampson, were jointly inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.

Claudine Kamrath is Outreach Coordinator, Office Manager, and Resource Designer for AHEF. She oversees outreach efforts and office administration. She also collaborates on educational resource formatting and design. She has served as an Elementary Art Teacher in Texas as well as a Communications and Design Manager for West University United Methodist Church in Houston. She also worked as a childrens’ Camp Counselor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston. She holds a B.A. in Art and a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Texas at Austin as well as Texas Teacher Certification from the University of Houston. She has served in various children’s and student ministries.

Dr. Brian Domitrovic is an Advising Scholar for AHEF. Dr. Domitrovic is a Senior Associate and the Richard S. Strong Scholar at the Laffer Center for Supply-Side Economics. He is also Department Chair and Professor of History at Same Houston State University. He teaches American and European History and Economics. His specialties also include Economic History, Intellectual History, Monetary Policy, and Fiscal Policy. He has written articles, papers, and books–including Econoclasts –in these subjects. He is a board member of the Center for Western Civilization, Thought & Policy at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a trustee of the Philadelphia Society. He has received several awards including the Director’s Award from Intercollegiate Studies Institute and fellowship grants from Earhart Foundation, Krupp Foundation, Princeton, Texas A&M, and SHSU. He holds a B. A. in History & Mathematics from Columbia University, an M. A. in History from Harvard University, and a Ph. D. in History, with graduate studies in Economics, from Harvard University.

Jack Kamrath is Co-Founder and Vice-President of AHEF. A Texas state champion and nationally-ranked tennis player during his high school and college years, Kamrath is the Co-Founder and Principal of Tennis Planning Consultants (TPC) in Houston, Texas, since 1970. TPC is the first, oldest, and most prolific tennis facility design and consulting firm in the United States and world. Mr. Kamrath is also the founder and owner of Kamrath Construction Company and has owned and managed various real estate operating companies. He worked with Brown and Root in construction and human resources in Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1966-1970. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston. In 2008, AHEF President Mr. Kamrath and AHEF received the Distinguished Patriot Award from the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) for leadership in preserving America’s heritage and the teaching of good citizenship principles.

Essays: 1. 1776: From Oppression to Freedom 2. FUPR: The Formula for the American Experiment 2. In Support of Our Pledge of Allegiance 3. A Summation of America’s Greatest Ever Threat to Its Survival and Perpetuation 4. A Brief Overview: The Moral Dimension of Rule of Law in the U. S. Constitution (editor)

Dr. Michael Owens is Director of Education of AHEF. He has served as a Presenter/Trainer of AHEF teacher training workshops. Owens has taken on a number of administration leadership roles in Texas public education throughout his career–including Superintendent in Dripping Springs ISD, Assistant Superintendent in Friendswood ISD, and Associate Executive Director of Instruction Services for Region IV Education Service Center. He has also served as Director of Exemplary Programs for the Texas Education Agency, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for College Station ISD, and Director of Elementary and Secondary Education for College Station ISD. Owens has led many professional development worships for the Texas School Boards Association, Texas Assessment, Texas Education Agency, and others. He has specialization in educational technology systems and educational assessments, and has Texas teaching experience. He currently serves as Texas Technology Engineering Literacy (TEL) test administrator for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for part of Texas. He holds a B.S. and a M.Ed. from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Ed.D. from the University of North Texas. He retired in 2021.

Angela E. Kamrath is President and Editorial Director of AHEF. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed The Miracle of America: The Influence of the Bible on the Founding History and Principles of the United States of America for a People of Every Belief . She is editor and co-contributor of AHEF’s widely-distributed teacher resources, America’s Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty , America’s Heritage: An Experiment in Self-Government , and The Miracle of America High School Teacher Course Guide . In addition, she is editor and contributor for The Founding Blog and AHEF websites. Kamrath has taught, tutored, and consulted in writing and research at the University of Houston, Belhaven College, and Houston Christian University. She also served as a Secondary English Teacher in Texas and as a Communications Assistant for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston. She served as a Research Assistant intern in the Office of National Service during the George H. W. Bush administration. She holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin, a M.A. in Journalism from Regent University, and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction as well as Texas Teacher Certification from the University of Houston. She has served in various children’s and student ministries.

Dr. Steve Balch is an Advising Scholar for AHEF. Dr. Balch is the Principal Founder and former President of the National Association of Scholars (NAS). He served as a Professor of Government at City University of New York from 1974-1987. Dr. Balch has co-authored several NAS studies on education curriculum evolution and problems including The Dissolution of General Education: 1914-1993 , The Dissolution of the Curriculum 1914-1996 , and The Vanishing West . He is the author of Economic and Political Change After Crisis: Prospects for Government, Liberty and Rule of Law and numerous articles relating to issues in academia. Dr. Balch has also founded and/or led many education organizations including the Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at Texas Tech University, Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization, Association for the Study of Free Institutions, American Academy for Liberal Education, Philadelphia Society, Historical Society, and Association of Literary Scholars. He has also served on the National Advisory Board of the U. S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), Educational Excellence Network, and New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights. Dr. Balch was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush in 2007, and the Jeanne Jordan Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award by the Bradley Foundation and American Conservative Union Foundation in 2009. He holds a B. A. in Political Science from City University of New York and a M. A. and Ph. D. in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley.

Dr. Rob Koons is an Advising Scholar for AHEF. Dr. Koons is a Professor of Philosophy and Co-Founder of The Western Civilization and American Institutions Program at The University of Texas at Austin. He teaches ancient, medieval, contemporary Christian, and political philosophy as well as philosophy of religion. He has authored/co-authored countless articles and several books including Realism Regained , The Atlas of Reality, Fundamentals of Metaphysics, and Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Contemporary Science . He has been awarded numerous fellowships and is a member of the American Philosophical Association, Society of Christian Philosophers, and American Catholic Philosophical Association. He holds a B. A. in Philosophy from Michigan State University, an M. A. in Philosophy and Theology from Oxford University, and a Ph. D. in Philosophy from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dr. Mark David Hall is an Advising Scholar for AHEF. Dr. Hall is a Professor of Political Science in the Robertson School of Government at Regent University and a Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy at First Liberty Institute. He is also a Distinguished Scholar of Christianity & Public Life at George Fox University, Associate Faculty in the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, and Senior Fellow in the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. His teaching interests include American Political Theory, Religion and Politics, Constitutional Law, and Great Books. Dr. Hall is a nationally recognized expert on religious freedom and has written or edited a dozen books on religion and politics in America including Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity Has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans , Did America Have a Christian Founding? Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth , Great Christian Jurists in American History , America’s Wars: A Just War Perspective , Faith and the Founders of the American Republic , The Sacred Rights of Conscience , The Founders on God and Government , and The Political and Legal Philosophy of James Wilson . He writes for the online publications Law & Liberty and Intercollegiate Studies Review and has appeared regularly on a number of radio shows, including Jerry Newcomb’s Truth in Action, Tim Wildman’s Today’s Issues, the Janet Mefferd Show, and the Michael Medved Show. He has been awarded numerous fellowships and the Freedom Project Award by the John Templeton Foundation in 1999 and 2000. He holds a B. A. in Political Science from Wheaton College and a Ph. D. in Government from the University of Virginia.

William Penn and His ‘Holy Experiment’

How Penn Applied Quakerism in Pennsylvania

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William Penn (1644-1718), one of the most famous early Quakers, put his religious beliefs into practice in the American colony he founded, resulting in unrivaled peace and prosperity.

Fast Facts: William Penn

Known for : Minister, Missionary, Governor of Pennsylvania
Born : October 14, 1644 in London, England
Died : July 30, 1718 in Ruscombe, England
Education : Chigwell School, Essex, England; University of Oxford; Protestant Academy, Saumur, France
Published Works : The Sandy Foundation Shaken ; No Cross, No Crown
Key Accomplishments : Incorporating Quaker ethics into his colony of Pennsylvania, Penn created a peaceful and prosperous territory that people flocked to. He set an example of what Christianity in action could do. His principles of freedom later influenced the writing of the U.S. Constitution.
Spouse : Gulielma Maria Springett (died 1694); Hannah Callowhill
Famous quote : "Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."

The son of a British admiral, William Penn was a friend of George Fox , founder of the Religious Society of Friends , or Quakers. When Penn converted to Quakerism, he experienced the same relentless persecution in England as Fox.

After being imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs , Penn realized the Anglican church had too strong a hold in England and would not tolerate the Friends' Church there. The government owed Penn's family £16,000 in back wages for William's late father, so William Penn struck a deal with the King.

Penn got a charter for a colony in America, in exchange for canceling the debt. The King came up with the name "Pennsylvania," meaning "Forests of Penn," to honor the Admiral. Penn would be the administrator, and at the start of every year, he was to pay the King two beaver pelts and a fifth of any gold and silver mined within the colony.

Pennsylvania Guarantees Fair Government

In keeping with the Golden Rule, William Penn assured the right of private property, freedom from restrictions on business, a free press, and trial by jury. Such liberty was unheard of in the American colonies controlled by the Puritans. In those areas, any political dissent was a crime.

Even though he came from an upper-class family, William Penn had seen the exploitation of the poor in England and would have no part of it. Despite Penn's generous and considerate treatment of Pennsylvania's citizens, the legislature still complained about his powers as governor, amending the constitution several times to spell out his restrictions.

Peace and Equality

Peace, one of the foremost Quaker values, became law in Pennsylvania. There was no military draft since Quakers rejected war. Even more radical was Penn's treatment of Native Americans.

Instead of stealing land from the Indians, as the Puritans did, William Penn treated them as equals and negotiated purchases from them at fair prices. He respected the Susquehannock, Shawnee, and Leni-Lenape nations so much that he learned their languages. He entered their lands unarmed and unescorted, and they admired his courage.

To ensure his rule of equality, Penn established a model trial system for disputes between Indians and settlers. Each side was allowed the same number of men on the jury. Because of William Penn's fair dealings, Pennsylvania was one of the few colonies that did not have Indian uprisings.

Another Quaker value, equality, found its way into Penn's Holy Experiment. He treated women on the same level as men, revolutionary in the 17th century. He encouraged them to get an education and to speak out as men did.

Ironically, Quaker beliefs on equality did not cover African-Americans. Penn owned slaves, as did other Quakers. Quakers were one of the earliest religious groups to protest against slavery, in 1758, but that was 40 years after Penn died.

Religious Tolerance

Perhaps the most radical move William Penn made was complete religious tolerance in Pennsylvania. He remembered too well the court battles and prison sentences he had served in England. In Quaker fashion, Penn saw no threat from other religious groups. He believed each person had to seek God in his or her own way.

While the other American colonies each had an official church, Pennsylvania did not. Penn even offered free land to some of the groups. However, only Christians were allowed to vote and hold political office.

Word quickly got back to Europe. Pennsylvania was soon flooded with immigrants, including English, Irish, Germans, Catholics, and Jews, as well as a wide variety of persecuted Protestant denominations .

Persecuted in England-Again

With a change in the British monarchy, William Penn's fortunes were reversed when he returned to England. Arrested for treason, his estate seized, he became a fugitive for four years, hiding in London's slums. Eventually, his name was restored, but his troubles were far from over.

His unscrupulous business partner, a Quaker named Philip Ford, tricked Penn into signing a deed that transferred Pennsylvania to Ford. When Ford died, his wife had Penn thrown into debtor's prison.

Penn suffered two strokes in 1712 and died in 1718. Pennsylvania, his legacy, became one of the most populated and prosperous of the colonies. Even though William Penn lost £30,000 in the process, he considered his Holy Experiment in Quaker rule a success.

"Brief History of William Penn," ushistory.org; http://www.ushistory.org/penn/bio.htm
"William Penn biography," biography.com; https://www.biography.com/people/william-penn-9436869
"William Penn and American History," pennsburymanor.org; http://www.pennsburymanor.org/history/william-penn-and-american-history/
"William Penn and His 'Holy Experiment' in Religious Tolerance, the Colony of Pennsylvania," American Heritage Education Foundation; thefounding.net; https://thefounding.net/william-penn-holy-experiment-religious-tolerance-colony-pennsylvania/
Who Are the Quakers?
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Introduction to the Catholic Religion: Beliefs, Practices, and History
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The History of the Mennonite Faith
Christian Mysticism Through History
John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Historical Christian Classic
How the Pilgrims' Religion Inspired Thanksgiving
History and Beliefs of the Waldensians
Quotes of the Founding Fathers on Religion
John Calvin Biography
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Biography of John Knox, Scottish Theologian, Founder of Presbyterianism
Biography of Ann Lee, Founder of the Shakers
Biography of Saint Perpetua, Christian Martyr and Autobiographer

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Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies

William Penn’s Holy Experiment: Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania by James Proud (review)

Barbara Franco
Penn State University Press
Volume 88, Number 2, Spring 2021
pp. 272-274
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William Penn’s Holy Experiment: Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania by James Proud

The founding of Pennsylvania as William Penn’s “holy experiment” in religious toleration and peaceful coexistence is regarded as one of the events in American history that helped establish principles of self-government and democracy. The iconic mages of Benjamin West’s painting, Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (1771–72), or Edward Hicks’s many versions of a Peaceable Kingdom (1820s–1840s) have helped perpetuate a mythic version of Penn’s enterprise. The account we read in William Penn’s Holy Experiment by James Proud is far more complicated and problematic.

Penn himself used the term “holy experiment” at least once in a 1681 letter expressing hope that “an example may be set up to the nations” (97). The primary “truth” for Penn, expressed in the original 1682 Frame of Government , was freedom of religion and liberty of conscience for all people living peaceably and justly in civil society. Proud sets out to track the succeses and failures of this experiment through its major themes of peace, religious freedom, public education, friendship with Native Americans, and abolition of slavery. Using original records and source materials, Proud moves beyond Penn’s aspirations for the colony to dig deeply into the legal, religious, political, and financial challenges that remained a constant reality. The author’s legal background is apparent as he navigates through complex legal and political issues that Penn faced during his lifetime, and those that continued after his death until the end of the proprietorship. [End Page 272]

The first chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to the political and religious conflicts in England from 1350 to 1682, George Fox’s spiritual journey, Penn’s religious conversion, and his subsequent persecution for his Quaker beliefs. Penn’s early life and his relationship with his father are placed in the historical context of political upheavals in England that spanned the overthrow of Charles I, the establishment of a Commonwealth under Parliament, and the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. Penn’s knowledge of America began with his own involvement in a dispute among Quakers concerning the proprietorship of West Jersey as well as George Fox’s visit to America in 1672. Facing growing debts and intensifying persecutions for his nonconformist religious beliefs, Penn petitioned Charles II for the grant of lands in America to repay an outstanding debt to his father’s estate.

The second chapter covers the period from Penn’s first visit to Pennsylvania in 1682 until his death in 1718. For two years, as the proprietor and governor, Penn worked with the General Assembly to put his Frame of Government into practice. He helped establish a Yearly Meeting of Friends and developed Pennsbury as his manorial seat, before returning to England in 1684 to resolve a contentious boundary dispute with Lord Baltimore. Penn remained in England for the next fifteen years, engaged in the affairs of his colony at a distance, while he struggled with continued political conflicts, arrest and imprisonment, the death of his first wife, and growing debt. Penn’s second visit to Pennsylvania in 1699–1701 was precipitated by concerns that the English Crown was threatening to remove Penn and other proprietors as “chief governor” (139). Accompanied by his new wife, Hannah, Penn established himself at Pennsbury and addressed the governance issues resulting from his long absence. A new Charter of Privileges was enacted, and the Friends Public School was chartered. In 1701 Penn’s meeting with a delegation of Native Americans resulted in Articles of Agreement pledging peace with each other. In November 1701 he returned to England where he continued to govern the colony from afar as he struggled with his personal financial problems and even considered the option of selling Pennsylvania back to the Crown.

The third chapter traces the years following Penn’s death when Hannah Penn was left to oversee the handling of Penn’s estate in England and the family’s holdings in...

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William Penn's “Holy Experiment”: The Founding of Pennsylvania, 1681–1701 . By Edwin B. Bronner. (New York: Temple University Publications, distributed by Columbia University Press, 1962. [x] + 306 pp. Map, chronology, notes, appendix, bibliography, and index. $6.00.)

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David S. Lovejoy, William Penn's “Holy Experiment”: The Founding of Pennsylvania, 1681–1701 . By Edwin B. Bronner. (New York: Temple University Publications, distributed by Columbia University Press, 1962. [x] + 306 pp. Map, chronology, notes, appendix, bibliography, and index. $6.00.), Journal of American History , Volume 50, Issue 1, June 1963, Pages 108–109, https://doi.org/10.2307/1888990

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Barbara Franco; William Penn's Holy Experiment: Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania, 1682–1781. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 1 March 2021; 88 (2): 272–274. doi: https://doi.org/10.5325/pennhistory.88.2.0272

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The founding of Pennsylvania as William Penn's “holy experiment” in religious toleration and peaceful coexistence is regarded as one of the events in American history that helped establish principles of self-government and democracy. The iconic mages of Benjamin West's painting, Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771–72), or Edward Hicks's many versions of a Peaceable Kingdom (1820s–1840s) have helped perpetuate a mythic version of Penn's enterprise. The account we read in William Penn's Holy Experiment by James Proud is far more complicated and problematic.

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The Holy Experiment

'Abdu'l-Bahá at the Rittenhouse Hotel, where he stayed in Pennsylvania. National Bahá'í Archives

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THE FIRST OF A fleet of twenty-three ships arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River on October 27, 1682. Commanding the lead ship, the Welcome , was William Penn, a pacifist Quaker with a land grant from the King of England, determined to fashion a utopia in the wilderness.

Penn had suffered imprisonment for his beliefs back in England, and set about building a “tolerance settlement” in the New World where freedom of worship would be absolute. His first act of business was to sign a “Great Treaty” with Tammany, the Chief of the Delaware tribe, a peace pact he never violated.

Thus began Penn’s “Holy Experiment” known as Pennsylvania. The King himself chose the name in honor of Penn’s recently departed father. Penn called the colony’s capital Philadelphia , a name that combined the Greek words for “love” and “brother.”

Penn made good on his promise. Philadelphia emerged not only as a commanding center of Quaker influence, but also as a Presbyterian stronghold, the national headquarters for the American Baptists, a place where Catholics and Anglicans worshiped in safety, and a refuge for German Lutherans and Mennonites. In due course the city would play host to the first independent black denomination in America: the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Philadelphia became the busiest port and largest city in the Thirteen Colonies, and a hotbed for those who demanded independence. On May 10, 1775, representatives from the colonies gathered on Chestnut Street in the Pennsylvania legislature to bring matters to a head. Five days later they declared the colonies in a state of defense. By June 14, they had nominated George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The next July they issued the Declaration of Independence, whose words rang throughout both the Old World and the New.

Among those forging the Declaration was Philadelphia’s leading citizen, and the man responsible for virtually all of its progressive public institutions, Mr. Benjamin Franklin. Franklin defines the American ethos of hard work, education, community spirit, and both political and religious freedom. He was heir to Penn’s experiment, adding to it the scientific and rational ideals of the Enlightenment to forge a truly American identity.

He became known as “The First American.”

Penn’s City of Brotherly Love continued to attract those dedicated to the experiment well into the next century. Russell Conwell — a Civil War veteran, lawyer, author of ten books, and ordained American Baptist minister — arrived in Philadelphia in 1882.

Conwell held classes at his church to tutor adults in university subjects, in tune with Penn’s and Franklin’s commitment to improving their fellow men. By 1884 his effort had become Temple University. By 1912 the Baptist Temple — Conwell’s church — was surrounded by three hospitals and his congregation was one of the largest in America. It was here that Pastor Conwell welcomed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to speak, on June 9, 1912.

In tomorrow’s feature, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addresses a crowd of 2,500 at Russell Conwell’s Baptist Temple in Philadelphia.

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William Penn

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World History Encyclopedia - William Penn's Holy Experiment
Bill of Rights Institute - William Penn and the Founding of Pennsylvania
New Netherland Institute - Biography of William Penn
Quaker.org - William Penn, America's First Great Champion for Liberty and Peace
David Nash Ford's Berkshire History - William Penn
Pennsylvania Center for the Book - Biography of William Penn
UShistory.org - Biography of William Penn
William Penn - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
William Penn - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Table Of Contents

William Penn received a classical education at the Chigwell grammar school in Essex , England, and then matriculated at the University of Oxford (1660), from which he was expelled (1662) for religious Nonconformity . After attending the Protestant college in Saumur , France, he entered Lincoln’s Inn, where he spent a year reading law.

Where did William Penn grow up?

Having spent his early years in the Essex countryside, William Penn moved with his family to London and then to Ireland . After he was expelled from the University of Oxford , Penn was sent by his father, Adm. Sir William Penn , on a grand tour of the European continent.

What was William Penn’s religion?

Penn rejected Anglicanism and joined the Quakers ( Society of Friends ), who were subject to official persecution in England. He was the author of a number of books in which he variously argued for religious toleration, expounded the Quaker- Puritan morality, and expressed a qualified anti- Trinitarianism .

William Penn was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom who oversaw the founding of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe. His trial on a trumped-up charge of inciting a riot in 1670 resulted in a landmark ruling which established jury independence in English law.

William Penn (born October 14, 1644, London, England—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire) was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.

William was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn . He acquired the foundations of a classical education at the Chigwell grammar school in the Essex countryside, where he came under Puritan influences. After Admiral Penn’s naval defeat in the West Indies in 1655, the family moved back to London and then to Ireland. In Ireland William heard Thomas Loe, a Quaker itinerant, preach to his family at the admiral’s invitation, an experience that apparently intensified his religious feelings. In 1660 William entered the University of Oxford , where he rejected Anglicanism and was expelled in 1662 for his religious Nonconformity . Determined to thwart his son’s religiosity, Admiral Penn sent his son on a grand tour of the European continent and to the Protestant college at Saumur , in France, to complete his studies. Summoned back to England after two years, William entered Lincoln’s Inn and spent a year reading law. This was the extent of his formal education.

In 1666 Admiral Penn sent William to Ireland to manage the family estates. There he crossed paths again with Thomas Loe and, after hearing him preach, decided to join the Quakers (the Society of Friends), a sect of religious radicals who were reviled by respectable society and subject to official persecution.

After joining the sect, Penn would eventually be imprisoned four times for publicly stating his beliefs in word and print. He published 42 books and pamphlets in the seven years immediately following his conversion. In his first publication, the pamphlet Truth Exalted (1668), he upheld Quaker doctrines while attacking in turn those of the Roman Catholics , the Anglicans, and the Dissenting churches. It was followed by The Sandy Foundation Shaken (1668), in which he boldly questioned the Trinity and other Protestant doctrines. Though Penn subsequently qualified his anti-Trinitarianism in Innocency with Her Open Face (1669), he was imprisoned in the Tower of London , where he wrote his most famous book, No Cross, No Crown (1669). In this work he expounded the Quaker-Puritan morality with eloquence, learning, and flashes of humour, condemning the worldliness and luxury of Restoration England and extolling both Puritan conceptions of ascetic self-denial and Quaker ideals of social reform. No Cross, No Crown stands alongside the letters of St. Paul , Boethius ’s Consolation of Philosophy , and John Bunyan ’s Pilgrim’s Progress as one of the world’s finest examples of prison literature. Penn was released from the Tower in 1669.

It was as a protagonist of religious toleration that Penn would earn his prominent place in English history. In 1670 he wrote The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Once More Debated & Defended , which was the most systematic and thorough exposition of the theory of toleration produced in Restoration England. Though Penn based his arguments on theological and scriptural grounds, he did not overlook rational and pragmatic considerations; he pointed out, for example, that the contemporary prosperity of Holland was based on “her Indulgence in matters of Faith and Worship.”

That same year Penn also had an unexpected opportunity to strike another blow for freedom of conscience and for the traditional rights of all Englishmen. On August 14, 1670, the Quaker meetinghouse in Gracechurch Street, London, having been padlocked by the authorities, he preached in the street to several hundred persons. After the meetings, he and William Mead were arrested and imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of inciting a riot. At his trial in the Old Bailey , Penn calmly and skillfully exposed the illegality of the proceedings against him. The jury, under the leadership of Edward Bushell, refused to bring in a verdict of guilty despite threats and abusive treatment. For their refusal the jurymen were fined and imprisoned, but they were vindicated when Sir John Vaughan, the lord chief justice , enunciated the principle that a judge “may try to open the eyes of the jurors, but not to lead them by the nose.” The trial, which is also known as the “ Bushell’s Case,” stands as a landmark in English legal history, having established beyond question the independence of the jury. A firsthand account of the trial, which was a vivid courtroom drama, was published in The People’s Ancient and Just Liberties Asserted (1670).

Admiral Penn died in 1670, having finally become reconciled to his son’s Quakerism. Young Penn inherited his father’s estates in England and Ireland and became, like his father, a frequenter of the court, where he enjoyed the friendship of King Charles II and his brother, the duke of York (later James II ). In 1672 Penn married Gulielma Springett, a Quaker by whom he had eight children, four of whom died in infancy. In the 1670s Penn was tirelessly active as a Quaker minister and polemicist, producing no fewer than 40 controversial tracts on religious doctrines and practice. In 1671 and 1677 he undertook preaching missions to Holland and northern Germany, where the contacts he established would later help him in peopling Pennsylvania with thousands of Dutch and German emigrants. The later years of the decade were also occupied with political activities. In 1679 Penn supported the Parliamentary candidacy of the radical republican Algernon Sidney , going on the hustings twice—at Guildford and later at Bramber—for his friend. During these years he wrote a number of pamphlets on behalf of the radical Whigs , including England’s Great Interest in the Choice of this New Parliament (1679), which is noteworthy as one of the first clear statements of party doctrine ever laid before the English electorate.

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William Penn’s “Holy Experiment”: Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania, 1682–1781

Reviewed by Thomas Hamm

August 1, 2020

By James Proud. Inner Light Books, 2019. 522 pages. $50/hardcover; $35/paperback.

James Proud, a retired attorney and an Episcopal priest, has a fondness for Friends. A decade ago, he edited a collection of Woolman’s writings titled John Woolman and the Affairs of Truth , also published by Inner Light Books. Now he has taken on the challenge of trying to understand how Pennsylvania did—and did not—live up to its founder William Penn’s vision of it as a “Holy Experiment.”

Most of Proud’s story will be familiar to historians and historically minded Friends. Proud opens with an overview of Quakerism in England before 1682, then proceeds to an outline of William Penn’s life. Penn, the son of an admiral, was an unlikely convert to Quakerism, but once convinced in 1667, he emerged as a prolific writer, scrappy debater, and talented preacher. Nevertheless, he remained that rarest of animals: a Quaker aristocrat and courtier. His court connections would prove a mixed blessing. On one hand, they led to King Charles II granting him the colony that Penn wanted to name “Sylvania,” or woodland, but which the king insisted be called “Pennsylvania,” in honor of the admiral. On the other hand, after the Glorious Revolution overthrew Penn’s friend James II in 1688, Penn found much of his political influence gone and himself even in danger of treason charges.

While Proud does give some attention to familiar themes in the establishment of Pennsylvania, such as religious freedom, his focus is on more contemporary concerns, namely relations with Native American people and slavery in the colony. He credits Penn with good intentions in negotiating in good faith with the Leni Lenape (or Delaware), while also noting that epidemic diseases introduced by Europeans had so reduced their numbers that they were ceding largely unoccupied lands. Proud does not spare later generations of White Pennsylvanians, Quaker and non-Quaker, for not following the founder’s example. Penn’s chief agent, James Logan, who built a considerable fortune through the Indian trade and land speculation, emerges as a particular villain, cheating not only Native Americans but the Penn family as well. And William Penn’s sons, none of whom shared their father’s vibrant Quaker faith, saw their colony not as a “holy experiment,” but as a source of revenue for the aristocratic lifestyle they wished to lead in England.

Proud sees the introduction of slavery into Pennsylvania as irreconcilable with any vision of a Christian or Quaker society. He is frank in acknowledging how involved with slavery and the slave trade Pennsylvania Friends were, and takes evident pleasure in tracing the growth of antislavery feeling among Friends and in the colony. He also acknowledges Penn’s personal slaveholding, which he sees as a moral failure, although not expressing that as strongly as some contemporary Friends would.

Proud’s work has a number of strengths. It is based on wide-ranging research in primary sources, and his conclusions are usually judicious and well-supported. Particularly valuable are the 11 appendices, which include useful compilations, like comparative lists of the speakers of the Pennsylvania Assembly and clerks of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as well as documents like Israel Pemberton’s prefatory epistle to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting men’s minute book. There are also notes, maps, and an index.

If the book has a weakness, it is its failure to engage with recent scholarship, especially on Native Americans in Pennsylvania, such as Peter Silver’s Our Savage Neighbors (2008) ; Amy C. Schutt’s Peoples of the River Valleys (2007); or the work of the most recent Penn biographer, Andrew R. Murphy (2018). Friends interested in Penn and Pennsylvania will find this a readable and generally reliable work.

Thomas Hamm is a member of West Richmond (Ind.) Meeting, and a professor of history and director of Special Collections at Earlham College. Several of his ancestors were members of the Pennsylvania Assembly between 1682 and 1720.

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COMMENTS

William Penn's Holy Experiment
The Pennsylvania Colony & the Holy Experiment. In 1680, an older debt of King Charles II of England (r. 1660-1685) was passed from the deceased Admiral Penn to his son, William Penn, but instead of that money owed to him, young Penn asked to receive "proprietary title to a huge territory in America" (Dunn and Dunn, 41).
Holy Experiment
Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom (c. 1834) showing William Penn trading with Native Americans, and the lion sitting down with the lambs. The "Holy Experiment" was an attempt by the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, to establish a community for themselves and other persecuted religious minorities in what would become the modern state of Pennsylvania.
The Holy Experiment, in Pennsylvania
Between 1681 and 1683, William Penn established the colony of Pennsylvania. He sought to put into practice all his Quaker ideals, and he called it his 'Holy Experiment'. He thought that everything would be possible in the New World, unlike in the England of his time. In 1681, just before he went, he wrote to the settlers already there to say:
The Pennsylvania Colony: A Quaker Experiment in America
Penn's goal with Pennsylvania was to create a colony that allowed for freedom of religion. The Quakers were among the most radical of the English Protestant sects that had sprung up in the 17th century. Penn sought a colony in America—what he called a "holy experiment"—to protect himself and fellow Quakers from persecution.
Holy Experiment
Holy Experiment. By Emma J. Lapsansky Werner. What might you do if you found yourself with almost 50,000 square miles of seemingly virgin land in a place you have never seen, far from home? In 1681, when William Penn - entrepreneur, scholar, religious mystic, Enlightenment intellectual - acquired Pennsylvania, he had a ready answer.
Holy Experiment
HOLY EXPERIMENT. "Holy Experiment" was William Penn 's term for the ideal government he established for Pennsylvania in 1681, when he obtained the charter for that colony from King Charles II of England. Penn believed that the charter was a gift from God, "that an example may be set up to the nations: there may be room there, though not here ...
William Penn's "Holy Experiment" in Religious Tolerance
In founding a new colony, Penn hoped for revenue to pay off debts and to create a "tolerance settlement" in America for persecuted Christians. He called this colony a "Holy Experiment" in religious tolerance and hoped it would be an example for Christians everywhere. Penn's ideas of religious tolerance, like Williams's, differed ...
William Penn Applied Quaker Beliefs to Government
Updated on October 22, 2018. William Penn (1644-1718), one of the most famous early Quakers, put his religious beliefs into practice in the American colony he founded, resulting in unrivaled peace and prosperity. Fast Facts: William Penn. Known for: Minister, Missionary, Governor of Pennsylvania. Born: October 14, 1644 in London, England.
Project MUSE
Paper, $25.00. The founding of Pennsylvania as William Penn's "holy experiment" in religious toleration and peaceful coexistence is regarded as one of the events in American history that helped establish principles of self-government and democracy. The iconic mages of Benjamin West's painting, Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72 ...
William Penn's "Holy Experiment": The Founding of Pennsylvania, 1681
David S. Lovejoy, William Penn's "Holy Experiment": The Founding of Pennsylvania, 1681-1701. By Edwin B. Bronner. (New York: Temple University Publications, distributed by Columbia University Press, 1962.
William Penn's Holy Experiment: Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania, 1682-1781
The founding of Pennsylvania as William Penn's "holy experiment" in religious toleration and peaceful coexistence is regarded as one of the events in American history that helped establish principles of self-government and democracy. The iconic mages of Benjamin West's painting, Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771-72), or Edward Hicks's many versions of a Peaceable Kingdom (1820s ...
William Penn
Pennsylvania, Quakers, and William Penn are inseparable. Visit the Arch Street Friends Meeting House and through diorama cases, videos, and historic interpretation by experienced docents, explore the ideals that shaped Penn 's colony. This daring "Holy Experiment" was dedicated to religious liberty, equality and peace.
A Liberal Civil Religion: William Penn's Holy Experiment
Perm's Holy Experiment. Christie L. Maloyed. Civil religion is often viewed with suspicion. It is frequently por. trayed as a form of fanatical patriotism that imposes a worldview on citizens, actively discourages dissent, and is used to justify ques. tionable activities undertaken in the name of the state or nation.
The Holy Experiment
June 8, 1912 Philadelphia, PA. By Robert Sockett. Published: June 8, 2012 Updated: March 4, 2021. THE FIRST OF A fleet of twenty-three ships arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River on October 27, 1682. Commanding the lead ship, the Welcome, was William Penn, a pacifist Quaker with a land grant from the King of England, determined to fashion ...
William Penn
William Penn (born October 14, 1644, London, England—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire) was an English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.. Early life and education. William was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn.
William Penn's "Holy Experiment": Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania, 1682
And William Penn's sons, none of whom shared their father's vibrant Quaker faith, saw their colony not as a "holy experiment," but as a source of revenue for the aristocratic lifestyle they wished to lead in England. Proud sees the introduction of slavery into Pennsylvania as irreconcilable with any vision of a Christian or Quaker society.
The Holy Experiment: Our Heritage from William Penn, 1644-1944
Illustration study of Page [130] "William Penn" for The Holy Experiment: Our Heritage from William Penn, 1644-1944 [Philadelphia: Cogslea Studio, 1950] View Illustration study of Page [131] "Supreme Court of the State" for The Holy Experiment: Our Heritage from William Penn, 1644-1944 [Philadelphia: Cogslea Studio, 1950]
The Continuing Relevance of William Penn
Mr. Kenny is Professor of History, Boston College. His latest book is Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William Penn's Holy Experiment (Oxford University Press, 2009 ...
Today in History
William Penn And His Holy Experiment. William Penn, English religious and social reformer and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, was born on October 14, 1644, in London. After suffering persecution in England for his adopted Quaker faith, Penn would establish freedom of worship for all inhabitants of his North American colony.
Holy Experiment
The Holy Experiment A Quaker, William Penn intended Pennsylvania as a "Holy Experiment" dedicated to tolerance for all religious practices. In this discussion, we focus on religion and faith communities, from the colonial era to the present. The panel was moderated by Randall Miller of St. Joseph's University with panelists including Emma Lapsansky-Werner of Haverford […]
William Penn's "holy Experiment"
An explanation of Pennsylvania history between the years 1681 and 1701. The chapters contain material about the religion, the philosophy, the economic life, and the social life of the people in Pennsylvania. ... William Penn's "holy Experiment": The Founding of Pennsylvania, 1681-1701. Edwin B. Bronner. Greenwood Press, 1978 ...
Penn's Holy Experiment
Penn's Holy Experiment. So, it was that when the English King Charles Il gave William Penn a grant of land in the new world, God gave Penn the vision to establish a colony which Penn called a "Holy Experiment". A colony where men were free to worship as they chose, where all qualifications for office holding or voting were eliminated, except ...
William Penn's holy experiment; the founding of Pennsylvania, 1681-1701
Penn, William, 1644-1718, Society of Friends -- Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 Publisher New York, Temple University Publications; distributed by Columbia University Press Collection internetarchivebooks; inlibrary; printdisabled Contributor Internet Archive Language English

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William Penn's “Holy Experiment”: The Founding of Pennsylvania, 1681–1701 . By Edwin B. Bronner. (New York: Temple University Publications, distributed by Columbia University Press, 1962. [x] + 306 pp. Map, chronology, notes, appendix, bibliography, and index. $6.00.)

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Early life and education

What was William Penn’s education?

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What was William Penn’s religion?

William Penn’s “Holy Experiment”: Quaker Truth in Pennsylvania, 1682–1781

By James Proud. Inner Light Books, 2019. 522 pages. $50/hardcover; $35/paperback.

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