Monday, April 18, 2016

Why did William Penn believe his colony was different from the other English colonies?

William Penn's vision became the foundation for America's "melting pot" of cultures because of the way he established the colony of Pennsylvania.
Penn wanted to build a culture full of diverse talents, so he welcomed people of all faiths and embraced a policy of religious tolerance, whereas other colonies did not. He did not establish an official church in his colony, again breaking with the practices of the other colonies.
Because of this, Penn saw diversity flourish in Pennsylvania, setting it apart. He even reached out to people of various backgrounds and cultures and invited them to be part of his settlement. The Dutch and Swedish were farming there by the 1620s, and Lenape Indians lived near the Delaware River.
Penn's vision had great foresight and became the very basis of the ideals in the US Constitution. Although far from perfect (slavery also took root in Pennsylvania), this settlement did seek to encourage diversity of background and religious tolerance far more than the surrounding colonies of the time.
http://www.pennsburymanor.org/history/william-penn-and-american-history/


William Penn envisaged Pennsylvania as a genuine haven of religious tolerance, a "peaceable kingdom." This was an expression of his deeply-held beliefs as a Quaker. To many other settlers, such as the Puritans of Massachusetts, religious tolerance meant being able to practice your own religion but not allowing anyone else to practice theirs. Pennsylvania become a place of refuge for many persecuted sects such as Anabaptists, almost universally despised and mistrusted by other denominations of Christianity.
Pennsylvania under its founder was also notable for cultivating a respectful, tolerant attitude towards Native Americans. William Penn actively sought good relations with the Lenni Lenape people. As a result of this bold step, the indigenous population and the new settlers were able to co-exist in some considerable degree of harmony. The kind of uprisings that regularly broke out in other colonies didn't occur in Pennsylvania. And as a Quaker dedicated to pacifism, Penn refused to get involved in the French and Indian War, something else that set Pennsylvania apart from the other American colonies.
https://www.learnreligions.com/william-penn-and-his-holy-experiment-701369

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