Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission ... · Pennsylvania History Day V 0OF things People Places Events Things Documentary Heritaae Pennsylvania Governors Symbols and Official

rruVik.. reliulsyiVUtlll L -tie stuly ratge I UI I

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Records Management About Us Historic PreservationHome Programs & Events Research Historic Sites & MuseumsrPennsylvania State Archives

CRGIS: Cultural ResourcesGeographic Information

Doc Heritage

Digital Archives (ARIAS)

ExplorePAhistory.com

Land Records

Genealogy

Pennsylvania History(People, Places, Events)

Record Holdings

Scholars in Residence

Pennsylvania History Day

V 0OF

things

PeoplePlacesEventsThings

Documentary Heritaae

Pennsylvania Governors

Symbols and Official DesignationsExamples: " Keystone State," Flower, Tree

Penn-sylyania Counties

Outline of Pennsylvania History

1, n-n. II, ni, tv, c.tnto ~ no Ii~, ol-, /~~h nt/n. mr. on, ,t on~~con A~2 1

.rrniV1%', reiniSy1Vdaina riiSiur'y aeiuoragc I ()I U


lome Programs & Events Research Historic Sites & Museums Records Management About Us Historic Preservation

Pennsylvania State Archives PENNSYLVANIA STATECRGIS: Cultural Resources

Geographic Information HISTO RYDoc Heritage


ExplorePAhistory.com

Land Records THE QUAKER PROVINCE: 1681-1776Genealogy

Pennsylvania History .

(People, Places, Events)

Record Holdings Y

Scholars in Residence

Pennsylvania History Day

The Founding of Pennsylvania

William Penn and the QuakersPenn was born in London on October 24, 1644, the son of Admiral SirWilliam Penn. Despite high social position and an excellent education,he shocked his upper-class associates by his conversion to the beliefsof the Society of Friends, or Quakers, then a persecuted sect. He usedhis inherited wealth and rank to benefit and protect his fellowbelievers. Despite the unpopularity of his religion, he was sociallyacceptable in the king's court because he was trusted by the Duke ofYork, later King James II. The origins of the Society of Friends lie inthe intense religious ferment of 17th century England. George Fox, theson of a Leicestershire weaver, is credited with founding it in 1647,though there was no definite organization before 1668. The Society'srejections of rituals and oaths, its opposition to war, and its simplicityof speech and dress soon attracted attention, usually hostile.

The Charter

King Charles II owed William Penn £16,000, money which AdmiralPenn had lent him. Seeking a haven in the New World for persecutedFriends, Penn asked the King to'grant him land in the territorybetween Lord Baltimore's province of Maryland and the Duke of York'sprovince of New York. With the Duke's support, Penn's petition wasgranted. The King signed the Charter of Pennsylvania on March 4,1681, and it was officially proclaimed on April 2. The King named thenew colony in honor of William Penn's father. It was to include theland between the 39th and 42nd degrees of north latitude and fromthe Delaware River westward for five degrees of longitude. Otherprovisions assured its people the protection of English laws and kept itsubject to the government in England to a certain degree. Provinciallaws could be annulled by the King. In 1682, the Duke of York deededto Penn his claim to the three lower counties on the Delaware, whichare now the state of Delaware.

1 /1 QI /) Q

rrniVi'-: rCeiuiSY1Vdiiia ru1SwL0y rg]rage 4 L)i U

The New Colony

In April 1681, Penn made his cousin William Markham deputy governorof the province and sent him to take control. In England, Penn drew upthe First Frame of Government, his proposed constitution forPennsylvania. Penn's preface to First Frame of Government hasbecome famous as a summation of his governmental ideals. Later, inOctober 1682, the Proprietor arrived in Pennsylvania on the shipWelcome. He visited Philadelphia, just laid out as the capital city,created the three original counties, and summoned a GeneralAssembly to Chester on December 4. This first Assembly united theDelaware counties with Pennsylvania, adopted a naturalization actand, on December 7, adopted the Great Law, a humanitarian codewhich became the fundamental basis of Pennsylvania law and whichguaranteed liberty of conscience. The second Assembly, in 1683,reviewed and amended Penn's First Frame with his cooperation andcreated the Second Frame of Government. By the time of Penn'sreturn to England late in 1684, the foundations of the Quaker Provincewere well established. In 1984, William Penn and his wife HannahCallowhill Penn were made the third and fourth honorary citizens ofthe United States, by act of Congress. On May 8, 1985, the Pennswere granted honorary citizenship of the Commonwealth ofPennsylvania.

Population and Immigration

Indians

Although William Penn was granted all theland in Pennsylvania by the King, he and hisheirs chose not to grant or settle any part ofit without first buying the claims of Indianswho lived there. In this manner, all ofPennsylvania except the northwestern thirdwas purchased by 1768. The Commonwealthbought the Six Nations' claims to theremainder of the land in 1784 and 1789, andthe claims of the Delawares and Wyandots in 1785. The-defeat of theFrench and Indian War alliance by 1760, the withdrawal of the French,the crushing of Chief Pontiac's Indian alliance in 1764, and the failureof all attempts by Indians and colonists to live side by side led theIrndians to migrate westward, gradually leaving Pennsylvania.

English

English Quakers were the dominant element, although many Englishsettlers were Anglican. The English settled heavily in the southeasterncounties, which soon lost frontier characteristics and became thecenter of a thriving agricultural and commercial society. Philadelphiabecame the metropolis of the British colonies and a center ofintellectual and commercial life.

Germans

Thousands of Germans were also attracted to the colony and, by thetime of the Revolution, comprised a third of the population. Thevolume of German immigration increased after 1727, coming largely

I1 1Q/,)((Q

rni1Vi%_, reiuisy iv ama n iiu r yag u iragu J 01 0

from the Rhineland. The Pennsylvania Germans settled most heavily inthe interior counties of Northampton, Berks, Lancaster and Lehigh,and neighboring areas. Their skill and industry transformed this regioninto a rich farming country, contributing greatly to the expandingprosperity of the province.

Scotch-IrishAnother important immigrant group was the Scotch-Irish, whomigrated from about 1717 until the Revolution in a series of wavescaused by hardships in Ireland. They were primarily frontiersmen,pushing first into the Cumberland Valley region and then farther intocentral and western Pennsylvania. They, with immigrants from oldScotland, numbered about one-fourth of the population by 1776.

African AmericansDespite Quaker opposition to slavery, about 4,000 slaves were broughtto Pennsylvania by 1730, most of them owned by English, Welsh, andScotch-Irish colonists. The census of 1790 showed that the number ofAfrican-Americans had increased to about 10,000, of whom about6,300 had received their freedom. The Pennsylvania Gradual AbolitionAct of 1780 was the first emancipation statute in the United States.

OthersMany Quakers were Irish and Welsh, and they settled in the areaimmediately outside of Philadelphia. French Huguenot and Jewishsettlers, together with Dutch, Swedes, and other groups, contributedin smaller numbers to the development of colonial Pennsylvania. Themixture of various national groups in the Quaker Province helped tocreate its broad-minded tolerance and cosmopolitan outlook.

PoliticsPennsylvania's political history ran a rocky course during the provincial era.There was a natural conflict between the proprietary and popular elementsin the government which began under Penn and grew stronger under hissuccessors. As a result of the English Revolution of 1688 which overthrewKing James II, Penn was deprived of his province from 1692 until 1694. Apopular party led by David Lloyd demanded greater powers for theAssembly, and in 1696 Markham's Frame of Government granted some ofthese. In December 1699, the Proprietor again visited Pennsylvania and, justbefore his return to England in 1701, agreed with the Assembly on a revisedconstitution, the Charter of Privileges, which remained in effect until 1776.This gave the Assembly full legislative powers and permitted the threeDelaware counties to have a separate legislature. Deputy or lieutenantgovernors (addressed as "governor") resided in Pennsylvania andrepresented the Penn family proprietors who remained themselves inEngland until 1773. After 1763, these governors were members of the Pennfamily. From 1773 until independence, John Penn was both a proprietor andthe governor. William Penn's heirs, who eventually abandoned Quakerism,were often in conflict with the Assembly, which was usually dominated bythe Quakers until 1756. One after another, governors defending theproprietors' prerogatives battered themselves against the rock of anAssembly vigilant in the defense of its own rights. The people of the frontierareas contended with the people of the older, southeastern region for moreadequate representation in the Assembly and better protection in time ofwar. Such controversies prepared the people for their part in the Revolution.

1 /1 QI')ri)Q

rrnivn%- reiUiSY1VUiiia r1SIiswy rg +0rage + 01 0

The Colonial WarsAs part of the British Empire, Pennsylvania was involved in the warsbetween Great Britain and France for dominance in North America.These wars ended the long period when Pennsylvania was virtuallywithout defense. The government built forts and furnished men andsupplies to help defend the empire to which it belonged. The territoryclaimed for New France included western Pennsylvania. The Longueuiland Celoron expeditions of the French in 1739 and 1749 traversed thisregion, and French traders competed with Pennsylvanians for Indiantrade. The French efforts in 1753 and 1754 to establish control overthe upper Ohio Valley led to the last and conclusive colonial war, theFrench and Indian War (1754-1763). French forts at Erie (Fort PresqueIsle), Waterford (Fort LeBoeuf), Pittsburgh (Fort Duquesne) andFranklin (Fort Machault) threatened all the middle colonies. In 1753,Washington failed to persuade the French to leave. In the ensuing war,Gen. Braddock's British and colonial army was slaughtered on theMonongahela in 1755, but Gen. John Forbes recaptured the site ofPittsburgh in 1758. After the war, the Indians rose up against theBritish colonies in Pontiac's War, but in August 1763, Colonel HenryBouquet defeated them at Bushy Run, ending the threat to the frontierin this region.

Economics

AgricultureFrom its beginning, Pennsylvania ranked as a leading agricultural areaand produced surpluses for export, adding to its wealth. By the 1750s,an exceptionally prosperous farming area had developed insoutheastern Pennsylvania. Wheat and corn were the leading crops,though rye, hemp, and flax were also important.

ManufacturingThe abundant natural resources of the colony made for earlydevelopment of industries. Arts and crafts, as well as homemanufactures, grew rapidly. Sawmills and gristmills were usually thefirst to appear, using the power of the numerous streams. Textileproducts were spun and woven mainly in the home, though factoryproduction was not unknown. Shipbuilding became important on theDelaware. The province early gained importance in iron manufacture,producing pig iron as well as finished products. Printing, publishing,and the related industry of papermaking, as well as tanning, weresignificant industries. The Pennsylvania long rifle was an adaptation ofa German hunting rifle developed in Lancaster County. Its superioritywas so recognized that by 1776 gunsmiths were duplicating it inVirginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland. The Conestoga wagonwas also developed in Lancaster County. Capable of carrying as muchas four tons, it was the prototype for the principal vehicle for Americanwestward migration, the prairie schooner.

Commerce and TransportationThe rivers were important as early arteries of commerce and weresoon supplemented by roads in the southeastern area. Stagecoachlines by 1776 reached from Philadelphia into the southcentral region.Trade with the Indians for furs was important in the colonial period.

1 /1 Ql/O OQ

rrniVi'-,: reUiHSYiVd11 amanm iuyrge ' lrage -) 01 0

Later, the transport and sale of farm products to Philadelphia andBaltimore, by water and road, formed an important business.Philadelphia became one of the most important centers in the coloniesfor the conduct of foreign trade and the commercial metropolis of anexpanding hinterland. By 1776, the province's imports and exportswere worth several million dollars.

Society and Culture

The Arts and Learning

Philadelphia was known in colonial times as the "Athens of America"because of its rich cultural life. Because of the liberality of Penn'sprinciples and the freedom of expression that prevailed, the provincewas noted for the variety and strength of its intellectual andeducational institutions and interests. An academy which held its firstclasses in 1740 became the College of Philadelphia in 1755, andultimately grew into the University of Pennsylvania. It was the onlynondenominational college of the colonial period. The arts andsciences flourished, and the public buildings of Philadelphia were themarvel of the colonies. Many fine old buildings in the Philadelphia areastill bear witness to the richness of Pennsylvania's civilization in the18th century. Such men of intellect as Benjamin Franklin, DavidRittenhouse, John Bartram, and Benjamin West achieved internationalrenown. Newspapers and magazines flourished, as did law andmedicine. Pennsylvania can claim America's first hospital, first library,and first insurance company.

ReligionQuakers held their first meeting at Upland (now Chester) in 1675, andcame to Pennsylvania in great numbers after William Penn received hisCharter. Most numerous in the southeastern counties, the Quakersgradually declined in number but retained considerable influence. ThePennsylvania Germans belonged largely to the Lutheran and Reformedchurches, but there were also several smaller sects: Mennonites,Amish, German Baptist Brethren or "Dunkers," Schwenkfelders, andMoravians. Although the Lutheran Church was established by theSwedes on Tinicum Island in 1643, it only began its growth to becomethe largest of the Protestant denominations in Pennsylvania upon thearrival of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg in 1742. The Reformed Churchowed its expansion to Michael Schlatter, who arrived in 1746. TheMoravians did notable missionary work among the Indians. The Churchof Eng land held services in Philadelphia as early as 1695. The firstCatholic congregation was organized in Philadelphia in 1720, and thefirst chapel was erected in 1733; Pennsylvania had the second largestCatholic population among the colonies. The Scotch broughtPresbyterianism; its first congregation was organized in Philadelphia in1698. Scotch-Irish immigrants swelled its numbers. Methodism beganlate in the colonial period. St. George's Church, built in Philadelphia in1769, is the oldest Methodist building in America. There was asignificant Jewish population in colonial Pennsylvania. Its Mikveh IsraelCongregation was established in Philadelphia in 1740.

Pennsylvania on the Eve of the Revolution

1 11 Q/1I') Q

rriIVA,: rCiUiSYiVd111d n i suryagLu irage U 01 U

By 1776, the Province of Pennsylvania had become the third largest Englishcolony in America, though next to the last to be founded. Philadelphia hadbecome the largest English-speaking city in the world next to London. Therewere originally only three counties: Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks. By1773, there were 11. Westmoreland, the last new county created before theRevolution, was the first county located entirely west of the AlleghenyMountains.

The American Revolution had urban origins, and Philadelphia was a center offerment. Groups of artisans and mechanics, many loyal to BenjaminFranklin, formed grassroots leadership. Philadelphia was a center ofresistance to the Stamp Act (1765) and moved quickly to support Boston inopposition to the Intolerable Acts, in 1774.

I, ttn.- /_- IIyg ,wy -I-hrMr - -, n tnc n ,- A, /1, - /In1' ,t Mn / l, o , n -9

C' -Al A•2 1 ilQ'fI~1 /1 Q I")/'•AQ

rrllVlk-: rC1I1ISy1VdI11L1 r11SLVI'y rage 1 01 IV

H


lome Programs & Events Research Historic Sites & Museums Records Management About Us Historic PreservationrPennsylvania State Archives PENNSYLVANIA STATECRGIS: Cultural ResourcesGeographic Information HISTO RYDoc Heritage


ExplorePAhistory.'com INDEPENDENCE TO THE CIVIL WAR:Land Records 1776-1861Genealogy

Pennsylvania History(People, Places, Events)(People Hlaces, EPennsylvania in the RevolutionRecord HoldingsScholars in Residence

Pennsylvania History Day Pennsylvanians may well take pride in the dominant role played by their

state in the early development of the national government. At the same timethat Pennsylvania was molding its own statehood, it was providingleadership and a meeting place for the men concerned with building anation.

The Declaration of IndependenceThe movement to defend American rights grew into the movementfor independence in the meetings of the Continental Congress atCarpenters' Hall and the State House (Independence Hall) inPhiladelphia. The spirit of independence ran high, as shown byspontaneous declarations of frontiersmen in the western areas and bythe political events which displaced the old provincial government.

The War for IndependencePennsylvania troops took part in almost all the campaigns of theRevolution. A rifle battalion joined in the siege of Boston in August1775. Others fought bravely in the ill-fated Canadian campaign of1776 and in the New York and New Jersey campaigns. The Britishnaturally considered Philadelphia of key importance and, in thesummer of 1777, invaded the state and captured the capital. Thebattles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Whitemarsh were importantengagements of this period. Following these battles, Washingtonwent into winter quarters at Valley Forge from December 1777 toJune 1778. News of the French alliance, which Benjamin Franklin hadhelped to negotiate, and the adoption of new strategy caused theBritish to leave Philadelphia in the spring of 1778. FrontierPennsylvania suffered heavily from British and Indian raids until theywere answered in 1779 by John Sullivan's and Daniel Brodhead'sexpeditions against the Six Nations Indians.

The Arsenal of IndependenceThe products of Pennsylvania farms, factories, and mines wereessential to the success of the Revolutionary armies. At Carlisle aContinental ordnance arsenal turned out cannons, swords, pikes, and

I, f+_. //--- -I,-- ýt ý+_ - - ý /ký], /-1, -f /- 'A 4-11 I/ 11 Q/ U)( Q

rnilVi'-: rrIHISyi V Ula1 x-IlSwLVy rg ir'agtu /_ wl IV

muskets. The state actively encouraged the manufacture ofgunpowder. Pennsylvania's financial support, both from itsgovernment and from individuals, was of great importance. By 1780,the state had contributed more than $6 million to the Congress and,when the American states had reached financial exhaustion, 90Philadelphians subscribed a loan of £300,000 to supply the army.Later, in 1782, the Bank of North America was chartered to supportgovernment fiscal needs. Robert Morris and Haym Salomon wereimportant financial supporters of the Revolution.

Founding a Commonwealth

A Pennsylvania RevolutionPennsylvania's part in the American Revolution was complicated bypolitical changes within the state, constituting a Pennsylvaniarevolution of which not all patriots approved. The temper of thepeople outran the conservatism of the Provincial Assembly. Extralegalcommittees gradually took over the reins of government, and in June1776 these committees called a state convention to meet on July 15,1776.

The Constitution of 1776The convention superseded the old government completely,established a Council of Safety to rule in the interim, and drew up thefirst state constitution, adopted on September 28, 1776. Thisprovided an assembly of one house and a supreme executive councilinstead of a governor. The Declaration of Rights section has beencopied in subsequent constitutions without significant change.

Many patriot leaders were bitterly opposed to the new Pennsylvaniaconstitution. Led by such men as John Dickinson, James Wilson,Robert Morris, and Frederick Muhlenberg, they carried on a long fightwith the Constitutional party, a radical group. Joseph Reed, GeorgeBryan, William Findley, and other radicals governed Pennsylvaniauntil 1790. Their most noteworthy accomplishments were the act forthe gradual abolition of slavery (1780) and an act of 1779 which tookover the public lands owned by the Penn family (but allowed themsome compensation in recognition of the services of the founder).The conservatives gradually gained more strength, helped by theConstitutionalists' poor financial administration.

The Constitution of 1790By 1789, the conservatives felt strong-enough to rewrite the stateconstitution, and the Assembly called a convention to meet inNovember. In the convention, both the conservative majority and theradical minority showed a tendency to compromise and to settle theirdifferences along moderate lines. As a result, the new constitutionembodied the best ideas of both parties and was adopted with littleobjection. It provided for a second legislative house, the StateSenate, and for a strong governor with extensive appointing powers.

Founding a Nation

Pennsylvania and the United States Constitution

I/ 1 Q/1)AAQ

rriiV1'-,; rCeiuiSY1Vaiiia nl1SwLOy ae30Irage ) ol IV

Because of a lack of central power, as well as financial difficulties, theArticles of Confederation could no longer bind together the newlyindependent states. As a result, the Federal Constitutional Conventionmet in Philadelphia in 1787. The structure that evolved remains thebasis of our government today.

The Pennsylvania Assembly sent eight delegates to the FederalConvention. Four of these had been signers of the Declaration ofIndependence. The delegation included the venerable BenjaminFranklin, whose counsels of moderation on several occasions kept theconvention from dissolving; the brilliant Gouverneur Morris, whospoke more often than any other member; and the able lawyerJames Wilson, who, next to Madison of Virginia, was the principalarchitect of the Constitution. Pennsylvania's delegation supportedevery move to strengthen the national government and signed thefinished Constitution on September 17. The conservatives in thePennsylvania Assembly took swift action to call a ratifyingconvention, which met in Philadelphia on November 21. TheFederalists, favoring ratification, elected a majority of delegates and,led by Wilson, made Pennsylvania the second state to ratify, onDecember 12, 1787.

Population and ImmigrationLarge areas of the northern and western parts of the state wereundistributed or undeveloped in 1790, and many other sections were thinlypopulated. The state adopted generous land policies, distributed free"Donation Lands" to Revolutionary veterans and offered other lands atreasonable prices to actual settlers. Conflicting methods of land distributionand the activities of land companies and of unduly optimistic speculatorscaused much legal confusion. By 1860, with the possible exception of thenorthern tier counties, population was scattered throughout the state. Therewas increased urbanization, although rural life remained strong andagriculture involved large numbers of people. The immigrant tide swelledbecause of large numbers of Irish fleeing the potato famine of the late 1840sand Germans fleeing the political turbulence of their homeland about thesame time. As a result of the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1780, the 3,737African American slave population of 1790 dropped to 64 by 1840, and by1850 all Pennsylvania African Americans were free unless they werefugitives from the South. The African American community had 6,500 freepeople in 1790, rising to 57,000 in 1860. Philadelphia was their populationand cultural center.

Political Developments

Reaction Against the Federalist PartyFrom 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia was the capital of the United States.While Washington was president, the state supported the FederalistParty, but grew gradually suspicious of its aristocratic goals. From thebeginning, Senator William Maclay of Pennsylvania was an outspokencritic of the party. When Thomas Jefferson organized the Democrat-Republican Party, he had many supporters in Pennsylvania. ThomasMifflin, Pennsylvania's first governor under the Constitution of 1790,was a moderate who avoided commitment to any party but leanedtoward the Jeffersonians. The Whiskey Rebellion in WesternPennsylvania in 1794 hastened the reaction against the Federalistsand provided a test of national unity. The insurrection wassuppressed by an army assembled at Carlisle and Fort Cumberland

],tnt -, / -,-,-- , + n eI, kn1,/ I; t/-;, ;I ne.,9ý ,A -~11ilQI)A I /11 Q /1 nt" Q

rr11VI%_,; rCIIIISY1VdI11U rIISLVI'y rage,'+ 01 IV

and headed by President Washington. Partly as a result, Jeffersondrew more votes than Adams in Pennsylvania in the presidentialelection in 1796. It was a foreboding sign for the Federalists, whowere defeated in the national election of 1800.

Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democratic DominanceIn 1799, Mifflin was succeeded by Thomas McKean, a conservativeJeffersonian Democrat-Republican, who governed until 1808.McKean's opposition to measures advocated by the liberal element inhis party led to a split in its ranks and an unsuccessful attempt toimpeach him. His successor, Simon Snyder of Selinsgrove,represented the liberal wing. Snyder, who served three terms until1817, was the first governor to come from common, nonaristocraticorigins. In this period, the capital was transferred from Philadelphiato Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. During theWar of 1812, Pennsylvanians General Jacob Brown and CommodoreStephen Decatur were major military leaders. Stephen Girard, AlbertGallatin, and Alexander James Dallas helped organize national warfinances, and Gallatin served as peace commissioner at Ghent. OliverHazard Perry's fleet, which won the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, wasbuilt at Erie by Daniel Dobbins, a native Pennsylvanian. Today, theHistorical and Museum Commission has extensively restored Perry'sflagship, the U.S.S. Niagara, which may be appreciated by the publicwhen visiting Erie. In 1820, a coalition of Federalists andconservative Democrats elected Joseph Hiester, whose non-partisanapproach reformed government but destroyed his own coalition. Theelection of 1820 marked the end of the use of caucuses to selectcandidates and the triumph of the open conventions system. TheFamily Party Democrats elected the two succeeding governors, JohnAndrew Shulze and George Wolf (1823-1834), who launched theprogressive but very costly Public Works system of state built canals.Attitudes toward President Andrew Jackson and his policies,especially that concerning the Second Bank of the United States,altered political alignments in Pennsylvania during this period. In1834, Gov. Wolf signed the Free School Act which alienated many,including Pennsylvania Germans, so that the Democrats lost the nextgovernorship to the Anti-Masonic Joseph Ritner who was supportedby the Whig P arty. In a dramatic speech, Thaddeus Stevenspersuaded the Assembly not to repeal the Free School Law. But theMasonic investigations in the Assembly which followed wereludicrous, and the Democrat David R. Porter received 5,000 morevotes than Ritner in the 1838 election. Ritner's followers claimedfraud, and violence nearly erupted in the "Buckshot War," untilseveral of Ritner's legislative followers bolted and placed Porter inoffice.

The Constitution of 1838In 1837, a convention was called to revise the state's laws and drafta new constitution. The resulting constitution, in 1838, reduced thegovernor's appointive power, increased the number of elective officesand shortened terms of office. The voters were given a greater voicein government and were better protected from abuses of power.However, free African Americans were disenfranchised. The burningof Pennsylvania Hall in Philadelphia, a center for many reformactivities, in the same year, showed that the new constitutioncoincided with an awakened hostility toward abolition and racialequality.

-I,-- - /-4 1 -9-; A -11 IlI QI/'1)f Q

rr11VB-. rC1111SY1VU111d f11hLV1'Y raugu 3 01 IV

Shifting TidesFollowing the adoption of the new constitution in 1838, six governorsfollowed in succession prior to the Civil War, two of whom wereWhigs. State debts incurred for internal improvements, such as thecanal system, almost bankrupted the state, -until the Public Workswere finally sold. The search for a sound banking and currency policyand the rising political career of James Buchanan dominated thisperiod. It was marred by the tragic religious riots of the NativeAmerican Association at Kensington in 1844.

The annexation of Texas and the war with Mexico which ensued in1846 were generally supported in Pennsylvania. More men enlistedthan could be accepted by the armed forces, but manyPennsylvanians were opposed to any expansion of slavery into theterritory taken from Mexico. David Wilmot of Bradford Countybecame a national figure in 1846 by his presentation in Congress ofthe Wilmot Proviso opposing slavery's extension, and his action wassupported almost unanimously by the Pennsylvania Assembly.

Pennsylvania and the Antislavery MovementThe Quakers were the first group to express organized opposition toslavery. Slavery slowly disappeared in Pennsylvania under theGradual Emancipation Act of 1780, but nationally the issue of slaverybecame acute after 1820. Many Pennsylvanians were averse to thereturn of fugitive slaves to their masters. Under an act of 1826, whichwas passed to restrain this, a Maryland agent was convicted ofkidnapping in 1837, but the United States Supreme Court declaredthe act unconstitutional in 1842. The state forbade the use of its jailsto detain fugitive African Americans in 1847. The Compromise of1850, a national program intended to quiet the agitation overslavery, imposed a new Federal Fugitive Slave Law, but citizens inChristiana, Lancaster County, rioted in 1851 to prevent the law frombeing implemented. Opposition to slavery and the desire for a hightariff led to the rise of the new Republican Party in Pennsylvania.Pennsylvania Democrat James Buchanan was elected Presidentbecause of a deadlock over the slavery issue among the other majorpoliticians, and he then announced a policy of noninterference withslavery in the states and popular sovereignty in the federal territoriesBecause of controversy over the admission of Kansas as a state,Buchanan lost support of most Northern Democrats, and disruptionwithin the Democratic Party made possible Abraham Lincoln's electionto the Presidency in 1860. Civil War followed. The expression"underground railroad" may have originated in Pennsylvania, wherenumerous citizens aided the escape of slaves to freedom in Canada.Anna Dickinson, Lucretia Mott, Ann Preston, and Jane Swisshelmwere among Pennsylvania women who led the antislavery cause.Thaddeus Stevens was an uncompromising foe of slavery in Congressafter he was reelected to the House of Representatives in 1859.Pennsylvania abolitionist leaders were both African American andwhite. African American leaders included those who made politicalappeals, like James Forten and Robert Purvis; underground railroadworkers Robert Porter and William Still; publication activist John B.Vashon and his son George; and the organizer of the Christiana Riotof 1851 against fugitive slave hunters, William Parker.

African Americans made some cultural advances during this period.William Whipper organized reading rooms in Philadelphia. In 1794,

-I,-- ýfýf_ - 1 /1 Q/I)(•AAQ

rrn1Vi'_: reuiulyivaiiiu ni~lsty rge0uiragr ) 01 1 V

Rev. Absolam Jones founded St. Thomas African Episcopal Church,and Rev. Richard Allen opened the Mother Bethel African MethodistEpiscopal Church, both in Philadelphia. The first African Americanchurch in Pittsburgh (A.M.E.) was founded in 1822.

WomenCourageous individual women worked not only for their own causebut also for other reforms, although the status of the whole femalepopulation changed little during this period. Catherine Smith, forexample, manufactured musket barrels for the Revolutionary Army,and the mythical battle heroine Molly Pitcher was probably also aPennsylvanian. Sara Franklin Bache and Ester De Berdt Reedorganized a group of 2,200 Pennsylvania women to collect money,buy cloth, and sew clothing for Revolutionary soldiers. Lucretia Mott,a Quaker preacher and teacher, was one of four women to participateat the formation of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphiain 1833, and became president of the Female Anti-Slavery Society.With Elizabeth Cady Stanton she launched the campaign for women'srights at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Jane Grey Swisshelm,abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights, used newspapers andlectures. In 1848, she launched her abolitionist paper, The SaturdayVisiter, which featured antislavery propaganda and women's rights.Her essays influenced the state legislature to grant married womenthe right to own property, in 1848.

Disruption of the DemocracyThe political winds began to shift due to the Southern domination ofthe Democratic Party, rising abolition sentiment, and a desire topromote Pennsylvania's growing industries by raising tariffs. In 1856,Pennsylvania took the lead in the organization of the new RepublicanParty, with former Democratic leader Simon Cameron throwing hissupport to the new party. Congressmen David Wilmot and GalushaGrow typified the national statesmanship of Pennsylvania in thisperiod. However, the Democratic candidate James Buchanan waselected president, the only native Pennsylvanian ever to hold theposition. In 1860, the Republicans emerged as the dominant party inthe state and nation with the elections of Governor Andrew GreggCurtin and President Abraham Lincoln.

IndustryBy 1861, the factory system had largely replaced the domestic system ofhome manufacture, and the foundation of the state's industrial greatnesswas established. The change was most noticeable after 1840 because of ashift to machinery and factories in the textile industry. By 1860, there weremore than 200 textile mills. Leathermaking, lumbering, shipbuilding,publishing, and tobacco and paper manufacture also prospered in the 1800s.

Pennsylvania's outstanding industrial achievements were in iron and steel.Its production of iron was notable even in colonial times, and the charcoalfurnaces of the state spread into the Juniata and western regions during themid-1800s. Foundries, rolling mills, and machine shops became numerousand, by the Civil War, the state rolled about half the nation's iron, aiding thedevelopment of railroads. The Baldwin Works were established inPhiladelphia in 1842, and the Bethlehem Company was organized in 1862.The Cambria Works at Johnstown were established in 1854 and, by the endof the Civil War, were the largest' mills in the country. William Kelly, a nativeof Pittsburgh, is regarded as the inventor of the Bessemer process of making

1, f t- -//- - - , -1, - - ý4- ý f - - , ý ý /ký 1, /-1, ; ý f /_; ý ;I n -')ý __; '4_1 1 1/1 Q I/IAQ

IrrniVi'-: reiniSYiVU1nia nIISUi'y rg iragu / 01 1ki

steel.

Although much importance is given to the discovery of gold in California, thediscovery and development of Pennsylvania's mineral and energy resourcesfar overshadowed that event. Cornwall, in Lebanon County, provided ironore from colonial times, and ore was also found in many other sections ofPennsylvania in which the charcoal iron industry flourished. The use ofanthracite coal began on a large scale after 1820 with the organization ofimportant mining companies.

LaborAfter the Revolution, the use of indentured servants sharply declined.The growth of industrial factories up to 1860, however, enlarged thegulf between skilled and unskilled labor, and immigrants were asmuch subordinated by this as they had been under indenture. Local,specialized labor unions had brief successes, especially in Philadelphiawhere in 1845 a city ordinance placed a ten-hour limit on thelaborer's day. The state's mechanics' lien law of 1854 was anothervictory for the rights of labor.

Transportation

RoadsThe settlement of new regions of the state was accompanied byprovisions for new roads. The original Lancaster Pike connectingPhiladelphia with Lancaster was completed in 1794. By 1832, thestate led the nation in improved roads, having more than 3,000miles. The National or Cumberland Road was a major route forwestern movement before 1850. Between 1811 and 1818, thesection of this road in Pennsylvania was built through Somerset,Fayette, and Washington Counties. It is now Route 40.

Waterways

Most of the state's 7 77 ý

major cities were builtalong important riverroutes. In the 1790s,the state madeextensive studies forimproving thenavigation of all majorstreams, and canalsbegan to supplementnatural waterways.Canals extending theuse of the Delaware t • " <'*'7and Schuylkill Rivers L 0,, -L , .I i •-,C ,

were chartered before1815, and the Lehigh Canal was completed in 1838. The vast systemnamed the State Works of Pennsylvania soon overshadowed privatelyconstructed canals. The system linked the east and the west by 1834,but the expense nearly made the state financially insolvent. Thebenefits to the economic progress of distant regions, however,provided ample justification for the high cost.

I1l Q/I')(YQ

rriiVu..: reiuiSY1V11 rvam ISUioy rg 11ragr 0 u1 iui

Although canals declined rapidly with the advent of the railroad,Pennsylvania's ports and waterways remained active. The steamboatoriginated with experiments by John Fitch of Philadelphia from 1787to 1790, and Lancaster County native Robert Fulton established it asa practical medium of transportation on the Ohio, Allegheny, andMonongahela Rivers.

Railroads

Rail transportbegan in 1827,operated at first Kby horse power ~ >'or cables. It wascalled the • ii"Mauch Chunk r'Gravity," later 4known as "TheSwitch Back".The tracksconnectedanthracite fieldswith canals orrivers. TheColumbia and Philadelphia Railroad, completed in 1834 as part of theState Works, was the first ever built by a government. Pennsylvania'sfirst railroad built as a common carrier was the Philadelphia,Germantown, and Norristown Railroad, completed in 1835.

Major railroads chartered in the state included the Philadelphia andReading (1833) and the Lehigh Valley (1846, reincorporated 1853).However, the most important of all was the Pennsylvania Railroad,chartered April 13, 1846, and completed to Pittsburgh by 1852. Itabsorbed so many short railroad lines by 1860 that it had nearly amonopoly on rail traffic from Chicago through Pennsylvania. Andwhereas Pennsylvania had reached its maximum of 954 canal milesby 1840, total railroad trackage grew by 1860 to 2,598 miles. Inmiles of rail and in total capital invested in railroads, Pennsylvania ledall other states on the eve of the Civil War.

Culture

EducationThe Constitution of 1790 provided the basis for a public system ofeducation, and several acts were passed for that purpose. It was notuntil the Free School Act of 1834, however, that a genuinelydemocratic system of public schools was initiated. By 1865, thenumber of public schools had quadrupled. In 1852, a stateassociation of teachers was organized. Five years later the NormalSchool Act was passed, and a separate government department wascreated for the supervision of schools. These were significantadvances in social organization. Numerous private schoolssupplemented the public system. There also was a rapid developmentof academies, corresponding to modern high schools. Many

1 i/l Q/)rQ

rrniVRt-; rCeiuiSYiVUaiii fitlSly rg 11ragu Y 01 lu

academies received public aid.

ScienceThe traditions of scientific inquiry established in Pennsylvania byBenjamin Franklin, David Rittenhouse, and the Bartrams continued.The American Philosophical Society was the first of manyorganizations founded in Philadelphia to encourage scientific work.The Academy of Natural Sciences was founded in 1812 and theFranklin Institute in 1824. The American Association of Geologists,formed in Philadelphia in 1840, later grew into the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science. The scientific leadershipof Pennsylvania was represented by many individuals of whom only afew can be named James Woodhouse (1770-1809) pioneered inchemical analysis, plant chemistry, and the scientific study ofindustrial processes. Isaac Hayes (1796-1879) of Philadelphiapioneered in the study of astigmatism and color blindness. TheMoravian clergyman Lewis David von Schweinitz (1780-1834) madegreat contributions to botany, discovering more than 1,200 species offungi.

Literature and the ArtsCharles Brockden Brown of Philadelphia was the first Americannovelist of distinction and the first to follow a purely literary career.Hugh Henry Brackenridge of Pittsburgh gave the American West itsfirst literary work in his satire Modern Chivalry. Philadelphiacontinued as an important center for printing with J. B. Lippincotttaking the lead and, for magazines, with the publication of theSaturday Evening Post. Bayard Taylor, who began his literary careerbefore the Civil War, published his most notable work in 1870-71 thefamous translation of Goethe's Faust.

In architecture, the red brick construction of southeasternPennsylvania was supplemented by buildings in the Greek Revivalstyle. The New England influence was strong in the domesticarchitecture of the northern tier counties. Thomas U. Walter andWilliam Strickland gave Pennsylvania an important place in thearchitectural history of the early 1800s. Walter designed the TreasuryBuilding and the Capitol dome in Washington. The nation's firstinstitution of art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, wasfounded in Philadelphia in 1805, although by then, such painters asGilbert Stuart, Benjamin West, and the Peale family had alreadymade Philadelphia famous.

Philadelphia was the theatrical center of America until 1830, a leaderin music publishing and piano manufacture, and the birthplace ofAmerican opera. William Henry Fry's Lenora (1845) was probably thefirst publicly performed opera by an American composer. StephenFoster became the songwriter for the nation.

ReligionIn the years between independence and the Civil War, religionflourished in the Commonwealth. In addition to the growth ofworship, religion led the way to enlargement of the educationalsystem. In this period, churches threw off European ties andestablished governing bodies in the United States. In 1789, JohnCarroll of Maryland became the first Catholic bishop in America. In1820, the establishment of a national Lutheran synod was the last of

I, tf-- //- -- , -I,-- ýf ýf- - - /1-1, /- I, -f /-;ý -1 1 1i/1 QI')Clf)Q

I-MV11-: 1-01111SYlVallia rIISLUIY rage IV 01 iV

the breaks from Europe by a major Protestant denomination. Somenew churches were formed: Jacob AIbright formed the EvangelicalAssociation, a Pennsylvania German parallel to Methodism; RichardAllen formed the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816; andJohn Winebrenner founded the Church of God in Harrisburg in 1830.Isaac Leeser, who founded Conservative Judaism in America, didmost of his important writing in Philadelphia in this period.Presbyterianism, which was the largest Protestant denominationbefore 1860, drifted westward and had its stronghold in westernPennsylvania. Quakers, although decreasing in number, led manyhumanitarian and reform movements. Although anti-Catholic riotsoccurred at Kensington in 1844, German and Irish immigrantsenlarged the number of Catholics in the state.

William Penn

-V

People Places Events ThinQs

William Penn

When William Penn leftEngland on his first voyage to Pennsylvania,his headwas full of visions and hopes for this new Land ofPromise "six hundred miles nearer the sun." Hewanted to see if he and his fellow Quakers couldestablish here a new society based on wider freedomsthan the Old World knew; and he wanted also to seewhether it was true, as he thought, that men andwomen were better and happier for this freedom.

Believing good government to be part of God's planfor mankind, he called his venture a Holy Experiment.He was in Pennsylvania only three and a half years.,But from 1681, when he received the King's charterat the age of thirty-seven, to 1718, when he died,Pennsylvania was one of his chief preoccupations. The

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page I .asp?secid=31 (I of 3)11/19/2007 10:41:00 AM

William Penn

growth and well-being of his colony was based on atradition of religious toleration and freedom underlaw, fundamental principles of American civil life.

ThomasJeffersoncalledPenn "thegreatestlaw-giverthe worldhasproduced."GovernorWilliam

Penn came to North America in 1682 and stayed fortwo years, returning only for another short stay from1699 to 1701. Illness, financial worries, and threatsto Pennsylvania's charter kept him from the tranquilenjoyment of his beautiful home on the DelawareRiver. Since he was in no position to take immediatecharge of the government, it is remarkable that hewas able to exert the influence he did on thedevelopment of the colony.

Penn was born on October 24, 1644. His father was afamous English admiral, Sir William Penn. YoungWilliam grew up during a stormy time of revolutionand reaction in England. For a short time, he was asoldier, and so successful a one that he thought ofmaking a career in the army. But,, seeing the effectsof violence and persecution, he was led to dream of asociety in which war should have no place, and inwhich a man might freely worship according to hisown conscience. He joined the Society of Friends (theQuakers), who were pacifists, and threw his energieswith theirs into political battles for freedom ofreligion, freedom of assembly, and the right of trialby jury.

http://www.phmc:state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page I .asp?secid=31 (2 of 3)11/19/2007 10:4 1:00 AM

William Penn

In 1681 there came a golden opportunity to make hisdreams come true. King Charles II, out of "regard tothe memorie and meritts of his late father," gave theyounger Penn a huge tract of land in North Americaand named it, in honor of the Admiral, "Pennsilvania,"or Penn's Woods. The new proprietor advertised forsettlers-"adventurers" he called them: farmers, daylaborers, carpenters, masons, smiths, weavers,tailors, tanners, shoemakers, shipwrights, and inaddition, merchants who understood commerce, andmen of administrative capacity to set the newcommunity on its feet. At the same time, to reassurethe Swedish, Finnish, and Dutch settlers who werealready in the Province, and who provided a sturdybase for its coming population, he sent letters biddingthem not to be disturbed at the change ofgovernment.

He was not a grasping and tyrannical governor, hesaid; and he promised them freedom: "You shall begoverned by laws of your own making..." Penndelayed his departure for the New World for morethan a year. He hoped to persuade his friend theDuke of York (soon to become King James II) to granthim title to the three counties of Delaware, lyingsouth of Penn's original grant, which would guaranteean outlet to the sea. In late August, 1682, the Duketransferred his title to Penn, and within a few daysPenn left for America. Sailing on a ship that wasappropriately named the "Welcome," he made thevoyage in comparatively good time.

Previous Page Page Page Page NextPage 1 2 3 4 Page

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page I .asp?secid=31 (3 of 3)11/19/2007 10:41:00 AM

William Penn, Page 2

People Places Events Things

William Pennpage 2

He arrived at New Castle in northern Delaware,October 27, 1682, less than two months after leavingEngland. The next day he sailed farther up the river toUpland, the most populous town in what becamePennsylvania. He soon renamed the town Chester, for

the English city of the same name. William Penn's firstfew weeks in the colony were busy ones indeed. Oneof the matters which he had to attend to right awaywas the arranging of a conference with LordBaltimore, the proprietor of Maryland, on theboundary disputes between their two colonies. Thecharters granted to Penn and to Lord Baltimore werehopelessly in conflict. Lord Baltimore asserted that hischarter properly included Delaware, and he also

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page2.asp?secid=3 I (1 of 3)11/19/2007 10:41:48 AM


claimed so large a portion of southern Pennsylvaniathat the site chosen for Philadelphia would have goneto Maryland. Penn never succeeded in settling thisdispute during his lifetime, and in fact it was neversettled by anyone until the surveying of the Mason-Dixon line in 1763.

The boundary question did not stop Penn from takinggreat pride in the brand-new town of Philadelphia,which he inspected soon after landing at Chester.While Penn had been in England his agents hadchosen the site for the new town and had laid it out in

accordance with hisdirections. Penn, a man ofclassical learning, had called

* ,it Philadelphia, a name whichhe interpreted to mean "thecity of brotherly love." Now,little more than a year old,the town was already

Sbeginning to show signs ofthe prosperity and culturethat were to give it first rank

j •• among American cities in thelater colonial period. Pennhimself, describing hisimpressions of his first visit to

the colony, hailed the new city with this eloquentpassage: "And thou, Philadelphia, the virginsettlement of this province, named before thou wertborn, what love, what care, what service, and whattravail has there been, to bring thee forth...." For thetime being, however, Penn was not able to linger atPhiladelphia; with his chief assistants he hurried downthe river to New Castle for the opening of the firstprovincial court.

He invited all those settlers with questions about landtitles to be present at the next session of the court,and announced that until a provincial legislature couldmeet, the colonists would be governed by the laws ofthe province of New York wherever these did notconflict with English law. In the area of Indianrelations, Penn's Quaker principles were plainlystamped onto the life of the colony. Almostimmediately after arriving, despite his multitude ofother duties, he took steps to establish peacefulrelations with the Indians. Although he had accepted

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppel/penn/page2.asp?secid=31 (2 of 3)11/19/2007 10:41:48 AM


title to his land from the English King, Penn respectedthe rights of the bronze-skinned people who had beenliving on it. He was careful to acquire the land fromthem by purchase, and to this end he and his agentsheld frequent conferences with the local Delawarechiefs and their retinue.


http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page2.asp?secid=31 (3 of 3)11/19/2007 10:41:48 AM


4,1J4


William Pennpage 3

He has described these scenes: the chief seated inthe center, his council seated in a half-moon behindhim, and beyond that another half-moon composedof all the other Indians of the community.Proceedings on both sides were grave and courteous.It was Penn's courtesy on these occasions, combinedwith his unfailing sense of fair play, that won theIndians' respect and affection. He left behind him atradition of good feeling that saved Pennsylvania forseventy years from the disaster of an Indian war.The painter Benjamin West'has immortalized a treatyof friendship which, according to tradition, Pennmade with the renowned Delaware chief Tamanendsoon after his arrival in 1682. Common belief hasthis treaty-one which Voltaire said was "never swornto and never broken"- taking -place under the "TreatyElm" at Shackamaxon, half a mile north of the centerof Philadelphia. Whether the story is literally true ornot, it does symbolize the determination of thepeace-loving Quakers to deal justly with theirneighbors.

http://www.phmcstate.pa.us/ppet/penn/page3.asp?secid=31 (1 of 4)11/19/2007 10:43:18 AM


Three weeksafter- his arrival Penn called for an election ofrepresentatives to the first provincial Assembly,which would meet with him in Chester early inDecember. These men convened on December 4 andstayed in session four days-long enough to pass-several laws and to grant Pennsylvania citizenshipboth to the Delaware residents~and to the fewSwedes, Finns, and Dutchmen who had come to thearea before the start of English colonization. This wasthe first of four sessions of the Assembly held duringPenn's brief stay in North America, and the lawspassed during those sessions embodied thehumanitarian and tolerant spirit of Penn and hisfellow Quakers. Among the laws passed by theAssembly in 1682-83 were several which wereaccorded special status. These could not be changedexcept by agreement of the governor and six-sevenths of the members of the legislature.

Heading the list of thesefundamental statutes was Penn's law protectingfreedom of conscience. Under this guaranteethousands of members of unpopular Christian sectswere able to escape from ,the persecutions of the OldWorld. Unlike many people who have sufferedrestrictions on their freedoms, the Quakers had no

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page3.asp?secid=31 (2 of 4) 11/19/2007 10:43:18 AM


wish to impose similar restrictions on others oncethey had the power. The criminal code adopted byPenn and the Assembly was also indicative of theQuakers idealism. Only two crimes, murder andtreason, were made punishable by death. At thattime the laws in England prescribed the deathpenalty for such offenses as housebreaking, highwayrobbery, and all other robberies of more than oneshilling.

... .. .. ,•7

A CPOLOGY:

rOu \KRSI

Between Law-making, Indiancouncils, land sales, and boundary disputes, Penn'sstay in America was a strenuous one. His wifeGulielma had stayed behind in England with theirchildren, the plan being that they would join Penn inthe colony as soon as possible. But Gulielma wasdestined never to cross the ocean. In 1684 Pennlearned that Lord Baltimore was on his way back toEngland and would try to persuade the King to giveMaryland the lands that were in dispute between thetwo colonies. Penn knew that he must also go back ifhe were not to lose a large portion of his land. Aremark by one of Lord Baltimore's agents - thatPenn's beloved Philadelphia was "one of the prettiesttowns in Maryland" - could not have made Penn feelvery happy.

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page3.asp?secid=3 1 (3 of 4)11/19/2007 10:43:18 AM


InAugust of 1684 he hurriedly left for England toprotect his colony's interests. He was not to returnfor fifteen years. The boundary quarrel dragged oninterminably, and although Penn was able to preventa transfer of the disputed lands to Maryland, he didnot succeed in gaining a clear title to them himself.Meanwhile, other events began to overshadow thisargument. Penn's benefactor, James II, the formerDuke of York, became King in 1685 and immediatelybegan to make enemies with his harsh policies.Although he disagreed with the King on many points,and favored a much greater degree of popular rulethan James would permit, Penn stayed loyal to theirfriendship. As a result, when the King's troubledreign was abruptly ended by the "GloriousRevolution" of 1688, Penn came under suspicionfrom the new rulers, William and Mary. For nearly sixyears he was either in prison or in hiding. Then in1694, when he had finally succeeded in clearing hisname, his beloved wife Gulielma died after alingering illness. That left Penn with the care of theirthree children as well as with pressing financialproblems. Two years later he was married again, thistime to Hannah Callowhill, an attractive and devoutQuaker woman more than twenty-five years youngerthan himself.

Previous Page Page Page Page NextPaqe 1 2 3 4 Pa4e

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page3.aspsecid=31 (4 of 4)11/19/2007 10:43:18 AM


ME,-


Williampage 4

Penn

When next he returned to Pennsylvania it would bewith Hannah. Finally, Penn's desire to see the colonyonce again was reinforced by the demands of theBritish government. The Board of Trade, whichsupervised provincial affairs, had heard reports thatthe Pennsylvania government, in Penn's absence,was abetting the activities of pirates who preyed onships off the Atlantic coast. Penn promised to returnat once to look into the reports and to take swiftaction if it seemed to be justified. He landed atPhiladelphia in early December of 1699, accompanied

http://www~phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page4.asp?secid=31 (I of 4)1 1/19/2007 10:43:39 AM


by Hannah and his grown daughter by the earliermarriage, Letitia. The piracy question was disposedof with little difficulty, and Penn was able to viewwith pride (and perhaps some bewilderment) theother changes in the colony. Philadelphia, "namedafter thou wert born," was a bustling little city with apopulation second only to Boston's in all of the NewWorld.

Pennsylvania was exporting such raw materials aslumber, furs, hemp, tobacco, iron, and copper andreceiving high-quality British manufactured goods inexchange. The population of the colony as a wholewas increasing so fast that a year after his arrival,Penn obtained a deed from the Iroquois, or "FiveNations," for the lands adjoining the SusquehannaRiver that had belonged to the Susquehanna Indians.As often as official business allowed, Penn retreatedto the wilderness home he had created for his family.Pennsbury Manor was across the Delaware Riverfrom the present city of Trenton, New Jersey, sometwenty-four miles north of Philadelphia. Here, in ahome that was set in heavy woods and wasconveniently accessible only by water, Penn spentmany happy days. It was a large house, full ofservants, handsome furniture, and good things forthe dining table - for Penn, though deeply religious,was not an ascetic. He and his wife looked after theaffairs of the house. From Pennsbury, as his lettersdisclose, he sent to town for such things as bricks,lime, locks, and nails, while she ordered chocolate,flour, bacon, coffee, cornmeal and (on one occasion)a "parlor bell." Such commodities were delivered byflatboat up the Delaware River. When they were notliving at Pennsbury, the family stayed at the SlateRoof House, an ample Philadelphia dwelling ownedby Samuel Carpenter. It was in this house that hisson John Penn was born on January 29, 1700. Theonly one of Penn's children to be born in NorthAmerica, John always carried the nickname of "theAmerican."

http://www.phme.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page4.asp?secid=31 (2 of 4)11/19/2007 10:43:39 AM


Perhaps the most importantachievement of William Penn's second stay in thecolony was the adoption of a new frame ofgovernment, the Charter of Privileges, in October,1701. This constitution, which lasted three-quartersof a century, or until the outbreak of theRevolutionary War, was a step in the direction of self-government for the colony. Although the governorretained his right to veto legislation, the electedAssembly gained the power to initiate bills, ratherthan merely to approve or reject those submitted toit by the governor and his council. The bell cast in1751 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Charterof Privileges was engraved with the words, "Proclaimliberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitantsthereof," from the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 25,Verse 10. Today known as the Liberty Bell, it hangsin Independence Hall in Philadelphia tocommemorate the signing of the Declaration ofIndependence.

Penn, during thisvisit, was concerned not only with the internalgovernment of Pennsylvania but with the NorthAmerican colonies as a whole. At a meeting withGovernor Bellomont of New York and GovernorNicholson of Virginia in 1700 he got his brotherofficials to agree on a set of proposals for greatlyincreased cooperation among all the colonies. Theseplans were sent to the Board of Trade in London, butnothing was done about them. Unity among the

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page4.asp?secid=3 1 (3 of 4)11/19/2007 10:43:39 AM


colonies did not come until they had cut loose fromBritain.

As on his first visit, Penn found himself unable tostay as long as he would have liked in the colony. Adetermined movement was on foot in Parliament toplace Pennsylvania under the direct control of theCrown. Once again Penn had to hurry back toEngland. He sailed in November, 1701, shortly afterhe had signed the Charter of Privileges. Beforeleaving he also granted the request of theinhabitants of Delaware that they be allowed toseparate from Pennsylvania.

AlthoughPensucceeded

retaining

hiscolony,

the remainder of his life was filled with muchunhappiness. One of his close associates haddefrauded him of a vast amountbof money, and Pennwas tied up for years in the litigation that arose fromthis theft. By the time he emerged from this ordealhe was an elderly man whose health, especially aftera severe stroke in 1712, would not permit anotherocean voyage.

He died on July 30, 1718, at the age of seventy-three. Except for two brief visits of less than twoyears each, William Penn had never had a chance toenjoy the colony for which he, more than anyoneelse, was responsible.


http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/penn/page4.aspsecid=31 (4 of 4)11/19/2007 10:43:39 AM

Documents

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission ... · Pennsylvania History Day V 0OF things People Places Events Things Documentary Heritaae Pennsylvania Governors Symbols and Official