william penn

John A. Moretta author of William Penn and the Quaker Legacy, writes William Penn’s life in a positive way and explains how his work and effort over the years made a change today in history for the United States of America. Being one of the most successful leaders in history, Moretta explains and supports Penn’s decisions over the years. Believer of good relations, Penn had successful treaties with Indian tribes and resulted the development of the Province of Pennsylvania that today is the state of Pennsylvania. Penn’s success made a big change for Pennsylvania. Moretta starts the novel by telling us how Penn was more attached to his mother, his father never had time for him and was always gone, showing the lacking of a male role model. Over the years William Penn’s father moved his family to Ireland, were he was introduced to Quakerism when a preacher did a sermon at their house and William Penn was very moved by it.

It all started when Penn started to understand his religion, he noticed he didn’t believe in some of the things he was studying. He then joined a Religious Society of Friends or Quakers with the risk of going to jail as well as going against his family’s beliefs. Penn was caught when attending a meeting and was sent to jail, he protested he was a Quaker and was let go. Penn continued attending meetings and people got influenced by his decisions of his beliefs. William Penn received a large piece of American land from King George ll after gaining understanding of Quakerism. He quickly gained followers from not only their own followers but from other groups of religions which created the “Quaker Legacy.” William Penn founded Pennsylvania, in 1683, as a safe place for Quakers. Pen had advertised his colony widely in Europe and offered generous terms on the land. He guaranteed a representative assembly and full religious freedom. Believed all were children of God, so they refused to treat the