William Penn Summary

William Penn Summary and Legacy John A. Morettam author of William Penn and the Quaker Legacy, presents William Penn's life in a very informational and positively biased story through his years. He looks majorily on the side that William Penn's decisions were right and that his childhood and young adulthood, founding of Pennsylvania, and in his later years his selling of Pennsylvania were all done well. William Penn accomplished a lot and was an esteemed gentleman, and the author really portays him as such while describing everything William did, as well as his relationships. And so the novel starts off with William Penn's father's influence on William Penn Jr. in many different ways. In the beginning of the story it was neglect. He was always gone and never had time for William Penn Jr. William Penn Jr. became very close to his mother as a result. Not having his fathers companionship created a lacking of a male role model, as well as his teachers lacking male role model potential. When William Penn Sr. moved his family to Ireland he was able to bond more with William Penn Jr. and this helped him and many different ways. His introduction to Quakerism was realized in Ireland when a preacher did a sermon at their house and William Penn Jr. was very moved by it. This proved vital with the combination of religious influence from his mentor and professors to young William's devotion to being holy later in his life. When the commonwealth and Cromwell died off the family exited exile and this allowed charles II to regain his throne. Sir William Penn was knighted for his devotion to the Stuart monarchy. This helps shape William Penn Jr.'s interests in the family reputation and makes him feel like he is a part of it, as his father wanted. Upon arriving at Oxford he was unlike all the other attendants which worried his father. Then he became aquainted with dissenters of the universty and immediatly knew these were the people he fit in with. This was one example of Penn's