William Penn\'s Utopian Vision Quakers and Indians PDF

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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

William Penn’s Utopian Vision Quaker haven in North America

- End of 17th century, what we see is another utopian scheme undertaken by William Penn, who had this desire to create again a model christian community in North America

- William Penn was a quaker, quakers were quite unique in terms of religious philosophy

• It made them extremely radical and very dangerous • Mystical union with God, they don't identify themselves as Quakers, they call themselves the Religious Society of Friends

• They believed that each person and the opportunity to achieve salvation, God was loving and forgiving who wants salvation for all

• They believed that every human being contained divine goodness, human beings were very good at their core, while Puritans argued the very opposite

• All we have to do is accept that gift from God and salvation is assured, we don't need ministers, rituals, prayers or hymns

- Quakers argued for full spiritual equality, God makes no distinctions - we all have equal access to a relationship with God

- They also rejected a hierarchal society - believed social equality and gender equality - Women and men are called to travel and preach this message - These beliefs make the Quakers seem very strange and dangerous - Would not take up arms even in self-defense, committed pacifists - Penn needed to establish a haven for persecuted Quakers • King granted it and gave him land in a place where he named, Pennsylvania • Penn was determined to create a new world utopia where people could worship in any manner they chose

• Any religious views could come here, Penn wants to demonstrate equality

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• Unlike Puritans who were closes regulating every aspect, the Quakers were not doing the same in Pennslyvania

• Quakers were to live in community, non-quakers are not required but are politely asked to settle elsewhere - not in their communities, they can come to colony of Pennsylvania but shouldn't live in Quaker towns

Religious Toleration and Political Participation

- If you're willing to pay a tax, you have the right to participate in political office - Capital city - Philadelphia - Penn wants them to participate in government • By providing people with the opportunity to thrive economically and by giving them a political voice, that would ensure the harmony that he desired for his colony

• This attracted large numbers of colonists - Within first two decades, the population had soared to over 20,000 people - Majority of settlers were in fact not Quakers - Penn becomes the governor and appoints Quaker merchants (as a council) to advise him

- He wants to give ordinary citizens a political view too - The assembly and most of its authority would address local matters and were elected by their peers - non-quakers and quakers

Diversity and Conflict

- Fractures are already occurring - Penn and his council didn't give as many people a greater voice • This voice gets louder in 1701 when Penn leaves his colony - Penn has been accused of engaging in acts against the Crown - Lord Baltimore is suing Penn claiming a huge swap of Pennsylvania as his own territory

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- In England, his secretary has embezzled his money and gets thrown in prison until he can pay off his debts

- Penn issues a document from prison called the Charter of Privileges • He restructures his political views in his colony • New plan means one house legislated body - that body is responsible for all political sight of the colony - Penn has only 2 powers - the right to point a lieutenant governor to serve as his representative and he holds for himself a veto power over anything in the colony

• He was hoping this would diminish controversy in the colony • But that didn't happen, from the beginning of 18th century, the Quakers were a minority in the colony and the majority of others were questioning Quakers right to rule

- More and more migrates are moving onto the frontier and were Scotts Irish

Quakers and Indians The Walking Purchase

- Approached native american with a treaty by Penn and leaders that those tribal leaders must now honor that treaty

- Penn brothers argued a compromise - some historians argued it was fake - Asking for tribal leaders to give them as much land as a man can walk in a day and a half

- tribal leaders thought that was reasonable but what the Penn’s did was recruit the 3 fastest runners - they covered 1200 miles of tribal territory

- Indians start war to gain their territory The Paxton Boys

- back settlers call themselves the Paxton boys in Pennsylvania

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- They march upon Philadelphia and their goal is to drive out the Quakers government - Benjamin Franklin steps forward to set up a negotiation to this crisis - He came up with a document called Plain truth • Quakers were obligated to defend their colony • no private religious group could dissolve them • that they were not within their rights to deny the colonists the protection that they demanded

• They had two options - set aside their religious value to get an army or they could step aside

• any compromise was failure to Quakers so they chose to step aside and give up political authority in their colony

- Colony they had helped to establish they are kicked out - Bounty on Indian scalps immediately established as soon as Quakers are overthrown - As colonial population grew, any need to accommodate the Indians could be brushed aside

- Once the colonial population outnumbered Indians, then they put up plans to expel the Indians and destroy them

• Indians can fight, seek further accommodation, or they can withdraw • Indians adapted too well to European culture • Once they had done that, once luxuries became necessities, that left them at the mercy of Europeans

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