Naturally enough, in those days of bigotry and intolerance the doctrines and behavior of the Quakers made the king and his great men very angry. They threw hundreds of them into prison. Consequently, many of the Quakers left their homes, came to this country, and settled in Massachusetts. But the stern sons of the Old Pilgrim Fathers would not endure them. They drove them away or put them in prison. The Boston Puritans even hanged four Quakers who had repeatedly come back after having been several times punished and driven into exile.
William Penn.
92. William Penn becomes a Quaker.—About the time King Charles II was restored to the throne of England (1660) there lived in that country a handsome young man of noble birth and talents of the highest order. William Penn was his name. There is a portrait of him in the dress of an English cavalier, with flowing curls over his shoulders, and a face of manly tenderness and beauty. This man, the founder of Pennsylvania, was the only son of a brave English admiral who had won signal victories for his country during the Dutch war, and was held in high favor by the king and the royal family. While Penn was a boy and in college, his heart was stirred within him by listening to the Quaker preachers. He believed they were right. He was convinced that he ought to join them, and did so in spite of the ridicule of his rich and titled friends.
93. Young Penn falls into Disgrace with his Family and is sent from Home.—Young Penn was expelled from college and sent home. The old admiral, in his anger because his only son would disgrace his family by uniting with the despised Quakers, drove him from his door. The mother, however, interceded, and the stubborn youth was allowed to travel for a time on the Continent to divert his mind from what they called his foolishness.
Alas for the old admiral's ambitious plans for his gifted son! William was out-and-out a Quaker; and no title, honors, or favor could induce him to give up his faith. He pleaded with the king to allow the English people freedom of conscience, so that they might worship God as they deemed best. He tried in vain to procure the release of the Quakers from the prisons where hundreds of them were then confined. For a time Penn was himself shut up in the Tower of London, the prison of offenders of high rank. While there he wrote his best known work, No Cross, no Crown. The king's brother, the Duke of York, however, soon brought about his release.
94. Penn inherits Wealth; secures a Grant of Land from the King.—Penn's father was after all a generous man and regretted his treatment of his son. On his death, in 1670, he left him all his estate. Penn made a good use of his wealth. He devoted his time, money, and talents to secure legal protection in England for the persecuted Quakers. The task was almost hopeless.
In his despair Penn longed to build a quiet home for his people in the wilderness of America. He had heard of the happiness and prosperity of the Pilgrim settlements, and he now planned to lead his brethren across the Atlantic. The gallant admiral at his death had a claim against the government of about eighty thousand dollars. Now King Charles was a spendthrift and always in debt. Penn told the king that he would accept lands in America instead of money in payment of this claim. The easy-going monarch was only too glad to take up with this offer, for he had plenty of land in America but very little silver and gold.
On condition that he should be paid two beaver-skins every year, the king granted Penn a large tract of land on the western bank of the Delaware river, and named it Pennsylvania, or "Penn's Woodland."
