The Old Print Shop

Will. Penn.

  • ARTIST:

  • PUBLISHER: Unknown publisher.

  • MEDIUM: Line engraving,

    DATE: Undated, 18th century.

  • EDITION SIZE: Image size 4 x 3" (99 x 79 mm).

  • DESCRIPTION: "Tisdale fct."on laid paper. William Penn (1684-1718) is most famous for founding Pennsylvania and for creating the Pennsylvania Frame(s) of Government, a template from which the United States Constitution was created. Penn was an early supporter of democracy and he was a staunch believer in religious freedom. Raised in the Quaker faith, Penn often faced persecution from those who believed the religion to be heretical. A member of a prominent Anglican family, King Charles II owed Penn’s father for a large loan, thus he granted William a large amount of land southwest of New Jersey. Penn settled the territory and it was called Pennsylvania; King Charles was pleased to have an area for religious and political outsiders to settle, and many people who sought refuge from persecution found themselves in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, despite the popularity of settling in Pennsylvania, the colony never turned a profit for Penn and he was forced into debt. William Penn sought to achieve fairness toward the Lenape Indians who inhabited his territory and succeeded in maintain peace between the colonists and Indians for far longer than the other settlements. Penn’s legacy is centered on his contributions toward ending religious persecution and his creation of a colony that did not discriminate to the degree of so many others.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO: Oval portrait.

  • CONDITION: Fair condition. Minor smudges, offset and toning.

  • REFERENCE:

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