How Did William Penn Demonstrate Religious Freedom?

Pennsylvania was the last colony to become established in the seventeenth century. The owner, William Penn, hoped to create it as a place where those who were facing persecution because of their religious beliefs, could practice religious freedom. William Penn was a supporter for religious freedom and a dedicated member of the Society of Friends or also known as Quakers. The Quakers followed their inner belief instead of following others. His religious views separated him from other people and he was persecuted because of them. He attended the University of Oxford where he was expelled because of his nonconformity and his rejection of Anglicanism. He listened to one of Thomas Loe’s speeches and that’s when he decided he wanted to be a Quaker.
His idea of no military was the choice not to bring guns or soldiers with him. His idea of fair treatment of the people was specifically for the Indians who were there before them. He was given the land as a gift but he felt that the land wasn’t the King’s to give and that it belonged to the Indians, so to be fair he signed a treaty with them. His idea of education for everyone was so that both men and women could get an education at a time where most of the women were illiterate. Finally, his idea for work for everyone was to create additional occupations that were more accessible for the people. He also had a very important idea about the penal code and felt that prison should help to reform instead of just punish. He thought that people should be ready to acquire a job once they’re released and the death penalty should only be brought upon those who commit murder or treason. Britain, however, placed the death penalty upon people with slightly trivial offences and the prisons were not very nice. Pennsylvania was the first colony to have a large society who had equal rights for people of different ethnicities and