American Colonialism Opportunity in Colonial Essay

William Penn, a Quaker whose father had been an Admiral in the King's Royal Navy, was given a large piece of land as payment for a debt owed by the Crown to his father. Penn had suggested naming the new territory Sylvania, meaning wood, but the King added his surname, Penn, as a tribute to William's father (Uden). Penn considered his venture a "Holy Experiment" and sought to establish a society based on religious freedom and separation between religious and governmental authorities,

Under Penn's governorship, Pennsylvania became a safe haven for all persecuted religious groups like the Quakers. He instituted a ballot system that intended to allow all members of Pennsylvania to have an equal say in their own governance. Some of the provisions of equality and religious tolerance in the charter that he drafted for Pennsylvania would eventually be incorporated into other charters, including the U.S.

Constitution (Uden). Perhaps the single greatest influence on resolving religious differences in the New World was sparked by the publication of Isaac Newton's Principia in 1686. By demonstrating that the Universe was comprehensible to man, Newton had also undermined traditional religion with its assumption of a world created by God in a way that was beyond man's comprehension.The Great Awakening, as this new religious perspective was called, would eventually unify 80% of colonialists into a single Christian religion (WFU).

References

Bower, J. (1997) the Oxford Dictionary of World Religions

Fenton, E. (1969) a New History of the United States. Holt: New York.

Furlong, P., Margaret, S., Sharkey, D. (1966) America Yesterday: A New Nation (Revised). Sadlier: New York.

Nevins, a., Commager, H.S. (1992) a Pocket History of the United States 9th Ed.

New York: Pocket Books

The Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center, Lancaster, PA

2007) PaDutch.com. Accessed October 14, at http://www.800padutch.com/atafaq.shtml#diff

Uden, G., Arnold, G. (1989) World History. Ivy Leaf: London

Wake Forest University Website (2007); the Great Awakening. Accessed October 13,….....