His pluralistic approach attracted a diverse range of people from many faiths. Penn arrived in America in 1682 and established the groundwork for the formation of the Pennsylvania colony.

In 1681, King Charles II granted him a charter to found a new colony in America. Penn used his diplomatic skills and political connections to free Quakers from jail and help them travel to America. He became a leading defender of religious freedom and was arrested and tried on several occasions. He attended Oxford University until he was expelled for joining the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers. William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, was a leading defender of religious freedomīorn in London, England, Penn was the son of an admiral of the British fleet. The principles of freedom that Penn promoted and adopted helped lay the framework for the First Amendment. William Penn (1644–1718), founder of Pennsylvania and one of the first champions of expressive freedoms in the American colonies, demonstrated how a free society could work and how individuals of different races and religions could live together in liberty and peace. (Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain) He arrived in 1682 and established the framework for the colony of Pennsylvania, basing it on the ideas of freedom and religious tolerance. King Charles II granted William Penn a charter to form a colony in America.

Freedom Seeker by Gwenyth Swain