William Penn

While many recognize William Penn as the founder of Pennsylvania and a defender of religious liberty, much less is known about Penn as a man of faith. This wide-ranging history examines Penn as a deeply religious man who experienced personal triumph and success as well as tragedy and failure.

After an introduction to Penn and his times, J. William Frost explores various aspects of Penn’s faith, including his conversion, service within the Society of Friends, moral teachings, and advocacy for toleration in England and religious freedom in Pennsylvania. He examines Penn as a figure whose contradictions reflect, at least in part, his turbulent times. Penn was a radical who converted to an outlawed religion and sought to transform English society, but he was also a conservative who supported monarchical authority in England and demanded deference in Pennsylvania. Penn was born under Puritanism and lived through three revolutions, five wars, and decades of religious turmoil. He died in the Age of Enlightenment, having gone from leader and shaper of the Society of Friends to king’s courtier to a prisoner accused of treason (though he was eventually exonerated).

This intriguing history fills significant gaps in writings about Penn—particularly concerning Penn’s faith and its intersection with his work as a statesman and politician. It will be of interest to those interested in William Penn, the history of Quakerism, and the history of religion in America.

“It is doubtful that there is anyone as knowledgeable about William Penn, the Quaker, as Frost is.”—Robynne Rogers Healey, coeditor of Quaker Women, 1800–1920: Studies of a Changing Landscape

“A stunning assortment of masterful essays. Frost appreciatively and critically examines significant little-known historical details of Penn’s life and the numerous myths that have grown up around him. Penn’s Quaker ministry and preaching are treated in more detail here than in other biographies. Highly recommended for those reading about Penn for the first time as well as for scholars of history and theology.”—Stephen W. Angell, coeditor of The Creation of Modern Quaker Diversity, 1830–1937

J. William Frost is Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor Emeritus of Quaker History and Research and Director Emeritus of the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College. Among his many publications, he is the author of The Quaker Family in Colonial America: A Portrait of the Society of Friends and A Perfect Freedom: Religious Liberty in Pennsylvania, the latter also published by Penn State University Press. He has edited books on George Fox, antislavery, and George Keith and served as editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

1. Introducing William Penn

2. Convinced

3. The Dissident Quakers

4. The Business of Quaker Meeting

5. The Quaker Quest for Religious Liberty

6. Moralist

7. Preacher

8. William Penn in Myth and History

9. Afterthoughts: The Enigmatic Mr. Penn

Additional Reading

Appendix: Penn and the Bible

Notes

Index

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Preface

Biography & Memoir

History

           History of Religion

           Pennsylvania & Mid-Atlantic

           U.S.

Pennsylvania & the Mid-Atlantic

           History

           Religious Studies & Religion

Religious Studies & Religion

           History of Religion