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 ^be Colonial ©amee 
 
 of Hnicrlca 
 
 Vn tbe State of <S)bio 
 
 K^enns^lvania 
 
 StuWce In tbe Colonial lpcrlo& for use 
 In tbe public Scboole 
 
Colonial 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 By 
 
 Julia E. Hickok 
 
 OF Marietta, Ohio 
 
•■ H Is 
 
 Copyright, 1921 
 The Ebbert & Richardson Co. 
 
 MAR 22 192! 
 0)C!.A611386 
 
Introduction 
 
 THIS study of Colonial Pennsylvania is the sixth in the 
 series of monographs which the Colonial Dames of 
 America in the State of Ohio have undertaken to have written 
 and printed for the use of the public schools in the teaching of 
 colonial history. The others in the order of publication are: 
 Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and 
 Connecticut. 
 
 These colonial studies represent a distinct and valuable 
 contribution to the material needed for teaching that impor- 
 tant period of American History — the period extending from 
 the settlement of the individual colony to its incorporation 
 as a part of the American Republic. Each monograph 
 attempts to set forth in a clear and simple manner the essen- 
 tial characteristics of the colony, the peculiar ideas and ideals 
 of its people; and especially to make clear the part the colony 
 played in the conflict with the "mother country" and its 
 contribution toward the development of a national spirit, 
 and a national government. When the state was born the 
 colony ceased to exist, but the period preceding the framing 
 and adoption of the Constitution is of tremendous impor- 
 tance. Without an understanding of the forces that were at 
 work in that period, and of the reasons for these manifesta- 
 tions, we fail to clearly interpret the meaning of American 
 history. For that reason the schools are under deep obliga- 
 tion to the Colonial Dames in the State of Ohio for the large 
 service which they have undertaken in behalf of education 
 in the preparation and publication of these monographs. 
 
 The story of Pennsylvania, the Keystone Colony, is one 
 of deep interest and its study of great value. William Penn 
 and the Indians; his treaty with the Indians which Voltaire 
 characterizes as "the only covenant between savages and 
 Christians that was never sworn to and that was never 
 broken;" Penn's Constitution or "Frame" for the colony, 
 guaranteeing freedom of worship, and clearly setting forth 
 
the principles "that government exists for the sake of the 
 people, and not people for the sake of the government;" 
 Philadelphia, the home of Benjamin Franklin, of Indepen- 
 dence Hall, and the Liberty Bell; the meeting place of the 
 Continental Congresses, and where the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence was signed, and the national Constitution written. 
 Such a colony needs to be carefully studied by all who 
 would understand America. The story is well told in the 
 following pages. 
 
 RANDALL J. CONDON, 
 
 Superintendent of Schools. 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 
 January, Nineteen twenty-one. 
 
Colonial Pennsylvania 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA is known as the Keystone State, because, 
 being seventh in geographical order, it stood in half-way- 
 position among the original thirteen colonies. Central in the 
 great arch of our republic, midway between the democracy of 
 New England and the aristocracy of the South, combining 
 qualities of both, binding and supporting, yet separating, this 
 member of our commonwealth well deserves its nickname. 
 
 As a colony it was next to the youngest, dating its settle- 
 ment from 1682, the year of William Penn's arrival and the 
 founding of Philadelphia. Virginia and Massachusetts 
 preceded Pennsylvania in the family of colonies by more 
 than half a century; while Georgia, the youngest, came into 
 being half a century later. 
 
 Yet, it must not be inferred that this fair land along the 
 Delaware river was unknown and untenanted before 1682. 
 Indians, calling themselves Lenni-Lenape, or "original 
 people," inhabited the forests and lived on the abundance 
 of game and fish. Other tribes, invaders from the west, the 
 Allegeni, gave their name to western rivers and mountains. 
 There were also subordinate tribes, the Nanticokes, Susque- 
 hannas and Shawnees, exploring the wilderness, making 
 settlements and frequently warring with each other. 
 
 The territory, including what is now New Jersey, was 
 early known to Europeans, as well. 
 
 In 1609, Henry Hudson visited the Delaware, and on the 
 ground of his discovery the Dutch claimed possession of bay 
 and river, though for nearly twenty years no settlers arrived. 
 The great bay was called by the Indians, Poutaxat, while the 
 river bore the title Lenape Wihittuck— "the rapid stream of 
 the Lenape." The name Delaware was given by Sir Thomas 
 West, English Lord Delaware, when, in 1610, he touched 
 there on his way to Virginia — or possibly by his followers in 
 honor of his memory, when he died in the same locality on 
 his return voyage, eight years later. 
 
 5 
 
In 1614, the States General of Holland granted a charter 
 giving exclusive privileges of trade to those undertaking the 
 first four voyages of discovery. 
 
 Captain Cornells Hendrickson, in 1616, first explored to 
 the mouth of the Schuylkill, whose Dutch name means 
 "hidden channel." 
 
 In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was incor- 
 porated and sent Captain Kornelis Jacobus May (or Mey) 
 on a voyage of exploration. His ship "New Netherland," 
 passing the capes, one of which retains his name, advanced 
 as far as Gloucester Point. He planted a village there and 
 built Fort Nassau. This, however, was merely a military 
 post, occupied by soldiers and servants of the West India 
 Company to promote trade with the Indians. The date of 
 founding Fort Nassau, 1623, marks the beginning of Dutch 
 rule in the territory, and the supremacy of Holland lasted 
 undisturbed for fifteen years. 
 
 Meantime, Sweden had also cast envious eyes upon this 
 part of the new world and, in 1638, Peter Minuit, under 
 patronage of Queen Christina, arrived with some fifty 
 settlers. Purchasing land from the Indians, he built the 
 fort and town of Christina, agreed by historians to have been 
 the first permanent settlement. The Dutch were conquered 
 and the next seventeen years of Swedish rule saw many 
 quarrels, much hatred and jealousy, between the two 
 nationalities. Swedish colonization was slow but trade was 
 brisk. Each party bought more land from the Indians. 
 Governor Printz, arriving from Sweden in 1642, was at least 
 a heavy champion, as he is said to have weighed four hundred 
 pounds. He founded Fort Gottenberg, on the island of 
 Tinicum, and Fort Elsinborg on Salem Creek, closing that 
 stream to the Dutch, and compelling all passing ships to 
 lower colors and permit boarding by the Swedes. This Fort 
 Elsinborg on Salem Creek was later nicknamed Mygenborg 
 or Mosquito Fort, for it is said that the Swedes were forced 
 to vacate it on account of mosquitoes. 
 
 By 1648, tradition says that there were only six Dutch 
 settlers left on the river to about eighty or ninety Swedes. 
 But in 1655, Governor Peter Stuyvesant, with five ships 
 
 6 
 
besieged Fort Christina which surrendered in fourteen days. 
 "Articles of capitulation were signed and the Swedes were 
 allowed to leave with flying colors,"— were even offered free 
 passage to Sweden, with all their private property. Thus 
 ended the Swedish colony in Pennsylvania, though they still 
 occupied the whole of Delaware. These neighboring colonies 
 have, however, overlapping histories. "Throughout the 
 whole colonial period," says Fiske, "Delaware and Pennsyl- 
 vania, though distinct provinces with separate legislative 
 assemblies, continued under the same proprietary govern- 
 ment, and the history of the little community was to a con- 
 siderable extent merged in that of the great one. 
 
 England, however, ignored Dutch claims to the new 
 world. In 1664, King Charles II granted a patent to his 
 brother, the Duke of York, including all lands held by 
 Holland. A force was sent to take possession and the Dutch, 
 in their turn, surrendered to numbers. Not all the settlers 
 departed, for we read that, ten years later, there were, along 
 the Delaware, some three thousand Dutch and Swedish 
 inhabitants. Also, a new element was coming in. In 1675, 
 John Fenwick, a Quaker, who had purchased a share in the 
 province of New Jersey, came to the Delaware with a party 
 of colonists and, landing near the site of Elsinborg, laid out a 
 town called Salem. Governor Andros, angry at this inva- 
 sion, summoned Fenwick to appear before him and show 
 right or reason for assuming ownership in the Duke of York's 
 dominions. The stubborn Quaker, failing to respond, was 
 arrested, thrown into prison and detained until boundary 
 lines of East and West Jersey were settled between proprie- 
 tors in England. Two years later, in 1677, other colonists 
 bound for West Jersey, proved more tractable and agreed to 
 hold their estate subject to New York. 
 
 But, more than any other colony, Pennsylvania owes the 
 interest of its early history to the man by whom it was 
 permanently founded and for whom it was named, William 
 Penn. On October 15, 1644, in lodgings near the Tower 
 of London, this child came into a troubled world. The civil 
 war in England, between King and Parliament, had been 
 raging for two yeai-s. The baby's father. Admiral Sir 
 
 7 
 
William Penn, was away at sea in command of Cromwell's 
 fleet. His mother soon took her little son to the quiet town 
 of Wanstead where, and in the neighboring Chigwell, he 
 grew up and was educated. He was but five years old when 
 King Charles I was beheaded and the party of Parliament 
 obtained full control of the kingdom. Although secretly 
 the Penns had always been royalists, the Admiral's position 
 with Cromwell was secure and the family was safe. The boy 
 went to school, studying Latin, Greek, and mathematics, 
 and absorbing, beside, much of the Puritanism of the 
 neighborhood. When he was twelve, his father, coming back 
 from Jamaica, was arrested and thrown into the Tower on 
 charge of returning without leave. This was probably only a 
 pretended reason, the real fault being his discovered dealings 
 with the late King and the exiled Crown Prince. 
 
 Mrs. Penn and young William, therefore, moved back to 
 their old London lodgings, in order to be near the husband 
 and father. His imprisonment was ended by submission to 
 the Lord Protector and surrender of the naval commission. 
 He was given an estate in Ireland and again left his family 
 to live in that country and to plot for the return of Prince 
 Charles. When the Restoration was fully planned, Admiral 
 Penn was chosen as one of the messengers to carry the glad 
 news to the Prince hiding in Holland. Now high in favor 
 with the royal party, he was knighted, given more valuable 
 estates, and restored to the Admiralty. 
 
 Meantime, William Penn, at sixteen years of age, was 
 sent to Oxford for education at Christ Church college. 
 Here, his leanings toward Puritan beliefs were strengthened 
 and altered into Quakerism. The Quakers went beyond the 
 Puritans in their revolt against established customs both in 
 religion and in government. Denying all authority except 
 the Bible and the "inner spiritual light," and believing war 
 to be wrong, they refused to fight for King or country. 
 Following the Scripture injunction, "Swear not at all," they 
 would neither swear in courts of justice, nor take oath of 
 allegiance to their sovereign. "Hat honor," or removal of 
 their head-covering before royalty or magistrates, was 
 stubbornly refused, and the refusal often landed the Quakers 
 
 8 
 
in jail. Since they would neither give up their meetings 
 when ordered to do so, nor yet hold them in secret, scorning 
 to hide from their persecutors, they were driven from place 
 to place, thrown into prison by the score, tortured, mutilated, 
 and put to death, with a bitterness of hatred shown to almost 
 no other sect. Yet their simple earnestness and the purity 
 of their faith captivated young William Penn. His conver- 
 sion to Quakerism dates from the days at Oxford, and his 
 expression of the new faith became so troublesome that 
 after two years he was expelled. Admiral Penn was bitterly 
 disappointed in his son, and, according to William's own 
 statement, received him with "whipping, beating, and turn- 
 ing out of doors, in 1662." Later his father tried sending 
 him to Paris, hoping that the gay life of the capital might 
 turn young William's mind from religious to worldly affairs. 
 But in spite of the fine clothes, the good company, and the 
 polite manners, which helped to make William Penn a 
 cavalier as well as a Quaker, he remained true to his belief, 
 became a preacher among his people, and was several times 
 imprisoned for his faith. At twenty-four, he had become a 
 recognized leader and was known as "The Great Quaker." 
 He wrote many pamphlets in defense of his doctrines, beside 
 his book, "No Cross, No Crown," entitling him to rank 
 among authors. Much of his writing, like Bunyan's, was 
 done in prison. But in spite of hardships, trials, and perse- 
 cutions enough to distinguish a martyr, Penn kept the favor 
 of his royal masters. King Charles II and King James II. 
 They were much indebted to Admiral Penn, and mindful of 
 his request to consider his son. The Great Quaker became a 
 rich and influential person at court. 
 
 Charles II was always in need of money and borrowed it 
 right and left. Not only was Admiral Penn's naval salary 
 in arrears but the King was in his debt for loans, amounting 
 to sixteen or eighteen thousand pounds. The Admiral died 
 and his son inherited the debt. In 1680, therefore, William 
 Penn conceived the idea of asking in payment a tract of 
 land in America, as a refuge for his distressed and persecuted 
 people. It was the territory lying north of Maryland, 
 bounded on the east by the Delaware river, on the west by 
 
 9 
 
Maryland, and northward "to extend as far as plantable." 
 Now, since the King would never part with sixteen thousand 
 pounds in money, this appeared a very good bargain. The 
 wilderness of the new world was of small value and limitless 
 in extent, a troublesome debtor and thousands of complaining 
 Quakers could be disposed of by a few strokes of the quill. 
 It was, therefore, agreeable to grant the petition and give to 
 the claimant part of what had already been conferred upon 
 the King's brother, the Duke of York. There was, naturally, 
 considerable dispute over boundaries when the petition came 
 before the King's Privy Council, and, for many years, con- 
 troversy and border-warfare raged in the new colony over 
 these questions. But, for the time, boundaries were settled 
 to the satisfaction of all concerned, with the result that the 
 largest tract of land ever given to a single individual, forty 
 thousand square miles of fertile territory, abounding in coal, 
 iron and oil, was turned over to William Penn. 
 
 This, too, was the only royal grant in America which was 
 bought with money; for, in other instances, agreement to 
 stake life and fortune on the great adventure was deemed 
 sufficient compensation. Penn, however, accepted his grant 
 in full payment of a debt which, in that day, was a consider- 
 able sum. 
 
 The Charter was signed on the fourth of March, 1681, 
 and Penn became "lord of a domain larger than Ireland and 
 lacking only about six thousand square miles of being as 
 large as England." The territory was named by the King 
 himself, as we read in Penn's own account: "This day, my 
 country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, 
 with large powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsyl- 
 vania, a name that the King would give it in honor of my 
 father." The incident is given by an old writer, as follows: 
 "Penn had intended to call his province New Wales, because 
 he had heard there were, in its western part, hills and moun- 
 tains. Charles II for some reason objecting, a change was 
 made to Sylvania or 'Woodland.' The King then prefixed 
 the name Penn, which displeased the proprietor, fearing that 
 it had an 'egotistical look' unbecoming a modest Quaker. 
 Penn, therefore, urged that his name be crossed out. 'We 
 
 10 
 
will keep it,' replied the quick-witted King, 'but not on your 
 account, my dear fellow. Don't flatter yourself. We will 
 keep the name to commemorate the Admiral, your noble 
 father.' Whereupon, Penn was forced to yield, though he 
 afterward argued that since Pen in the Welsh language also 
 means 'hill,' the name Pennsylvania really meant 'Hilly 
 Woodland.' " 
 
 The Charter was similar to that granted, some half- 
 century earlier, to Lord Baltimore for the province of Mary- 
 land. The land belonged absolutely to Penn, to whom the 
 colonists were to pay rent. On his part, he agreed to pay 
 the King two beaver-skins, delivered each year at Windsor 
 Castle, and one-fifth of all gold and silver to be found in the 
 province. 
 
 Free government was assured; a legislative body elected 
 by the people, executive and veto power reserved to Penn, 
 as perpetual governor of the province. He was also given 
 right of appointing magistrates, judges, and other officers, 
 and of pardoning criminals. 
 
 Having secured grant and charter, Penn advertised for 
 settlers. Five thousand acres of the new territory could be 
 leased for one hundred pounds sterling, with further annual 
 rental of one shilling per acre. Persons lacking ready money 
 might rent two hundred acres or less, at the same price. All 
 British rights and liberties were guaranteed and no laws 
 could be passed without consent of the people. 
 
 Penn expected Quakers to flock from all parts of the 
 United Kingdom as well as from Holland and France to 
 what he termed, and the Quakers have ever since called, "an 
 Holy Experiment." For such a refuge in the new world had 
 been discussed and desired through the preceding quarter- 
 century. George Fox, founder of the sect, had tried through 
 agents to buy land of the American Indians; but because 
 of tribal wars and the difiiculty of finding a suitable location, 
 nothing definite had been accomplished. 
 
 Now that the grant had been made, it seemed reasonable 
 to expect glad acceptance of religious freedom in a new land. 
 
 But it takes time to break old ties, settle home affairs 
 and embark upon a new life, and the response was somewhat 
 
 11 
 
slow in coming. However, in the course of this first year, 
 1681, more than twenty ships sailed for the Delaware, carry- 
 ing some three thousand colonists. 
 
 Meantime, not Penn, but his cousin, William Markham, 
 went out, as deputy-governor, to take possession of Penn- 
 sylvania and rule in Penn's name. 
 
 There were scattered families of Swedes, English, and Dutch 
 along the banks of the Delaware, when Markham arrived in 
 July, 1681. At Upland (now Chester), about fifteen miles 
 below the present site of Philadelphia, he established himself 
 and remained in charge of affairs for more than a year. 
 
 Penn did not arrive until October, 1682. The ship 
 "Welcome," bearing the Great Proprietor and a group of 
 colonists, set out from Deal in the late summer. Penn's 
 family remained in England, fortunately, for the two month's 
 voyage was saddened by an outbreak of small-pox causing 
 the death of one-third the hundred passengers. The 
 remnant, with their leader, landing at Newcastle, Delaware, 
 were greeted by shouts of welcome from Dutch and Swedish 
 settlers, the men "in leather breeches and jerkins," the 
 women "in skin jackets and linsey petticoats." 
 
 Penn showed the royal commission giving him rights over 
 what is now the state of Delaware. In response, two of the 
 colonists, following the old feudal ceremony, handed him 
 "water and turf and twig," in token of loyalty. Thus did 
 this vast new land pass over to its proprietor and the Holy 
 Experiment was fairly begun. 
 
 After arranging for the government of this part of his 
 domain, Penn went on to Upland, Markham's headquarters, 
 where there was a considerable settlement. This, later 
 renamed Chester, became the first capital of the new province 
 and here were enacted the sixty-one statutes known as "The 
 Great Law" of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Before leaving England, Penn had also drawn up a docu- 
 ment called "Conditions or Concessions" to regulate the 
 government of the province. A city was to be surveyed, 
 roads laid out, and intercourse with the Indians regulated. 
 
 He warned his commissioners to be "impartially just and 
 courteous to any old settler," to be "tender of offending the 
 
 12 
 
Indians and hearken, by honest spies, if you can hear that 
 anybody inveigles them not to sell or to stand off and raise 
 the value upon you." He had planned the streets of his 
 capital, Philadelphia, the location of stores and markets, 
 and the site of his own house. The checker-board city, in all 
 its regularity, was already on paper. He had also written 
 a letter to the Indians, telling them of "the Great Spirit who 
 had made both the white man and the red." 
 
 "Now the Great God hath been pleased to make me con- 
 cerned in your part of the world, and the King of the country 
 where I live, hath given me a great province therein; but I 
 desire to enjoy it with your love and consent that we may 
 always live together as neighbors and friends; else what v/ould 
 the Great God do to us who hath made us (not to devour and 
 destroy one another, but) to live soberly and kindly together 
 in the world." To the everlasting honor of William Penn, 
 these friendly words were honestly fulfilled. He was ever 
 famous among his Indian neighbors as "the one white man 
 and Christian who could keep faith with the savage." 
 When, a few days after his arrival at Upland, Penn went by 
 row-boat to the high bluff already fixed upon for his principal 
 city, the Indians were gathered to meet the great pale-face. 
 
 We may imagine the beauty of those late October days, 
 the stillness of the wooded banks in their autumn coloring, 
 the millions of wild-fowl. It is said that great flocks of wild 
 pigeons, flying so low that they were knocked down with 
 sticks, formed a staple article of food, and we read of fish and 
 game in lavish abundance. Upon landing, Penn joined the 
 group of Indians and immediately won their approval. He 
 was then thirty-eight years old, tall, athletic, and handsome. 
 Judging by his portraits, there must have been magnetism 
 in his dark eyes, while cavalier training had given him courtly 
 manners supported by sincerity and the earnest desire of 
 being true friend to the red men. Tradition says that he 
 sat on the ground beside them, ate of their food, and even 
 joined in a jumping contest, surprising the Indians by his 
 strength and agility. 
 
 In November, 1682, at Shackamaxon, under a great elm, 
 which survived until 1810, Penn made his famous treaty 
 
 13 
 
with the Indians. This event has been made the subject of 
 pictures and descriptions for which there is no foundation 
 except fancy. But the old writer John Watson testifies to 
 some details witnessed by a lady present at this conference, 
 "a woman of truth," which must be accepted as accurate. 
 The Indians had prepared, she said, the best entertainment 
 within their power. Naturally attractive through the beauty 
 and dignity of his person and manner, Penn further endeared 
 himself to the Indians by special acts of friendliness. "He 
 walked with them, sat with them on the ground, and ate with 
 them of their roasted acorns and hominy. When they 
 began to show their athletic skill, hopping and jumping, 
 William Penn sprang up and outdanced them all." From 
 this day Onas (the Indian equivalent for "feather," "quill," 
 "pen," the name by which the Great Quaker was known to 
 them), became their admired and trusted friend. 
 
 Of the treaty, Voltaire remarks, "It was the only covenant 
 between savages and Christians that was never sworn to and 
 that was never broken." 
 
 Penn's poHcy of paying the Indians for their land was not 
 unlike that of other colonies; but perhaps his bargains were 
 fairer and more scrupulously fulfilled. It is interesting to 
 remember that for the tract of land extending from the 
 Delaware to the Susquehanna the price paid was "44 pounds 
 of red lead, 30 pair of hawk's bells, 30 fathoms of duffels, 
 60 fathoms of strandwater (varieties of coarse cloth), 30 each 
 of guns, kettles, shirts, combs, axes, knives, bars of lead, 
 pounds of powder, pairs of scissors, pairs of stockings, glasses, 
 awls, tobacco-boxes, 12 pairs of shoes, 20 tobacco-tongs, 
 3 papers of beads, 6 draw-knives, 6 caps, 12 hoes, 200 fathoms 
 of wampum." Not a high price for an Empire but all that 
 the Indians demanded. The justice and fair dealing of the 
 Quakers, joined to conditions of Indian policy, resulted in 
 more than seventy years of peace. The Holy Experiment 
 was wisely grounded. 
 
 The year after Penn's arrival his city was established. 
 He writes, in 1683, "Philadelphia, the expectation of those 
 concerned in the province, is at last laid out, to the great 
 content of those here." Its first streets were named for 
 
 14 
 
plants and shrubs which the pioneer axe had felled to make 
 way for log cabins. In fact, huts could not be built fast 
 enough for the swarming settlers, and many people encamped 
 picnic-fashion, in caves along the river bank. At the end of 
 1683, there were three hundred and fifty-seven houses, most 
 of them frame, a few of bright red brick. 
 
 Penn wrote home enthusiastic letters filled with praise of 
 his new estate: "O how sweet is the quiet of these parts, 
 freed from the anxious and troublesome solicitations, hurries 
 and perplexities of woeful Europe." Then follows account 
 of the lavish gifts of nature — vegetables, game and fruits. 
 Of the climate his truthfulness required what is still an 
 excellent description: "The weather often changeth without 
 notice and is constant almost in its inconstancy." 
 
 Meantime, the great proprietor was not only providing 
 suitable homes, but was establishing a firm and liberal 
 government for his people. A written constitution had been 
 prepared in England in the spring of 1682. Various distin- 
 guished Englishmen advised and aided Penn in prepanng 
 this document, or rather its several drafts, some twenty of 
 which are still preserved among the Penn papers of the 
 Pennsylvania Historical Society. These are arranged in 
 order showing the gradual development of Penn's ideas. 
 The draft finally adopted, bearing date of April 25, 1682, 
 followed the general plan of other colonial governments, 
 providing for a Governor's Council and an Assembly elected 
 by the people. It is, however, notable as being the first 
 constitution v/hich made provision for its own amendment. 
 This feature and the method of impeachment — to be brought 
 by the lower house and tried by the upper house — were 
 entirely new in American governments and have since been 
 adopted by all the states as well as by the federal constitution, 
 PYeedom of worship was granted to all those who acknowl- 
 edged one God; members of the Assembly and those who 
 voted for them must believe also in the Divinity of Jesus 
 Christ and the redemption of the world through Him. 
 Within these limits, religious liberty was guaranteed. As 
 Penn expressed it in his "Letter to the Colonists," "All and 
 eveiy person in the province shall, by the help of the Lord 
 
 15 
 
and these fundamentals, be free from oppression and slavery; 
 no man shall have power over another man's conscience." 
 
 Other novel doctrines were incorporated in this first 
 Constitution or "Frame," as Penn called it, and were 
 re-enacted by the Assembly as part of the "Great Law." 
 For instance, "Governments exist for the sake of the people 
 and not people for the sake of governments." "Punishment 
 of criminals has for its object reformation rather than ven- 
 geance." As proof of this behef, the death penalty was 
 inflicted for two crimes only, murder and high treason; while 
 Massachusetts hsted fifteen capital crimes. Constitution 
 and laws faithfully performed Penn's promise to his people, 
 for, in 1681, he had written to "Colonists already on the 
 Delaware" as follows: "My friends, I wish you all happiness 
 here and hereafter. These are to let you know that it hath 
 pleased God in His providence to cast you within my lot and 
 care. I shall not usurp the right of any or oppress his 
 person." The Great Law forbade "swearing, cursing, 
 drunkenness, health-drinking, card-playing, scolding, and 
 lying." Work-houses and reformatories took the place of 
 the foul dens in which England confined her criminals. The 
 Philadelphia prisons were long famous as the best in the 
 world. Pillory and whipping-post were used for minor 
 offenses, but Pennsylvania was the leader in modern charities. 
 Philadelphia, before the Revolution, possessed the only lunatic 
 asylum founded on modern lines, as well as a hospital and 
 reform school. Andrew Hamilton, Speaker of the Assembly, in 
 the speech made upon his retirement from office in 1739, says in 
 allusion to these philanthrophies,"All are due to the excellency 
 of our Constitution framed by the vidsdom of Mr. Penn." 
 
 A law was enacted for naturalizing Swedes and other 
 foreigners, and an "Act of Union" provided for the annexa- 
 tion of Delaware, then known as "The Territories," or "the 
 three lower counties." This was in accord with the request 
 of Delaware colonists; for while Penn's deed from the Duke 
 of York had already given him the land, it did not confer the 
 right of government. 
 
 The Council consisted at first of seventy-two, later only 
 eighteen, members, elected by the people. Together with the 
 
 16 
 
Governor, this executive body also proposed and enforced laws, 
 guarded the peace and safety of the Colony, decided upon the 
 site of cities, ports and roads, established courts and schools— 
 in short, kept a firm hold on all affairs of the provnice. 
 
 The General Assembly or lower house, also elected by the 
 people, was a larger body, having right only to approve the 
 laws, and was intended to act as a check to any tyranny on 
 the part of the Council. By combining in the latter body 
 both legislative and executive powers and reserving to himself 
 the veto-power, Penn established a government less liberal 
 and democratic than it appeared. Yet so wise and tactful 
 was the Great Proprietor, that so long as he personally 
 remained at the head of affairs, matters progressed favorably 
 and the people were content. 
 
 But, unfortunately, his stay was short. The year and 
 ten months of this life in the new world were the happiest 
 and most peaceful days of his varied career. He had laid 
 out his capital city, seen it grow into a fair-sized village, 
 planned and partly built his own town mansion and a 
 country-seat at Pennsbury, near Bristol. He had traveled 
 to New York, in duty to his patron the Duke; to Maryland, 
 for discussion of boundary disputes with Lord Baltimore; had 
 gone among the Indians and the colonists of New Jersey and 
 Long Island. In all these journeys, he had found time to 
 preach at Quaker meetings and to win the friendship of the 
 different nationalities already within his province. A long 
 letter written to the Free Society of Traders, in England, shows 
 the keen observation and wide knowledge of William Penn. 
 Every line of it is worth reading for the light it throws upon 
 natural history, conditions of life in the new world, and habits 
 of the Indians, as well as for its clear and simple English. 
 The Maryland boundary was still a vexed question, and 
 when Penn learned that Lord Baltimore had started for 
 England, it became evident that he, too, must be on hand to 
 lay the matter before the King. Therefore, in August, 1684, 
 the Proprietor said a reluctant farewell to his province and 
 sailed for the home-land. 
 
 It was fifteen years before he again saw his beloved Penn- 
 sylvania and they were years of vexation and worry; for, in 
 
 17 
 
his absence, affairs went ill with the province. There were 
 constant bickerings between Council and Assembly, laws 
 were made and annulled, one unpopular deputy-governor 
 succeeded another. The form of government itself was 
 changed six times in ten years, making trial of deputies, 
 commissioners, and Council. No money was sent to Penn; 
 he complained bitterly that the province owed him five 
 thousand pounds sterling. Finally, in March, 1693, an 
 English order-in-council deprived Penn of his rights, and 
 declared Pennsylvania a royal province. The government 
 was turned over to Colonel Benjamin Fletcher, an old soldier, 
 then Captain-General of New York. William III, at that 
 time on the English throne, was less partial to Penn than the 
 Stuart kings had been. Influenced also by complaints from 
 Lord Baltimore and other disappointed parties, he used his 
 royal right to revoke the royal grant, giving as reasons that 
 the colony was mismanaged and that it made no provision 
 for defence against French aggression. But the earnestness 
 of Penn's friends and the king's sense of justice, since none 
 of the alleged disorders could be proved against the Proprie- 
 tor, led to a return of the province to his control after less 
 than two years. 
 
 Still Penn felt it impossible to leave England. His wife, 
 Guli Springett, died in 1694, leaving two children, William 
 and Laetitia. 
 
 In 1696, Penn married Hannah Callowhill, "a devout and 
 comely maiden of Bristol." Finally, some three years later, 
 he again sailed, with this new wife and the two grown-up 
 children, to his beloved province. The voyage lasted three 
 months and he anived in December, 1699. Yellow fever 
 had swept over Philadelphia, causing many deaths and uni- 
 versal panic. But the city had grown and prospered. It 
 had more than seven hundred houses and not fewer than four 
 thousand people; a Friend's Meeting-house, of course, and 
 also an Episcopal Church; several brick warehouses and the 
 "slate-roof house" of the Penns. Here Hannah Penn's first 
 son, John, was born, the only one of Penn's numerous family 
 born in America, hence always called "the American." 
 There were several taverns advertising "good meals for six- 
 
 18 
 
pence, lodging for twopence." Although cows and goats 
 roamed at large, there were fenced gardens carefully culti- 
 vated and gay with the flowers of old England. 
 
 Some luxury was enjoyed by the early dwellers in Penn- 
 sylvania, for an inventory of furniture used at Pennsbury, 
 the Proprietor's country mansion about twenty miles up the 
 river, includes "plush couches, embroidered chairs, curtains 
 of camlet and satin, and such a carpet as was rarely seen 
 outside of a palace." Fine silver and china are enumerated, 
 and the table did not lack bountiful and appetizing food. 
 The manor house itself is said to have cost five thousand 
 pounds sterling. Its bricks had been brought from England 
 and it had been carefully planned and begun by Penn on his 
 first visit. Gardens, lawns and terraces, an avenue of poplars 
 leading to the river, vistas opened to afford lovely views 
 through the surrounding forest, and paths laid out for walks 
 — all these early descriptions give up a pleasant picture of an 
 easy, agreeable life in strong contrast to the rugged simplicity 
 of New England at the same era. 
 
 Meetings of the Council and Indian deputations were 
 often entertained in the great hall at Pennsbury. The Lord 
 Proprietor traveled between his town and country house 
 either on horseback, or by river in a six-oared barge. His 
 ideal of democracy was that of a patriarch ruling over a happy 
 people, absolute control joined to popular rights — the same 
 odd mingling of characters as that which combined in Penn 
 the Quaker and the Cavalier. 
 
 But not all was harmonious in the new colony. Dis- 
 agreements between Pennsylvania and Delaware, between 
 Quakers and EpiscopaHans, between Council and Assembly; 
 failure in paying rents; defalcation of trusted agents; there 
 were plenty of anxieties for William Penn. His fair-minded- 
 ness is evidenced in an appeal to his people. 
 
 "Friends," he said, "if in the Constitution by charter 
 there be anything that jars, alter it." 
 
 In accordance with this generous permission, the Consti- 
 tution was, in 1701, revised, shortened, and made more 
 liberal. Penn signed the new document "without hesitation 
 or delay" and under its provisions the Colony was governed 
 
 19 
 
up to the Revolution. It was "thoroughly American" and 
 undoubtedly gave the model for many clauses in our Federal 
 Constitution. 
 
 Meantime, affairs in England required the presence of the 
 Great Quaker, and he returned to the old country in the winter 
 of 1701. Sharp differences of opinion existed between the 
 King and Pean; it looked for a while as if Pennsylvania might 
 again be taken from its founder. But, within a few months, 
 William III died and Queen Anne came to the throne. As 
 James IPs daughter, this queen had friendly feelings toward 
 her father's favorite and Penn felt that his Holy Experiment 
 was once more safe from royal meddling. 
 
 However, new troubles arose through the deputies sent 
 by Penn to administer in his absence the affairs of the 
 Colony. One of these, John Evans by name, being not a 
 Quaker but a hot-headed youth of twenty-five, yearned for 
 military glory. England and New England were fighting 
 with the French and Indians, while the Quaker Colony, pro- 
 tected by friendly tribes, stood apart from the scene of war. 
 Evans, disregarding both the welfare of the province and its 
 religious objections to fighting, urged that troops be sent to 
 aid the cause of England. 
 
 Meeting with no response, he resorted to strategem. On 
 the day of the annual "Fair," a pleasant spring morning in 
 1706, the Philadelphia streets and market places were 
 crowded by holiday-makers. A horseman came galloping 
 into town, announcing with great excitement that French 
 warships — a dozen of them — were coming up the Delaware. 
 Governor Evans quickly mounted his own horse, cantered 
 from street to street waving a sword and summoning people 
 to take arms against the enemy. Not a word of truth was in 
 this rumor of ships, but the citizens were terrified. Silver 
 spoons and other precious things were thrown into wells 
 or buried in gardens. Boats were loaded with fleeing people 
 who hurried up the river into hiding. Yet, most of the 
 Quakers gathered at their meeting-house and steadfastly 
 refused to flee; while only four denied their doctrines by 
 arming themselves and going to the rallying place urged by 
 the governor. The panic was soon over and with it ended 
 
 20 
 
the influence of Governor Evans. He tried other means of 
 winning notoriety. One such scheme was that known as 
 Powder Money. This was a tax which Evans contrived to 
 have levied on every ship passing Newcastle, the proceeds to 
 aid in prosecution of the war. Penn's charter had expressly 
 forbidden such levies and the Quakers protested. Three of 
 them, Hill, Norris, and Preston, with true Revolutionary 
 spirit, chased and captured a sloop, arrested its commander 
 and delivered him to the authorities at Salem. After this 
 incident, Powder Money ceased to be collected. Evans was 
 recalled and the succeeding deputy, Colonel Charles Gorkin, 
 managed to restore the confidence of the people in their 
 absent proprietor. 
 
 In addition to his troubles as ruler, William Penn had 
 domestic sorrows. His son, William, was dissipated and 
 idle, almost breaking his father's heart by his scandalous 
 behavior. Laetitia, the daughter (whose house has been 
 removed to Fairmount Park and is still preserved), married 
 a grasping person named Aubrey, who was always begging 
 money from Penn. A false steward, Philip Ford, made his 
 master much trouble. He lent money to Penn, who was 
 embarrassed by the debts of his son and the extortions of his 
 son-in-law. The province was mortgaged as security and 
 even after the loan was cancelled. Ford retained the deed. 
 For, thoroughly honorable himself, the Great Quaker 
 trusted to the honor of others. Ford died in 1706, but his 
 widow and his son pressed an utterly unfounded claim for 
 j6"14,000 and petitioned Queen Anne to give them, on the basis 
 of the cancelled mortgage, proprietary rights to Pennsyl- 
 vania. They did not succeed, but in the conflict of claims 
 Penn was thrown into a debtor's prison, where he remained 
 nine months. Quaker friends on both sides of the Atlantic 
 bestirred themselves for his release. The Fords were bought 
 off and Penn was set at liberty. 
 
 There followed a few years of comparative peace, save for 
 domestic anxieties and financial stress. Moreover, Penn felt 
 himself growing old; he was now nearly seventy. It is no 
 wonder that he wished to sell his rights to the Crown, asking 
 in pajntnent £12,000 and keeping only his private estate. But 
 
 21 
 
before the bargain could be completed he was rendered 
 incapable of business transactions. In 1712, a paralytic 
 stroke laid him low. The remaining six years of his life are a 
 sad record of constantly failing memory and senses. At 
 the end his strong mind had become a blank, his dimmed 
 eyes never again looked upon their beloved Pennsylvania, 
 and he died peacefully in 1718. 
 
 During these six years of his failing health, Mrs. Penn, 
 aided by prudent deputies, had managed the affairs of the 
 province and now, by Penn's will, she became its owner. 
 Legacies were left to the children, and the government, 
 which had always been considered separate from the owner- 
 ship, was bequeathed to several noblemen, in trust, to sell 
 to the Crown. William Penn, the oldest son, however, 
 claimed the right to govern and, before the ensuing law-suit 
 could be settled, his death and that of his son Springett Penn, 
 left the whole estate to the children of the second wife. A 
 compromise vested in her both proprietary and governing 
 rights, she became the Lord Proprietor of Pennsylvania, and, 
 though prevented from visiting her province, she ruled 
 acceptably, through various governors, until her death in 
 1733. Then the ownership of Pennsylvania passed to her 
 three sons, John, Thomas, and Richard. These all died in 
 England. Richard's two sons governed in turn, and when 
 the Revolution ended the proprietary government, Pennsyl- 
 vania was still in possession of Penn's heirs. 
 
 The growth of the Colony was steady, even rapid. Great 
 numbers of German and Scotch-Irish immigrants peopled 
 the frontier settlements, but were good neighbors content to 
 leave matters of government to the Quaker Assembly. 
 Higher education found little favor; for the Quakers depended 
 upon the "inner light" rather than upon scholarship. But 
 the children were carefully taught "the three R's," and a 
 school was established at Philadelphia in the very first year 
 of its settlement, 1683. Here the master, Enoch Flower, 
 taught "reading for four shillings the quarter; for six shillings 
 the pupil could add writing, or for eight shillings, arithmetic 
 likewise." In 1689, the Society of Friends set up a public 
 school to which, in 1711, Penn granted a charter. But it 
 
 22 
 
was not until 1749 that Benjamin Franklin started an 
 Academy. Four years later this school obtained a charter 
 and was, for the next qilarter-century, spoken of as "The 
 College." Non-sectarian, it included at first every sect in 
 its Board of Trustees, but later became Episcopalian. 
 Franklin was advanced in his ideas of education, as of every- 
 thing else, and felt that the youth of the Colony should have 
 opportunities of learning nearer home than were Yale and 
 Harvard in the north, or William and Mary in the south, the 
 only colleges then flourishing. He advocated, however, 
 discarding Greek and Latin from the course and substituting 
 the study of English and especially of science. 
 
 A printing-house was opened in 1685, the first press south 
 of New England, and owes its establishment to William 
 Bradford, who also built a paper-mill. In 1719, his son, 
 Andrew Bradford, issued the first newspaper of the Colony. 
 It was here that Franklin found work as type-setter in 1723. 
 
 Other arts and sciences began to flourish. Philadelphia 
 may boast early botanists, mathematicians, astronomers; 
 while Franklin himself was the new-world leader in scientific 
 discovery and invention. We owe to him not only the 
 fundamental knowledge of electric currents, but such practi- 
 cal utilities as open stoves, street lamps, the fire department, 
 and the circulating library. 
 
 Literature was not neglected. The very first American 
 drama, a tragedy called "The Prince of Parthia," was the 
 work of a Philadelphian, Thomas Godfrey. Yet the Quakers 
 looked coldly upon dramatic efforts and when, in 1749, a 
 small company undertook to render Shakespeare, the 
 performance was suppressed by the city authorities. 
 
 Though agriculture was the principal business of the Penn- 
 sylvania people, manufactures and commerce were not far 
 behind. Wheat, timber, and furs were exported. Phila- 
 delphia ale became famous and "good German Glass" was 
 made at German town. Pig iron was manufactured; by the 
 middle of the eighteenth century three thousand tons of it 
 were exported annually to England. FVom an old book, 
 entitled "The Importance of British Plantations in America," 
 we read a list of other exports — "Wheat, flour, bisket, 
 
 23 
 
barrelled beef and pork, bacon, ham, butter, cheese, cyder, 
 apples, soap, starch, hair-powder, tanned leather, beeswax, 
 tallow-candles, strong beer, linseed oil, strong waters, deer- 
 skins and other peltry, hemp, some little tobacco, lumber, — 
 also drugs of various sorts." A creditable list for a colony 
 less than seventy-five years old. 
 
 By the middle of the eighteenth century, Pennsylvania 
 had taken third place among the colonies in population; by 
 the Revolution it had increased to second rank — only Vir- 
 ginia surpassing it. Towns had multiplied. Philadelphia, 
 grown to thirty thousand population, was, by 1750, the 
 largest city in the new world. Lancaster boasted ten 
 thousand; York was nearly as large. 
 
 Labor was plentiful and well-paid. There were some negro 
 slaves though most of the work was done by "Redemp- 
 tioners" — articled servants, principally Irish and German. 
 Their term of service was four years, five days being added 
 for every day they played truant. Good behavior gave 
 them, at the end of service, a suit of clothes and a set of farm 
 tools. Colored slaves were used for household service but 
 the Quaker conscience was early aroused on the question of 
 slavery. In 1688, in a "Memorial," sent to the Germantown 
 Monthly Meeting of Quakers, some German "Friends" pro- 
 tested against "the buying and keeping of negroes." Efforts 
 continued to prevent, by statute, the importation of slaves 
 and some years before the Revolution they had ceased to 
 enter Pennsylvania. In 1758, the Yearly Meeting ordered 
 all Friends to set free their slaves, "making a Christian pro- 
 vision for them." Some people failed to obey this order and, 
 in 1776, a declaration of independence for all slaves held by 
 Friends was decreed; Quakers who persisted in holding 
 slaves were excommunicated. 
 
 Under Mrs. Penn's government, wealth rapidly increased. 
 Mortgages were paid off and, for the first time, possessions 
 in the Quaker colony became profitable rather than expen- 
 sive. The experience of Pennsylvania with paper currency 
 was more fortunate than that of the New England colonies, 
 where inflation nearly proved their ruin. Paper money, in 
 Penn's province, maintained a steady value and was always 
 
 24 
 
sound. This was partly due to the peace enjoyed by the 
 Colony for some seventy years, but chiefly to the restraint in 
 issuing these promissory notes. Only enough paper money 
 was given out at one time to supply the place of gold taken 
 to England, thus always preserving a just balance of credit. 
 The Penn heirs gradually allied themselves with the Church 
 of England; but, while that placed executive powers in the 
 hands of Episcopalians, the Assembly was still under Quaker 
 control. There was naturally much pulling in different 
 directions between the two branches of government. Keith, 
 one of the early governors sent out by Mrs. Penn, became 
 popular with the Assembly but curried favor by numerous 
 false promises. It was he who sent the youthful Franklin 
 off to England, assuring him valuable letters of introduction 
 which never materialized. It was at Keith's suggestion that 
 paper money was first issued. He skillfully granted all 
 reasonable requests of the people or managed by plausible 
 arguments to win them over to his wishes. But he over- 
 reached himself, finally, by dismissing from the Council its 
 greatest man, James Logan, who was successively Secretary 
 of the Province, President of Council, and Chief Justice. 
 He was also a noted botanist and the famous Linnaeus named 
 for him a class of plants, the Loganaceae. Public-spirited 
 and of great prudence, he had been a valued friend to William 
 Penn. When, therefore, Keith endeavored to humiliate him, 
 the matter was laid before Mrs. Penn. She promptly 
 rebuked the Governor, who resisted and argued. Then he 
 was recalled but lingered long enough to plot against the 
 proprietary government. Compelled at last to escape his 
 creditors by fleeing to England, he later distinguished himself 
 by publishing suggestions for taxing American colonies, and 
 died disgraced in a debtor's prison. Hewas followed asGovernor 
 of Pennsylvania by an old soldier named Gordon whose wise 
 administration gave Mrs. Penn peaceful years until her death. 
 John Penn, "the American," came over, stayed only a few 
 months, and returned to settle anew in England, the endless 
 boundary dispute with Maryland. Thomas Penn was 
 governor for nine years, 1732 to 1741. He was a careful 
 business man but lacked his father's generosity and breadth 
 
 25 
 
of vision. Times had changed indeed. There were now 
 nearly half a million people, English, Scotch-Irish and 
 German, to be governed and their rents collected. Treaties 
 must still be made with the Indians, boundaries settled with 
 Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia. Then there was the 
 difficult question of military defense, becoming yearly more 
 necessary, but yet entirely contrary to the Quaker belief. 
 
 In the words of the historian Sharpless: "Pennsylvania be- 
 came the most consistently prosperous of all the colonies, 
 the most rapid in its growth in freedom and prosperity. 
 So nearly had the inhabitants everything they could desire 
 that they hesitated to take up the Revolutionary cause in 
 1775. Their charter, their traditions, their thoughts, were 
 all free and they were slow to understand the fervor of New 
 England and Virginia." 
 
 The attitude of the Quaker party toward the war has been 
 further summarized as follows: 
 
 "We did not approve the proceedings of the British 
 Ministry, which irritated the Americans; we thought them 
 ill-advised and in view of their certain effects, wicked; we 
 would have joined with our fellow citizens in peaceful legal 
 resistance to them and have suffered for the principles of 
 liberty and justice. But we do not believe in war; we will 
 not be a party to overturning the beneficent charter of 
 William Penn, nor will we aid in throwing off our ultimate 
 allegiance to the King of Great Britain. We, who largely 
 made this Province what it is, and who have shown in the past 
 our capacity for the peaceful maintenance of rights, are 
 utterly opposed to the measures now taken and disavow all 
 responsibility for them. We cannot take any part in the 
 war, on one side or the other; we cannot recognize the revolu- 
 tionary government, set up by illegal means, by holding office 
 under it or by affirming allegiance to it; nor will we assist 
 Britain in the unrighteous means taken to conquer rebellious 
 Provinces; we are out of the whole business and will give aid 
 and comfort to neither party." 
 
 The wish of the "Friends" was thus to observe strict 
 neutrality, but as events hurried into the actual struggle, 
 patriotism led many younger members of their faith into 
 
 26 
 
resistance so opposed to Quaker teaching that the Monthly 
 Meetings were kept busy discipHning these "sorrowful defec- 
 tions." One such case was that of Thomas Mifflin, who 
 became aide-de-camp to General Washington, major-general, 
 and finally first governor of the state. It is estimated that 
 about one-fifth of the adult male Quakers in Philadelphia 
 joined the American army or took places under the revolu- 
 tionary government. A very small number came out openly 
 on the British side. 
 
 Most of the Quakers, however, were conscientious pacifists 
 and consistently neutral. Like most peacemakers, they 
 suffered from both opponents, American and British, and 
 their story in the Revolution is unhappy and sorrowful. 
 Besides suffering minor indignities, a party of twenty^"the 
 best citizens of Philadelphia" — were exiled to Virginia, 
 because they would neither avow allegiance to the American 
 Government nor even promise good behavior if allowed to 
 remain in their homes. For eight months they suffered the 
 discomforts of exile, two of them died. When danger from 
 British invasion seemed less threatening, a petition to 
 General Washington effected the release of these prisoners 
 and their safe conduct through the lines back to Philadelphia. 
 
 While admitting and admiring this firm adherence to the 
 teachings of their faith, the later historian may appreciate its 
 irritating effect upon the ardent patriotism of those "times 
 which tried men's souls." Although the Keystone Colony 
 had prospered through seventy years of peace, her sister 
 colonies had been less fortunate. Not only was it needful to 
 repel Indian attacks but the colonists were called upon to aid 
 England in the series of wars with France and Spain. 
 
 These struggles were sometimes called by different names 
 in England and in America, but are usually classed in history 
 as, King William's war, 1689 to 1697; Queen Anne's war, 1702 
 to 1713; King George's war, 1744 to 1748. This last war, 
 though supposed to end for England at the treaty of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, continued in America without cessation until, in 1755, 
 it merged into the Seven Years' war, known to us as the 
 French and Indian War. The French, strongly entrenched 
 in Canada, were trying to push their claims through the Ohio 
 
 27 
 
and Mississippi valleys and gradually to absorb the whole of 
 North America. By gifts and clever propaganda, they had 
 allied to themselves the most war-like of the Indian tribes. 
 The brunt of the fighting had hitherto been borne by New 
 England and New York, while Pennsylvania, hemmed in by 
 peaceful Indians, had escaped the expenses and sacrifices, 
 calamities and horrors, of war. Often the provincial govern- 
 ments had been asked for financial aid. As early as 1739, 
 when Spanish privateers were abroad on the sea and threaten- 
 ing the commerce of the colonies, Governor Thomas asked the 
 Assembly for money. They replied, "The Quakers do not 
 (as the world is now circumstanced) condemn the use of arms 
 in others, yet are principled against it themselves." This 
 gave the Governor a chance, which he promptly took, of 
 raising a militia force through volunteers. Some seven 
 hundred men, most of them "redemptioners," accepted this 
 opportunity. Then the Assembly, in compliance with com- 
 plaints, refused to finance the small army until these servants 
 were returned to their masters. In that event i!30,000 would 
 be voted. Governor Thomas, feeling that it was more 
 difficult to replace men than pounds sterling, refused these 
 conditions and raised the money on British credit. Where- 
 upon, the Assembly devoted its £30,000 to reimbursing the 
 masters for their runaway servants. This course was so 
 satisfactory to the people, that it became the Quaker war- 
 policy — those whose conscience would permit, might don the 
 uniform, the Assembly would recompense losses and in 
 addition vote money to the Crown. 
 
 But there was bitter feeling between the Governor and the 
 Assembly, and two parties were formed. In the election of 
 1742, great excitement prevailed and there was a riot in 
 Philadelphia. The Quakers won, being supported by almost 
 the whole German population, and all the old members were 
 re-elected. The Governor was fairly beaten and yielded to 
 the demands of the Assembly. 
 
 PYanklin helped in enlisting those who wished to fight. 
 The first Pennsylvania militia, raised through his aid, were 
 called "Associators," a force ignored by the Quakers who 
 were, however, not unwilling to help support it by indirect 
 
 28 
 
means. Thus, when Massachusetts, fitting out the expedi- 
 tion which captured Louisburg, in King George's War, asked 
 for help, the Pennsylvania Assembly voted £4,000, "to be 
 expended in the purchase of bread, beef, pork, flour, wheat, or 
 other grain." Franklin, in his autobiography, says that the 
 words, "other grain" were inserted by the Assembly so that 
 the governor might buy gunpowder. 
 
 In 1746, Thomas resigned his governorship and went back 
 to England, leaving the executive powers to the President of 
 Council. Very soon the latter was called upon to defend his 
 city against Spanish privateers which were committing depre- 
 dations in the bay. One of these came up the river capturing 
 all the small ships as she went, and towing them along. It 
 was her evident intent to take a man-of-war lying before 
 Newcastle. George Proctor, an English sailor, who had been 
 pressed into service on the Spanish ship, slipped overboard 
 into one of the captured sail-boats, cut loose, and steered 
 toward Salem, to give the alarm. The wind failing, as he 
 neared the port, he abandoned his boat, swam ashore at three 
 o'clock in the morning, and roused the sleeping people of 
 Salem and Newcastle. The guns of the small fort were then 
 turned toward the enemy and fired upon her for an hour. 
 Replying by a single shot, raising the Spanish flag, and giving 
 three cheers, the Spanish ship dropped down the river and 
 put out to sea. Thus Pennsylvania also may boast her 
 Paul Revere. 
 
 Another danger was threatening the province. The 
 Indians had lost their early simplicity and trust in the white 
 man. For while William Penn and his immediate followers 
 were scrupulous in the justice of their dealings, later agents 
 became more greedy in the desire for new land. The famous 
 "Walking Purchase" was an example of graft never forgotten 
 by the tribes. This was a bargain made in 1737, for the fer- 
 tile Minisink country. A line drawn from Wrightstown, a 
 little way above Trenton, northwest, parallel with the 
 Delaware river "as far as a man could walk in a day and a 
 half"— the line from this point to the river— these were the 
 terms of an agreement, signed by Indians and white men. 
 On the day appointed for the walk, delegates from both 
 
 29 
 
parties assembled to see fair play. The strongest and 
 nimblest walkers were chosen to start at dawn and they 
 walked "twelve hours by the sheriff's watch." The Indians 
 complained that it was running rather than walking, and 
 when at the expiration of the second half-day, the exhausted 
 "walkers" fell almost fainting at the end of their strength, 
 the limit reached was thirty miles beyond the Lehigh river, 
 which the Indians had believed would be the utmost point 
 possible to reach. Then the connecting line to the Delaware 
 was slanted so as to include the whole of the coveted tract. 
 It was a fraud and the Indians nursed their resentment 
 against the day of vengeance. Other deeds and grants left 
 the Indians with a sense of being over-reached and defrauded. 
 
 On the other hand, the tribes of the province, inferior to 
 those of the Six Nations, had been degraded by the white 
 man's rum which was used to bribe them. Under its 
 influence they became drunken brutes ready for any violence. 
 The Quakers never succeeded in winning many converts to 
 their faith among the Indians, though German Moravian 
 missionaries labored faithfully and with some success. 
 
 The French lost no opportunity to draw the tribes away 
 from their allegiance to the English and it became a question 
 of which nation could offer largest bribes. The French and 
 Indian War gave to the Indians, thus alienated, their oppor- 
 tunity for revenge. 
 
 In 1755, occurred the defeat of Braddock near Fort 
 DuQuesne, the present site of Pittsburgh. Attempting to 
 fight by European methods against the unknown strategems 
 of lurking savages, his army was cut to pieces. This gave 
 the long-desired opportunity for massacre; defenceless border 
 settlements were attacked and destroyed, about thirty 
 people were killed. With the taste of blood, frenzy fell upon 
 even the old friends of Penn, Delawares, Shawnees, Mingoes 
 and the rest. Throughout the wide forests where scattered 
 log-cabins sheltered pioneer families, in little clearings and 
 settlements along the Susquehanna, everywhere on the border 
 lines of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, the blow fell — 
 fire and tomahawk. Women and children were killed, men 
 brained and scalped, only the Recording Angel knows the 
 
 30 
 
number of tragedies enacted in those terrible autumn months 
 of 1755. All the region round what is now Harrisburg was 
 made desolate. The gentle Moravians of Bethlehem and 
 Gnadenhutten, who had ever tried to win and serve the 
 Indians, were slaughtered. In one settlement, the savages 
 falling upon a school-house killed and scalped master and 
 pupils. Even within fifty miles of Philadelphia, torture and 
 killing went on; the bodies of whole murdered families were 
 dragged into the city and displayed before the State House. 
 No wonder that the poor Quakers, with their doctrines of 
 peace, were panic-stricken and paralyzed. The western 
 roads were crowded with refugees, families fleeing from 
 vengeance; while the army under General Dunbar, which 
 should have stayed to protect the frontier, had retreated 
 from Fort DuQuesne to the safety of Philadelphia. Penn- 
 sylvania was in no worse case than were the neighboring 
 colonies who had no conscientious scruples against war. 
 Virginia was equally helpless, though Washington himself 
 commanded an army of fifteen hundred Virginians. The 
 Quaker Assembly had no money and Governor Morris 
 rejected all bills for raising funds by taxation. But again 
 an appeal was made for private subscriptions and £10,000 
 was raised as a loan to be paid, sometime, by the Assembly. 
 War-feeling grew stronger, petitions for defence rained upon 
 the Assembly from every part of the province. Some four 
 hundred determined Germans marched to the State House 
 demanding redress, and about three hundred loyal Indians 
 joined their plea. If help were not forthcoming they must, 
 in self-defence, go over to the French. Even Quaker con- 
 sciences could not hold out against such demands. England 
 also protested and £5,000 was finally voted for protection. 
 Franklin again came forward with a Militia Law and re- 
 cruited more than a thousand soldiers for warfare against the 
 Indians. Thus by making enlistment voluntary, the Quaker 
 conscience was absolved. Franklin himself was chosen to 
 lead his troops, though he had always hated war and knew 
 little about it; in fact he had never used a gun even for hunt- 
 ing. But his men trusted him and willingly followed his 
 lead into the Lehigh Valley. Here, in the winter of 1755 and 
 
 31 
 
1756, they built a chain of forts and held the Indians at bay. 
 But after Franklin's return to Philadelphia and throughout 
 the succeeding three years, raids were again common. 
 Massacres, plundering and burning went on as before. "Men 
 were waylaid as they passed along the roads or trails, women 
 were killed as they went to visit the sick, children as they 
 drove the cows home at night, and many captives of all ages 
 were carried to Canada and the wilderness of the Ohio." 
 
 For many months the system of weak defence by forts, 
 which were really only refuges for the colonists when attacked, 
 was the only method employed by the province. But in the 
 summer of 1756, Colonel John Armstrong headed a force 
 against Kitanning, a town on the Allegheny river, used as a 
 stronghold and base for the Indian enemy. This was sur- 
 rounded, ambushed, and taken by surprise. The victory 
 was complete, and the Indians, who had never before been 
 attacked in their town by a white foe, were demoralized by 
 this unexpected offensive. A conference was held at Easton 
 in November, 1756, and again at Lancaster in May, 1757. 
 A treaty of peace was made with the Delawares and the 
 Shawnees, converting these tribes from dangerous enemies 
 to friends who would act as guides against the western foe, 
 the French and the hostile Indians. 
 
 Notwithstanding this arrangement, scalping parties con- 
 tinued their raids and even came within thirty miles of Phila- 
 delphia. Every family outside of the city lived in constant 
 anxiety; many of the richest farms were deserted and pro- 
 perty was abandoned. The province was also torn by party 
 strife. Demands were made for money, for men, for pro- 
 tection. There was unwillingness on the part of the governor 
 to allow taxation and on the part of the Assembly to force a 
 Militia Law. But the conscientious objectors to war had 
 lost their majority in the Assembly; as early as 1756, "six 
 Quaker delegates resigned, others declined to be candidates, 
 and later four more resigned." A strong party opposed to 
 the Quakers at last foiced through a bill for compulsory 
 militia service, and a large grant of money for defence. Forts 
 were built and manned, but the French still won victories, 
 the Indians renewed their raids. 
 
 32 
 
It was not until William Pitt became prime minister of 
 England, that a new system of defence turned the tide in 
 favor of the colonies. A large army was sent from England; 
 arms, ammunition, provisions and tents were furnished by the 
 mother country; only wages and clothing were asked from 
 the province. This aid stimulated the fighting spirit of the 
 colonists, who at once raised more money and men than ever 
 before. Some fifty thousand soldiers, of whom twenty 
 thousand were provincials, gathered for a serious offensive 
 against Canada and the West. Pennsylvania furnished 
 twenty-seven thousand troops, more than any other colony, 
 and was concerned in the expedition against Fort DuQuesne. 
 Its commander was General Forbes, a Scotchman. Wash- 
 ington commanded the combined forces of Virginia, Mary- 
 land and North Carolina. These two armies joined forces 
 at Bedford, Pennsylvania, in September, 1758. There were 
 many delays in the westward advance, but the time was well 
 used by people at home to win over some of the Indian tribes. 
 A huge Indian conclave was again held at Easton in October, 
 1758. Delegates from the powerful Six Nations were present. 
 There, all complaints of ill treatment were heard, the Walking 
 Purchase and other land-grabbing incidents were discussed, 
 and, so far as possible, wrongs were righted. The Minisinks 
 were given a thousand pounds to satisfy their claims. Lands 
 unjustly taken were given back. A missionary messenger, 
 Frederick Post, by name, was sent out twice to the Ohio 
 country with terms of peace and, after incredible hardships, 
 returned with a white wampum belt, insuring friendship. 
 The army, under Forbes and Bouquet and Washington, 
 moved slowly west. One of the divisions, under Lewis and 
 Grant, was defeated and cut to pieces near Fort DuQuesne, 
 but the main army followed in such numbers that the French 
 abandoned their garrison and fled. When the English 
 reached the fort it had been stripped and burned; nothing 
 was left for the conquerors to do, but to bury their dead 
 comrades, rebuild the fort and garrison it. Fort Pitt came 
 into being and Pittsburgh was named. So ended the war, at 
 least Pennsylvania's share in it, and the French gave up 
 forever their attempt to win the Mississippi valley. In 1763, 
 
 33 
 
the treaty of Paris was signed, bringing peace to England and 
 her colonies. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin was easily the foremost man in Penn- 
 sylvania. He spent two years in England in the course of the 
 war, trying to have the Crown tax the proprietary estates for 
 the benefit of the province. Letters, pamphlets, history, 
 flowed from his facile pen, and his ultimate object seemed to 
 have been to turn Pennsylvania over to the Crown. But, by 
 a compromise, he effected a "single tax," bearing equally on 
 all land holders. This was satisfactory to the colonists and 
 brought Franklin great fame. Several other colonies at once 
 asked him to become their agent. No American was ever 
 more highly honored abroad than was FVanklin. He was 
 f^ted and dined in highest circles of society, presented with 
 degrees from various colleges, made a member of scientific 
 bodies, and consulted by the greatest scientists of the age. 
 On his return to Pennsylvania, the summer after the treaty 
 of Paris, he was given a vote of thanks by the Assembly and 
 £500 for each year he had been away in their service. 
 
 The treaty of 1763 seemed to have brought a lasting peace. 
 The farmers of Pennsylvania returned to their neglected 
 fields with new ambition and the hope of great prosperity; 
 but within six months a new enemy appeared in the person 
 of Pontiac, an Indian chief who had not signed the treaty. 
 He was bitter against the English, who had cut down forest 
 trees, killed or frightened away the game, and constantly 
 pushed civilization farther into the red man's domain. 
 Pontiac was a shrewd and cunning savage with more brains 
 and greater courage than most of his race. He organized the 
 tribes from the lakes to the far south for a grand onslaught 
 upon the colonies. By June, 1763, the scalping parties in 
 their victorious career, leaving death and desolation behind 
 them, reached Fort Pitt. The fort itself stood firm, but the 
 Indian hordes swept past it over western Pennsylvania, with 
 massacre and burning, as far as the Susquehanna. Panic- 
 stricken people fled before them. Carlisle and Shippensburg 
 were crowded with refugees, hundreds hid in cellars and barns 
 or camped along the river side. The surprise was complete 
 and there was no plan of defence. From Philadelphia relief 
 
 34 
 
was sent to the fugitives and such help as food, clothing and 
 ammunition could bring; but Fort Pitt was surrounded by- 
 Indians and besieged for several weeks. Colonel Bouquet 
 with five hundred men, a company just returned broken and 
 sick from a West India campaign, started from Carlisle for the 
 relief of Fort Pitt. It seemed as if this "hospital battalion" 
 could accomplish httle, but their gallant leader pressed on, 
 marching by night, using Indian tactics, and finally forcing 
 an open battle. It was a victory, won at fearful cost of 
 suffering; P^ort Pitt was saved, the Indians fled to the west 
 and for that year, at least, the frontier was again at peace. 
 
 As a measure of defence, the pioneers organized bands of 
 "rangers." They adopted Indian methods and dress, even 
 painted their faces, in order to steal among the Indians and 
 anticipate or prevent surprise attacks. Friendship of the 
 Quakers for their red brothers had been turned, not unnatur- 
 ally, into bitter hatred and a desire for vengeance. Especially 
 was this true of the Scotch-Irish settlers and they determined 
 to exterminate the Indians, using the enemy's method of 
 stealthy massacre. There was feeling, too, against the 
 Quakers and the Quaker doctrines. The heathen, it was 
 argued, had been delivered by God into the power of the white 
 man for annihilation rather than for treaties of friendship. 
 The dealing of Israel with the tribes of Canaan was quoted 
 to prove that murders and scalpings were permitted as 
 showing God's displeasure. At Lancaster, a body of rangers, 
 under "the Paxton Boys," fell upon a group of Conestoga 
 Indians, harmless people who supported themselves by making 
 brooms and baskets. Breaking open the jail where some 
 fourteen Indians had been placed for protection, these Scotch- 
 Irish hot-bloods killed them all, men, women and children, 
 the first application of "lynch law" known in our country. 
 
 Most of the English settlers were horrified and indignant. 
 Franklin wrote a pamphlet, called "The Nan-ative," which 
 won great popularity and praise among the Quakers. He 
 expressed the shame and disgrace of such conduct on the 
 part of Christians, especially toward the peaceful descendants 
 of the tribes which had welcomed William Penn and 
 received his pledge of kindness; but other settlers on the 
 
 35 
 
frontier and in eastern Pennsylvania sympathized so strongly 
 with the lynchers that the government could do nothing 
 except denounce the murder. This outburst of lawlessness 
 unfortunately led to bitter party strife between the Scotch- 
 Irish or "Presbyterians" (as all Puritans, Independents, 
 and Congregationalists were called) and the Quakers. A 
 party of frontiersmen actually marched to Philadelphia, 
 vowing to capture the city and destroy the hundred and 
 forty Moravian Indians sheltered among their Quaker 
 friends. There was something approaching a panic. The 
 Indians were first sent to New York, but promptly 
 returned by the government as being too dangerous guests. 
 Then they were protected as much as possible in the Phila- 
 delphia barracks. The city was armed and civil war was 
 expected. Happily, parleys saved the day. The Presby- 
 terian party was induced to hold conferences, send in 
 memorials and petitions, and for some years a battle of pam- 
 phlets waged. Some fifty or sixty of these, on both sides of 
 the argument, are still preserved. The Quakers are accused, 
 in prose and verse, of harboring and befriending Indians in 
 order that the white population might be destroyed. The 
 Quakers on their side held that Indian land had been unlaw- 
 fully taken. The only practical result of this war of words 
 was a proclamation from the governor offering a reward for 
 Indian scalps, so far had revenge overcome the policy of 
 peace. This proclamation deeply offended the Assembly; 
 but later historians can excuse it because the times were so 
 full of danger and the bounties so urgently needed for protec- 
 tion of the frontiers. To the honor of the colony, it must 
 be recorded that, so far as known, no Indian was ever killed 
 solely for the sake of the reward. 
 
 The year 1767 is memorable because it saw surveyed the 
 famous Mason and Dixon line. Two mathematicians and 
 surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, came from 
 London to determine the long-disputed boundary between 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland— later to be a world-known 
 demarcation between freedom and slavery. 
 
 At the end of every mile, for one hundred and thirty-two 
 miles, was set up a stone brought from England. On one 
 
 36 
 
side were the arms of Penn and on the other the arms of Lord 
 Baltimore. 
 
 For four years the work went on, meeting considerable 
 interference from Indian raids; then the surveyors resigned 
 their difficult task. It is interesting to note the salaries 
 allowed them: ten shillings six pence, about two dollars and 
 sixty cents; for the last six months, twice that, or twenty- 
 one shillings, little more than five dollars per day. Then 
 wages stopped until they went aboard ship for England, 
 when they were again given ten and six a day until they 
 should land. 
 
 The remaining boundary line on the south was not com- 
 pleted until after the Revolution, in 1784. Early writers 
 speak of the accuracy and the straightness of the Mason and 
 Dixon line and the pleasant vistas through dense forests, 
 made by this avenue. 
 
 But though boundary disputes might be ended by the 
 surveyor's compass, more serious difficulties with the home 
 government began to cloud the future of the province. In 
 that same year, 1767, Parliament passed a bill taxing tea, 
 glass, painters' colors, and paper. This was contrary to the 
 "frame of government" allowed the colony, and resolutions of 
 protest were signed by all the leading merchants of Phila- 
 delphia. In response to this and other petitions, England 
 repealed the obnoxious duties excepting three pence per 
 pound on tea, a trifling tax which even then permitted the 
 colonists to purchase their favorite beverage at less than it 
 cost in England. 
 
 But it was principle for which contention was made — the 
 right to make their own laws. Meetings and associations 
 urged that the tea should be neither imported nor purchased. 
 So much of it accumulated on the hands of the East India 
 Company that Parliament was forced to grant the right of 
 exporting it from England to any part of the world free of 
 duty. But none of the new world ports would receive it. 
 
 Not only did Boston have her famous "tea party," when 
 cases of the precious herb were broken open and thrown into 
 the harbor, but tea-ships were as resolutely, if less dramati- 
 cally, refused admission to New York and Philadelphia. At 
 
 37 
 
Charleston, the tea was received but stored in damp cellars 
 and never sold, becoming a total loss. 
 
 Near Christmas time, in 1773, the ship "Polly," com- 
 manded by Captain Ayres and loaded with tea, was sighted 
 as it approached Philadelphia. A hastily called meeting of 
 citizens was held in the State House Yard; a solemn declara- 
 tion was made that "no power on earth has the right of 
 taxation without the consent of the taxed." Delegates were 
 sent to keep the tea-ship from landing. The Captain was, 
 however, invited to come ashore and was greeted as follows: 
 
 "What think you, Captain, of a halter round your neck, 
 ten gallons of tar decanted on your pate with the feathers of 
 a dozen wild geese laid over that to enliven your appearance? 
 Only think seriously of this and fly to the place whence you 
 came. Fly without hesitation and above all, dear Captain, 
 let us advise you to fly without the wild goose feathers." 
 
 He was further warned that the colonists would never have 
 "the detestable tea funneled down their throats with Parlia- 
 ment's duty mixed with it." 
 
 Captain Ayres was escorted back to the wharf, and, per- 
 ceiving the stern reality underlying this gi'im pleasantry, he 
 promptly obeyed orders, taking the "Polly" with her cargo 
 of tea back to London. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of December, Paul Revere, riding 
 horseback full speed from Boston, brought news of the raid 
 upon tea ships in Boston harbor, and thereby increased the 
 excitement at Philadelphia to fever heat. He came again in 
 March, 1774, to report the Boston Port Bill; for since Boston 
 was the worst offender. Parliament had retaliated by closing 
 that harbor to all shipping. 
 
 At a meeting in City Tavern, Philadelphia, resolutions were 
 passed giving assurance of sympathy and support for Boston, 
 although "recommending prudence and moderation." Large 
 contributions of money were promptly sent. Yet not all the 
 colonists were of one opinion, and it was about this time that 
 the terms Whig and Tory came into use— Whigs being those 
 who sympathized with Boston; Tories, those who sided with 
 Parliament. The Governor of Pennsylvania refused to call the 
 Assembly together for any expression of opinion, whereupon 
 
 38 
 
circulars were sent to the different counties calling upon the 
 people to voice their feelings. Meetings were held in every part 
 of the State and resolutions passed asserting colonial rights. 
 
 These events when reported in England deeply stirred 
 Parliament. It must not be supposed that the colonies in 
 this early struggle for their principles, standing firm for "no 
 taxation without representation," were without friends 
 among British statesmen. Edmund Burke warned the 
 government, "Let the colonies always keep the idea of their 
 several rights associated with your government and they will 
 cling and grapple to you, and no force under heaven will be 
 of power to tear them from their allegiance." Charles James 
 Fox exclaimed, "If you persist in your right to tax the 
 Americans, you will force them into open rebellion." "We 
 are now in great difficulties," said Dowdeswell, "let us do 
 justice before it is too late." While Lord Chatham declared 
 in the House of Commons, "You must repeal these Acts and 
 you will repeal them." But Lord North, stubborn minister 
 of a more stubborn King, replied, "I am against repealing this 
 last Act of Parliament, I will never think of repealing it until 
 I see America prostrate at our feet." 
 
 The strength and determination of the colonies was under- 
 estimated. "With ten thousand regulars," declared the 
 British Ministry, "we can march through the continent, 
 bring Boston to its knees, and terrify the rest of America by 
 the example." No wonder that, on hearing this, Patrick 
 Henry exclaimed, "There is no longer any room for hope. 
 We must fight." 
 
 In September, 1774, the first Continental Congress met in 
 Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia. A declaration of rights was 
 drawn up and signed, denying to Parliament all power of 
 taxation, and reserving to the Colonial Assemblies every form 
 of legislation. The appeal to England was as dignified and 
 reasonable as it was firm. "Permit us to be as free as your- 
 selves and we will ever esteem a union with you to be our 
 greatest glory and our happiness. We will be ever ready to 
 contribute all in our power to the welfare of the Empire. We 
 will consider your enemies our enemies, your interests our 
 own. If you are determined that your ministers shall sport 
 
 39 
 
wantonly with the rights of mankind, if neither the voice of 
 justice, dictates of the law, principles of the constitution, 
 nor the suggestions of humanity, shall restrain your hands 
 from shedding blood in such an impious cause — we must then 
 tell you that we will never submit to be hewers of wood or 
 drawers of water for any ministry or nation in the world." 
 
 It was further resolved that "no standing armies might 
 be maintained without consent of the people. The sugar act, 
 stamp act, and tea act, were each and all repudiated. On the 
 eighteenth of October, 1774, the Articles of Confederation 
 were signed — the beginning of American Union. 
 
 At this time, John Penn was governor of Pennsylvania, a 
 wise and sensible man who won the affections of the colonists. 
 But holding his province from the crown, he naturally hesi- 
 tated to endorse these revolutionary proceedings. Yet, he 
 seems to have made no effort to oppose them. In January, 
 1775, a provincial convention met at Philadelphia and con- 
 tinued in session for six days. There were committees sent 
 from each of the eight counties and the capital city had, 
 besides, its own representation. The series of resolutions 
 adopted show how serious the future seemed. Utmost 
 economy of food was urged, increase of crops, building of 
 more factories, and exclusive use of colonial manufactures as 
 against imported goods. 
 
 At five o'clock, the evening of April 24, 1775, a mounted 
 messenger dashed into Philadelphia, bringing news of the 
 battle of Lexington. Delegates to the second Continental 
 Congress had just arrived in the city and a banquet in their 
 honor was in progress, Robert Morris presiding. So great 
 was the excitement upon arrival of the herald, that the ban- 
 quet table was over-turned; bells tolled; men and boys 
 paraded the streets all night. In the morning, a mass meet- 
 ing was held in the State House Yard and the people pledged 
 themselves for defense. Further delegates to the Congress 
 coming from the south, rode in a stately cavalcade; those 
 from New England and New York in like formal entry were 
 met by enthusiastic shouts of welcome, the whole city turned 
 out to do them honor. The war-cloud had burst upon a reso- 
 lute and united people. 
 
 40 
 
"Within ten days after receiving news of Bunker Hill, the 
 first Pennsylvania regiment was officered and completed." 
 It contained eight companies, most of them one hundred men 
 each, and marched immediately, under command of Colonel 
 William Thompson of Cumberland County, to the relief of 
 Boston. Since these were the first troops mustered south of 
 the Hudson and were said to be "remarkable for accuracy of 
 aim," their arrival in Massachusetts created much stir and 
 excitement. In January, 1776, these riflemen became "the 
 first regiment of the Army of the United Colonies, com- 
 manded by General George Washington," an honor greatly 
 prized by Pennsylvania. 
 
 Yet, although war was certain and George Washington 
 had been chosen commander-in-chief of their forces, the 
 Colonists had, at first, no thought of separation from the 
 mother-country. In 1775, Thomas Jefferson said explicitly, 
 "We have not raised armies with design of separating from 
 Great Britain and establishing independent states. Neces- 
 sity had not driven us yet to that desperate measure." But 
 necessity was soon to force upon them that final step on the 
 rough road to liberty. 
 
 Meantime, a Committee of Safety had been formed at 
 Philadelphia and held almost daily sessions. One of its first 
 cares was to defend the Delaware river and bay. With this 
 end in view, a State Navy was authorized and built. Its first 
 ship, aptly named the "Experiment," was launched in July, 
 1775. A second craft called the "Bull Dog" was soon com- 
 pleted, giving to Pennsylvania another honor in thus beginning 
 naval defense since three months before the continental 
 congi-ess passed a law relative to a navy. The fleet built 
 by Congressional order came also from Philadelphia ship- 
 yards, was launched in December, 1775, was frozen up in the 
 bay, and finally got into action the following February. 
 They could not have been very formidable defenders, these 
 first ships, viewed in contrast with our present dreadnaughts, 
 they seem amusing toys. Their specified length was but a 
 maximum of fifty feet in the keel; breadth, thirteen feet; 
 depth, four and a half feet; estimated cost, $550 per boat. 
 They were propelled by oars; each vessel carried "two 
 
 41 
 
howitzers besides swivels, pikes and muskets." Twelve of 
 these gunboats were ordered and speedily built. In addition, 
 this navy included fire-rafts loaded with all sorts of in- 
 flammable things— "tar and oil barrels, turpentine casks, 
 pine wood covered with powdered resin." 
 
 There were two floating batteries, named "Arnold" and 
 "Putnam", a war ship, a fire-sloop, and six guard-boats. On 
 August 1, 1776, the total number of ships in commission was 
 reported as twenty-seven; the men in naval service, seven 
 hundred and sixty-eight. Obstructions were sunk in the 
 Delaware, buoys indicating the channel were removed, signal 
 and alarm posts were stationed at short intervals. The 
 Committee of Safety had done its best to deserve the name. 
 Not until May, 1776, did the Httle fleet have opportunity to 
 show its strength. In that month, two English warships 
 came up the river and were promptly attacked. Firing con- 
 tinued for two days, when the enemy was forced to withdraw 
 to the shelter of the Capes, leaving victory for the Americans 
 in their first naval battle. 
 
 As the war assumed larger proportions, the question of declar- 
 ing independence of Great Britain began to be discussed more 
 seriously. To many the step appeared inevitable, and soon 
 became the all-absorbing question for decision. The several 
 colonies were consulted and asked to send delegates to Congress 
 bearing their views on this vital matter. A Committee was 
 named to frame the declaration of independence: Thomas 
 Jefferson of Virginia, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, 
 Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert Livingston of New 
 York. To Jefferson was given the task of writing the document. 
 North Carolina was the first state to instruct her delegates to 
 approve such declaration, even before it was framed. That was 
 in April, 1776. On the seventh of June, Richard Henry Lee, 
 of Virginia, offered the resolution, "That the United Colonies 
 are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states, 
 and that a political connection between them and Great 
 Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved." The resolution 
 was promptly seconded by John Adams of Massachusetts. 
 The Pennsylvania Assembly had not favored such action; 
 her delegate, John Dickinson, was now the most formidable 
 
 42 
 
opponent in the Congress to this declaration of independence. 
 History proves him to have been a true patriot, but conserva- 
 tive. He felt that colonial rights were compatible with 
 loyalty to the King, and that a compromise could be effected. 
 
 The first day of July, a vote on the resolution approved its 
 adoption by all the colonies except Pennsylvania and Dela- 
 ware; but on the historic Fourth of July, 1776, the opposing 
 delegates had been replaced by others and John Dickinson 
 was absent, so that every vote was in favor of independence. 
 On July fifth, circulars conferring the glad news were sent 
 to all the colonies; but not until the eighth, at noon, in the 
 State House Yard was the Declaration read to the assembled 
 people. Then the King's arms which had surmounted the 
 doorway were formally taken down and burned; joy bells 
 rang, bonfires blazed, a Democracy had been born. In the 
 words of Bancroft, the historian, "The nation when it made 
 the choice of its great anniversary, selected not the day of the 
 resolution of independence, when it closed the past, but that 
 of the declaration of the principles on which it opened its 
 new career," A great step had been taken on the world-road 
 to liberty. John Adams wrote "The greatest question was 
 decided which ever was debated in America, and a greater 
 perhaps never was nor will be decided among men." 
 
 July fifteenth, delegates met in convention to frame a state 
 constitution for Pennsylvania. This went into effect 
 September twenty-eighth without popular vote. A general 
 Assembly was to be elected annually; a president, chosen 
 each year by the Assembly and Council, was given supreme 
 executive power, while his Council of twelve persons was 
 elected, in classes, for a term of three years. 
 
 Meantime, victory seemed at first to be with the English, 
 and Pennsylvania troops suffered severely. 
 
 In November, General Howe with a large army advanced 
 toward Philadelphia. The Assembly sent Governor Mifflin 
 to stir up the people to the need of defence. Bounties were 
 offered to volunteers, ten dollars to every man who would 
 join General Washington on or before December 20th, seven 
 dollars if before the 25th; five dollars if enlisting between the 
 25th and 30th and signing for six weeks' service. 
 
 43 
 
Owing to the English advance, Congress adjourned to 
 Baltimore while General Washington sent Major General 
 Israel Putnam to take charge of defence in Philadelphia. 
 
 On Christmas night, at McConkey's Ferry, eight miles 
 above Trenton, Washington led his troops across the Dela- 
 ware. Story and picture of that venture are well known — 
 the bitter cold, the perils from floating ice, the complete 
 silence enjoined by the Commander. It was the simple 
 exhortation, "I hope you will all fight like men," that nerved 
 each soldier's heart and arm. Between three and four 
 o'clock in the morning, the last barge landed ; then came a 
 march through the snow to surprise Trenton. The force 
 was divided, Washington leading a detachment to the north, 
 General Ewing to the south, thus approaching the town from 
 both sides. The priming of the guns was found to be wet and 
 useless. "Well, then," said General Sullivan, "We must fight 
 them with bayonets." With such commanders and such a 
 spirit, it is not strange that the Americans won a complete 
 victory. Their loss in the battle of Trenton totalled only 
 four, two privates killed and two frozen to death. 
 
 On January 2, 1777, was fought the battle of Princeton, in 
 which the Pennsylvania troops distinguished themselves by 
 special bravery. But by July, Howe was again threatening 
 Philadelphia, causing another panic. Congress called for 
 four thousand militia. Washington arrived with detach- 
 ments of colonial troops, and at this time first met General 
 Lafayette, recently come from France to aid the colonies, 
 whose spirit he admired. A firm friendship was established 
 between these two great men. Lafayette at once removed to 
 Washington's camp and submitted to all its rigors and priva- 
 tions. The threatened attack upon the Capital was diverted ; 
 for Howe found in the Delaware such difficulties for his ships 
 that he determined to approach his enemy by way of the 
 Chesapeake. But a British army of eighteen thousand men 
 disembarked near the river Elk and advanced, under Lord 
 Cornwallis, to the battle of the Brandywine. Opposed to 
 these professional soldiers, "selected from the best of the 
 British empire and of the war-like race of Hesse, and perfectly 
 equipped," Washington had fewer than twelve thousand, 
 
 44 
 
including militia, volunteers and untrained recruits. Of this 
 number, Pennsylvania furnished not more than twelve 
 hundred. With such odds against them, it was not surprising 
 that the Americans were defeated and driven back to Phila- 
 delphia, with heavy loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
 The British, however, paid almost as heavily for their victory. 
 On the twenty-sixth of September, 1777, Lord Cornwallis 
 entered the city in triumph and was welcomed by the Tories, 
 or Royalist party, which, at that time, numbered some promi- 
 nent Quakers. On the approach of Cornwallis, the General 
 Assembly, itself "rent by factions," had fled for safety to 
 Lancaster. Howe invested Philadelphia and began to clear the 
 river of its obstructions. General Washington attempted a 
 surprise attack upon Germantown; but a dense fog confused 
 the movements of his army and brought about failure. 
 
 On October seventeenth, Burgojnie surrendered to Gates 
 at Saratoga and the American revolt became a Revolution. 
 Yet, the American army at the beginning of 1778 was a sorry 
 lot of patriots. Numbering eleven thousand, nearly three 
 thousand of them were unfit for duty, "being barefoot and 
 otherwise naked," while Howe had still more than twelve 
 thousand men in good condition. 
 
 Washington took his ragged troops into winter quarters at 
 Valley Forge. The sufferings of that bitter season need no 
 description; but for the stout heart and earnest prayers of 
 their leader, the discontented, even mutinous, soldiers could 
 not have been held together until spring. But he held them 
 and again passed a critical turning which led from defeat to 
 victory. 
 
 In January, 1778, occurred the "Battle of the Kegs," later 
 celebrated in ballad form by Francis Hopkinson, author of 
 "Hail, Columbia." The kegs, prepared at Burlington, New 
 Jersey, by Pennsylvania sailors, were contrived with spring 
 locks arranged to explode on contact with any hard sub- 
 stance. These primitive mines, set afloat in large numbers, 
 drifted among the British ships and aroused great alarm. 
 All the enemy guns opened fire upon the floating kegs which 
 performed at least the service of wasting British ammunition, 
 though other damage seems to have been slight. 
 
 45 
 
In February of that year, France openly declared herself 
 in favor of the colonies and thereby greatly strengthened 
 their cause. Howe was superseded, in May, by Sir Henry 
 Clinton as commander-in-chief of the British forces. In 
 honor of General Howe, a farewell entertainment was given 
 at the country home of Mr. Wharton, near Philadelphia. 
 This was called the Mischianza and was a combination of 
 parade, regatta, banquet and ball. A water pageant on the 
 Delaware showed brilliant barges, galleys, and smaller boats, 
 filled with gaily dressed people. A procession of knights and 
 ladies attired in satins and plumed hats represented the 
 fantastic orders of the "Blended Rose" and the "Burning 
 Mountain." There was a tournament modeled after those 
 of the Middle Ages, then a grand supper followed by dancing. 
 The participants were British officers and their Tory friends. 
 A touch of pathetic interest is added to this revel by the 
 record of Major Andr^ as one of the knights. He was indeed 
 a principal factor in the pageant, painting scenery, designing 
 costumes, and making sketches of the figures. Soon to be the 
 victim of Arnold's treason, he felt no shadow of his approaching 
 fate. For us, this gayety calls up a sombre contrast to our 
 American soldiers then starving at Valley Forge. 
 
 Six days after the Mischianza, the scene had changed. An 
 order came for the evacuation of Philadelphia, accomplished 
 the eighteenth of June. English commissioners had arrived 
 to negotiate peace; but the knowledge that France was 
 supporting the colonies, and had bound herself by treaty to 
 their aid, nerved them to refusal of any modified terms. It 
 is said that General Joseph Reed, delegate to Congress, and 
 later President of Council, was offered a bribe by these 
 commissioners — £10,000 with "the best office in the colonies," 
 in return for his support of British terms. He replied, "I 
 am not worth purchasing, but such as I am, the King of 
 Great Britain is not rich enough to do it." 
 
 Congress stood firm, the British army withdrew, Conti- 
 nental troops returned. On the twenty-eighth of June, 1778, 
 General Washington won the battle of Monmouth, and his 
 victorious army re-occupied Philadelphia. Benedict Arnold 
 was ordered to take charge of the city and preserve order. 
 
 46 
 
On July 2, 1778, Congress met again in Philadelphia to frame 
 Articles of Confederation. Delegates from eight of the thirteen 
 states promptly signed these articles and, on the tenth of July, 
 a circular was sent to the five other states, urging similar action. 
 By June of the following year, all but Maryland had consented, 
 that state joining the others as late as March, 1781. 
 
 But the Confederation was only a partnership of independent 
 republics, there was as yet no real union. The faults of the 
 Confederation were many and the states were rent by factions 
 and jealousies. Several attempts to improve and strengthen 
 federal power failed of success until, in 1780, Alexander 
 Hamilton "took the field as a maker of a National Consti- 
 tution." By his advice authority was largely centralized and 
 the Confederation, in spite of faults, held the new nation 
 together until its real union— the Constitution of 1787. 
 
 Meantime, in Pennsylvania, things were far from favorable. 
 Many Indians had joined the British side and were at their 
 old game of massacre and pillage. July, 1778, saw a raid in 
 the Wyoming Valley, and cruel slaughter of the people who 
 had taken refuge in the feeble forts. The revengeful Senecas, 
 under British flag and leader, overspread the surrounding 
 territory and destroyed the labor of years. Beside the 
 murder of two hundred and twenty-five men and the driving 
 into exile scores of terrified women and children, the British 
 leader boasted that his savage allies had burned "a thousand 
 houses and every mill." 
 
 Added to Enghsh and Indian foes, Tories and traitors 
 were found among the "best citizens" of Philadelphia. The 
 Assembly tried to punish those who had been false to their 
 allegiance, but party quarrels weakened the strength of law 
 and only two flagrant traitors were convicted and hanged. 
 The long-dependable paper money was at last frightfully 
 depreciated, even three thousand per cent, below face value. 
 Necessities of Hfe, as well as its luxuries, were well-nigh 
 unattainable. There was almost no salt, tea, coffee, choco- 
 late, or sugar. Spinning was done at home, and all garments 
 were home-made; yet, even so, there was great scarcity of 
 clothing. Silk reached a price of one hundred dollars a yard. 
 Hay was sold by the pound; salt was worth from seventy-five 
 
 47 
 
to a hundred dollars per bushel. American prisoners, con- 
 fined during the British occupation of Philadelphia in the 
 State House and the Walnut Street prison, were cruelly- 
 neglected, even tortured ; numbers died from hunger and cold. 
 
 Many reasons, therefore, combined for the order in Con- 
 gress that the thirtieth of December, 1778, should be observed 
 as a day of fasting and prayer. 
 
 Yet there were ardent patriots in civil life as well as among 
 the statesmen and soldiers. When Washington applied to 
 Robert Morris, wealthy merchant and signer of the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, for money desperately needed to pay 
 the starving soldiers, there was response deserving of record. 
 On New Year morning, 1777, Morris went, before dawn, from 
 door to door among his Philadelphia neighbors collecting the 
 desired amount of $50,000 "in hard money." So ready were 
 the people with this self-sacrifice that, by sunrise, the mission 
 had been accomplished; the gift, forwarded to headquarters 
 saved the army from disorganization. 
 
 Tradition speaks also of Lydia Darragh who, placing her 
 ear to a crack in the upper flooring, overheard British officers 
 discussing their plans. This was at the time when Phila- 
 delphia was occupied by Cornwallis and Howe. The brave 
 woman managed to make her way through the line of sentries, 
 and, after incredible fatigue, to reach American headquarters 
 and put Washington on his guard. The house of Betsey Ross 
 is still preserved, where, according to another tradition, the 
 first American flag was made, under Washington's direction. 
 
 Philadelphia had grown into a town of some size at this 
 epoch— about 25,000 people. It is recorded that when its 
 inhabitants fled before British occupation, five hundred and 
 ninety dwellings and twenty-four stores were abandoned. 
 There was great destruction of property in city and in coun- 
 try, for both armies, British and Continental, indulged in 
 forage and pillaging usual to war. John Adams, coming to 
 the First Continental Congress, had written home enthu- 
 siastic letters praising "the happy, the peaceful, the elegant, 
 the hospitable, the poUte, city of Philadelphia." Fortunately 
 for such reputation, the enemy occupation was brief, and the 
 storm center of war soon moved away from Pennsylvania. 
 
 48 
 
Authority re-asserted itself. Arnold was ordered before 
 court-martial for "illegal and oppressive conduct while in 
 command of the military at Philadelphia." He fled to 
 Camp Raritan whence he addressed a "Letter to the Public," 
 attempting to justify his acts. For months he evaded trial 
 but was finally court-martialled in January, 1780, and con- 
 victed merely of "using public wagons for his own benefit," 
 but acquitted of any "corrupt intent." The sentence was 
 only a reprimand from his Commander-in-chief, but Arnold 
 never forgave the investigation. Fancied injustice rankled 
 in his mind and doubtless led to his treasonable attempt to 
 betray West Point to the British, resulting in his own ever- 
 lasting disgrace, and in the execution of brave Major Andr^. 
 When, in September, 1780, news of this treason reached 
 Philadelphia, Arnold's estate was promptly confiscated, his 
 body burned in effigy, and his wife ordered to leave the state 
 within fourteen days. Many persons, including Tories and 
 Quakers, were tried for treason though only two Quakers were 
 put to death. 
 
 Money difficulties increased and the General Assembly 
 tried to remedy them by stopping the issue of paper currency 
 and adopting a series of private loans. This gave temporary 
 relief but was not entirely successful. 
 
 To punish Indian atrocities, Washington ordered General 
 Sullivan to carry the war into the country of the Six Nations. 
 Near Newtown, on the Chemung river, thirteen thousand 
 Indians, led by Brant and aided by two hundred and fifty 
 Tories, met Colonel John Butler with a company of rangers 
 and regulars. The Indians fled, forty of their towns were 
 destroyed and the whole Genesee County was swept clean of 
 hostile tribes. 
 
 Yet, even after this, raids continued and neither New York 
 nor Pennsylvania was wholly free from fear of massacre until, 
 at the end of the century, civilization had crowded out the 
 savages. 
 
 In 1780, Congress passed an act for the gradual abolition of 
 slavery in Pennsylvania. In spite of foes without and 
 within, both Commonwealth and Union were advancing. 
 But again a British Army threatened. Sir Henry Clinton 
 
 49 
 
entered New Jersey and fears arose that there might be trea- 
 sonable communications with him. Stringent laws were 
 passed against "strangers" in the State. Search was made 
 for concealed weapons, and horses belonging to Tories were 
 seized by the government. 
 
 On the night of January first, 1781, a part of the "Pennsyl- 
 vania Line," many of them raw Irish troops, mutinied at 
 Morristown, New Jersey. Under lead of their non-com- 
 missioned officers, they marched to Princeton, bringing with 
 them six guns. For a year they had received no pay, they 
 were without sufficient clothes and food, they had been com- 
 pelled to serve beyond the time for which they had enlisted. 
 These privations, they declared, were no longer to be endured. 
 Sir Henry Clinton sent spies to offer bribes for desertion to 
 the British side and the fact that two of these enemy mes- 
 sengers were seized and hanged proves that the revolt was one 
 against conditions rather than against their cause. 
 
 Joseph Reed, president of the Pennsylvania Council, went 
 to reason with the mutineers. He discharged those who 
 claimed that their time was up, quickly gathered, from the 
 state, money and clothing for the remaining troops, and 
 quelled the revolt. There were signs of similar rebellion on the 
 part of other regiments, but Washington held them to duty. 
 Lafayette, wi-iting to his wife of these events exclaimed, 
 "Human patience has its limits! No European army would 
 suffer the tenth part of what the American troops suffer." 
 
 In February, 1781, the Pennsylvania regiments were 
 ordered to join General Wayne at York and thence go south 
 to combine with Geneial Green's army for the investment of 
 Yorktown, Virginia. Here, on the nineteenth of October, 
 1781, Lord Cornwallis capitulated and the American Revolu- 
 tion was finally won. When Congress received, from General 
 Washington, news of the capitulation, the whole body, fol- 
 lowed by all the populace, adjourned in procession to the 
 Dutch Lutheran Church to return thanks to God. At night 
 there was a grand illumination in the Philadelphia streets 
 and the people were wild with joy. Congress voted the 
 thanks of the nation with honors to Washington, the allied 
 French generals, and all officers of the American Army. 
 
 50 
 
First word of Cornwallis' surrender reached England on 
 November 25. "It is all over," said Lord North. Parlia- 
 ment voted to give up "all further attempts to reduce the 
 revolted colonies," while the city of London sent to the King 
 a petition praying that he "put an end to this unnatural and 
 unfortunate war." But the King stubbornly refused his 
 consent; the utmost that, after many delays, could be 
 extorted from him, was an agreement not to veto any vote 
 for the independence of the colonies. It was not until 
 November thirtieth, 1782 — a year after the surrender of 
 Cornwallis — that commissioners from England and America 
 signed at Paris the treaty of peace. Benjamin Franklin, 
 to whose persistence its success was largely due, was among 
 the commissioners, and on that triumphant day he exclaimed, 
 "Could I have hoped, at such an age, to have enjoyed so 
 great happiness!" 
 
 The following spring the news had reached America and 
 formal ratification of the treaty confirmed the birth of a new 
 nation. It is one of the pleasant coincidences of history that 
 the first English ship to fly the American flag sailed up the 
 Thames river, bearing the name "William Penn." 
 
 Colonial history ends with the birth of the State. In 
 May, 1787, a convention at Philadelphia framed the Federal 
 Constitution and established the New Republic on a firm 
 foundation. 
 
 To Pennsylvania, although she had been slow to declare 
 independence, belongs the honor of being one of the first to 
 ratify the Constitution and to take her proud place as 
 Keystone in the Arch of triumphant Democracy. 
 
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