Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been an extraordinary summer celebrating America\u2019s 250th, but before we shift our focus from the events of 1776, we would direct the minds of our fellow Pennsylvanians to an earlier period \u2014 to the founding of the commonwealth and to William Penn\u2019s forward-thinking advocacy for religious and political freedom and his belief in democratic self-government. These ideas were central to his political philosophy and plans for the early government of Pennsylvania. They also found their way into the democratic experiment we steward today.<\/p>\n
Although Philadelphia played an important role in setting the stage for a stunning world event \u2014 the birth of American democracy \u2014 the city was more than just a geographically convenient location for the nation\u2019s founders to gather. <\/p>\n
By the time of the Revolution, Pennsylvania had become an important intellectual and economic center of the colonies, and the unique political culture and form of government established at its founding helped inform and inspire the development of American democracy, later embodied in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. <\/p>\n
As Pennsylvanians, we are the inheritors of this impressive and innovative political heritage, a legacy that should be an important point of civic pride and inspiration for local patriotism.<\/p>\n
Think about this: a decade after Penn arrived in America and began the work of establishing a refuge for religious dissenters, colonial Massachusetts accused nearly 200 individuals of witchcraft and executed 19 people. Massachusetts had a state religion until 1833; Pennsylvania never had a state religion. <\/p>\n
After the end of the short-lived Maryland Toleration Act, Pennsylvania became the only colony where the Catholic church enjoyed ongoing, legally secure protection. <\/p>\n
And, of course, Pennsylvania is also home to the \u201cSynagogue of the American Revolution,\u201d Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the nation dating to 1740.<\/p>\n
As historian Nicolas P. Miller<\/a> observed, the success of colonial Pennsylvania was linked in the minds of many onlookers to the freedoms, particularly religious liberty, that its inhabitants enjoyed. <\/p>\n To remind Pennsylvanians of our special birthright of religious tolerance, farsighted political liberties, and a long tradition of self-government that pre-date the nation, Poor Richards Charitable Trust, the William Penn Foundation, the Connelly Foundation, and the Syde Hurdus Foundation \u2014in partnership with Drexel University<\/a>\u2019s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships and the National Constitution Center \u2014 are presenting a new exhibit: \u201cPennsylvania\u2019s Founding: How a City and a Colony Shaped America\u2019s Civic DNA.\u201d <\/p>\n For the first time, this exhibit will bring together original versions of several of the most important artifacts that helped define the civic and political character of early Pennsylvania and tell the story of how the founding of the commonwealth helped inspire American democracy. <\/p>\n They include the 1681 Pennsylvania Charter, signed by King Charles II, establishing the colony and granting Penn authority to govern; Penn\u2019s 1701 Charter of Privileges, a framework of government for Pennsylvania until 1776, establishing religious freedom and other liberties and protections; a Lenape wampum belt given to William Penn, associated with the 1682 Treaty of Shackamaxon, symbolizing a hoped-for moment of peace and cooperation; the 1696 Quaker Protest Against Slavery, one of the earliest in the Americas, and materials connected to early abolitionist Benjamin Lay; and other artifacts that clearly document Penn\u2019s and Pennsylvania\u2019s key contributions to the establishment of American democracy.<\/p>\n