As Americans, it is difficult for most of us to understand what William Penn and his fellow Quakers experienced. Being a member of an excluded religious sect in 17th and 18th century England was hard to say. the least. The constant fear of persecution, discrimination, imprisonment, and even death was a reality that most Quakers had to face daily. So why have the beliefs of the Quakers led the monarchy, Parliament and English citizens in general to have such a low opinion of the followers of this seemingly peaceful religion? The social upheaval triggered by the English Civil War of the 17th century spawned many different religious groups, including the Society of Friends. Founded by George Fox in the 1640s, the Society of Friends became known as Quakers, a term derived from the believer's physical trembling when experiencing union with God (p. 14). The Quakers, led by Fox, came to reject almost all outward forms of worship. The essence of his belief was that people's souls communicated directly with God, who revealed himself to the faithful through an "Inner Light", which was the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, who was perhaps within every person. Fox believed that a person can only find their Inner Light through a mystical experience, an emotional and spiritual exchange, which would lead to a union between God and the believer (p. 15). The Society of Friends took to the Puritan extreme the condemnation of religious rituals and church hierarchy, the rejection of all sacraments, liturgies and paid intermediaries for Quakers believed that all interfered with direct communion between the human soul and God. They renounced formalized work... middle of paper ... consent of both chambers (p. 91-93). As for the question of whether or not William Penn was an enlightened and peaceful founder or was he a profit oriented colonizer, I support the former. There is no doubt that Mr. Penn greatly enjoyed the luxuries and comforts his wealth afforded him, but it was this same wealth and his desire to increase it that led him to ultimately petition the king for a land grant establishing Pennsylvania. His wealth also provided him with the means to travel across Europe to proselytize on behalf of his Quaker religion, allowing him to come into contact with men with radical views on freedom, rights and the form of republican government. I find it appropriate that a man who helped found a colony that would later, along with its sister colonies, help found our country, should be a capitalist, an altruistic capitalist at that...