William Penn played a crucial role in the articulation of religious
liberty as a philosophical and political value during the second
half of the seventeenth century and as a core element of the
classical liberal tradition in general. Penn was not only one of
the most vocal spokesmen for liberty of conscience in Restoration
England, but he also oversaw a great colonizing endeavor that
attempted to instantiate his tolerationist commitments in practice.
His thought has relevance not only for scholars of English
political and religious history, but also for those who are
interested in the foundations of American religious liberty,
political development, and colonial history. This volume
illuminates the origins and development of Penn's thought by
presenting, for the first time, complete and annotated texts of all
his important political works.Penn's early political writings
illuminate the Whig understanding of English politics as guided by
the ancient constitution (epitomized by Magna Charta and its
elaboration of English native rights). The ancient constitution
symbolized, for Penn and other Whigs, a balanced governing
relationship between King and Parliament, established from
antiquity and offering a standard against which to judge the
actions of particular Parliaments. The values of liberty, property,
and consent (as represented by Parliament) provide the basis for
Penn's advocacy of liberty of conscience in Restoration England.
During the 1660s and 1670s, Penn used his social prominence as well
as the time afforded him by several imprisonments to compose a
number of works advocating religious toleration and defending the
ancient constitution as a guarantor of popular liberties. In the
1680s, Penn's political thought emphasized the substantive
importance of toleration as a fundamental right and the civil
magistrate's duty to grant such freedom regardless of those
interests in society (e.g., the Church of England, Tories in
Parliament) who might oppose it. His social status, indefatigable
energy for publication, and command of biblical and historical
sources give Penn's political writings a twofold significance: as a
window on toleration and liberty of conscience, perhaps the most
vexing issue of Restoration politics; and as part of a broader
current of thought that would influence political thought and
practice in the colonies as well as in the mother country.William
Penn (1644-1718) lived during the two great political and religious
upheavals in seventeenth-century England: the Civil Wars of the
1640s and the 1688 Revolution. He was expelled from Christ Church
College, Cambridge, for religious nonconformity, and in 1667 he
converted to Quakerism. After his conversion, he worked as a
preacher, writer, and spokesman for the Quakers, promoting
religious liberty and attempting to advance the interests of the
Quakers in the American colonies.
General
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