A Brief History of the United States. John Bach McMaster
East and West Jersey. Lord Berkeley sold his part—West Jersey—to some Quakers, and a Quaker colony was planted at Burlington. Carteret's portion—East Jersey—was sold after his death to William Penn [9] and other Quakers, who had acquired West Jersey also. In 1702, however, the proprietors gave up their right to govern, and the two colonies were united into the one royal province of New Jersey.
PENNSYLVANIA.—Penn had joined the Friends, or Quakers, when a very young man. The part he took in the settlement of New Jersey led him to think of founding a colony where not only the Quakers, but any others who were persecuted, might find a refuge, and where he might try a "holy experiment" in government after his own ideas. The king was therefore petitioned "for a tract of land in America lying north of Maryland," and in 1681 Penn received a large block of land, which was named Pennsylvania, or Penn's Woodland. [10]
[Illustration: CHARLES II AND PENN.]
PHILADELPHIA FOUNDED.—Having received his charter, Penn wrote an account of his province and circulated it in England, Ireland, Wales, Holland, and Germany. In the autumn of 1681 three shiploads of colonists were sent over. Penn himself came the next spring, and made his way to the spot chosen for the site of Philadelphia. The land belonged to three Swedish brothers; so Penn bought it, and began the work of marking out the streets and building houses. Before a year went by, Philadelphia was a town of eighty houses.
PENN AND THE INDIANS.—In dealing with the Indians the aim of Penn was to make them friends. Before coming over he sent letters to be read to them.. After his arrival he walked with them, sat with them to watch their young men dance, joined in their feasts, and, it is said, planned a sort of court or jury of six whites and six Indians to settle disputes with the natives. In June, 1683, Penn met the Indians and made a treaty which, unlike most other treaties, was kept by both parties.
THE GOVERNMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA.—As proprietor of Pennsylvania it became the duty of Penn to provide a government for the settlers, which he did in the Frame of Government. This provided for a governor appointed by the proprietor, a legislature of two houses elected by the people, judges partly elected by the people, and a vote by ballot. [11] In 1701 Penn granted a new constitution which kept less power for his governor, and gave more power and rights to the legislature and the people. This was called the Charter of Privileges, and it remained in force as long as Pennsylvania was a colony.
THE "TERRITORIES," OR DELAWARE.—Pennsylvania had no frontage on the sea, and its boundaries were disputed by the neighboring colonies. [12] To secure an outlet to the sea, Penn applied to the Duke of York for a grant of the territory on the west bank of the Delaware River to its mouth, and was granted what is now Delaware. This region was also included in Lord Baltimore's grant of Maryland, and the dispute over it between the two proprietors was not settled till 1732, when the present boundary was agreed upon. Penn intended to add Delaware to Pennsylvania, but the people of these "territories," or "three lower counties," objected, and in 1703 secured a legislature of their own, though they remained under the governor of Pennsylvania.
[Illustration: PENN'S RAZOR, CASE, AND HOT WATER TANK. Now in the possession of the Pennsylvania Historical Society.]
THE PEOPLING OF PENNSYLVANIA.—The toleration and liberality of Penn proved so attractive to the people of the Old World that emigrants came over in large numbers. They came not only from England and Wales, but also from other parts of Europe. In later times thousands of Germans settled in the middle part of the colony, and many Scotch-Irish (people of Scottish descent from northern Ireland) on the western frontier and along the Maryland border.
As a consequence of this great migration Pennsylvania became one of the
most populous of the colonies. It had many flourishing towns, of which
Philadelphia was the largest. This was a fine specimen of a genuine
English town, and was one of the chief cities in English America.
Between the towns lay some of the richest farming regions in America. The Germans especially were fine farmers, raised great crops, bred fine horses, and owned farms whose size was the wonder of all travelers. The laborers were generally indentured servants or redemptioners.
[Illustration: CAROLINA BY THE GRANT OF 1665.]
CAROLINA.—When Charles II became king in 1660, there were only two southern colonies, Virginia and Maryland. Between the English settlements in Virginia and the Spanish settlements in Florida was a wide stretch of unoccupied land, which in 1663 he granted for a new colony called Carolina in his honor. [13]
Two groups of settlements were planted. One in the north, called the Albemarle Colony, was of people from Virginia; the other, in the south, the Carteret Colony, was of people from England, who founded Charleston (1670). John Locke, a famous English philosopher, at the request of the proprietors drew up a form of government, [14] but it was opposed by the colonists and never went into effect. Each colony, however, had its own governor, who was sent out by the proprietors till 1729, when the proprietors surrendered their rights to the king. The province of Carolina was then formally divided into two colonies known as North and South Carolina.
LIFE IN NORTH CAROLINA.—The people of North Carolina lived on small farms and owned few slaves. In the towns were a few mechanics and storekeepers, in whose hands was all the commerce of the colony. They bought and sold everything, and supplied the farms and small plantations. In the northern part of the colony tobacco was grown, in the southern part rice and indigo; and in all parts lumber, tar, pitch, and turpentine were produced. Herds of cattle and hogs ran wild in the woods, bearing their owner's brands, to alter which was a crime.
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