William Penn and Pan-Utopianism
Open AccessWilliam Penn lived during an era of great intellectual and social advancement, as well as a time plagued by warfare, religious intolerance, and absolutism. As Europe and its New World colonies suffered from the ill-affects of war, Penn and his contemporaries envisioned happier times wherein society would adopt utopian principles to secure peace, prosperity, and harmony. Over his lifetime, Penn continually sought after the establishment of a `city upon a hill.' The purpose of this thesis is to examine Penn's colony of Pennsylvania and three proposals that he offered for the establishment of a utopian society. From his earliest days as a Quaker, Penn argued for the toleration of dissecting Protestant sects and the protection of the rights of Englishmen. These principles carried over into the charter granted unto him for colony in North America, in which he established his "Holy Experiment" of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the physical attempt at building a society for others to emulate. Though it eventually failed, Pennsylvania acted as the foundation for three other proposals in which Penn argued for multiple government entities working together to secure common goals of defense, economic prosperity, and a more just society. William Penn's purpose in life was reflected in these attempts to establish a utopian society of toleration and peace.
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