Our first century . These things were given to himand accepted by him to indicate that all the land, withits forests, its fields and its streams, were thus transferredto his control. It was Penns plan to found his colony upon a basis ofcomplete religious liberty, as he understood it. He called together a legislature repre-sentative of the people, andorganized a body decreed thatevery man in the colony—whether English or foreign^Dorn—should be entitled tovote in all its elections solong as he paid his further decreed that allChristians of whatsoeverdenomination should b
Our first century . These things were given to himand accepted by him to indicate that all the land, withits forests, its fields and its streams, were thus transferredto his control. It was Penns plan to found his colony upon a basis ofcomplete religious liberty, as he understood it. He called together a legislature repre-sentative of the people, andorganized a body decreed thatevery man in the colony—whether English or foreign^Dorn—should be entitled tovote in all its elections solong as he paid his further decreed that allChristians of whatsoeverdenomination should be en-titled to hold public officeupon election by their fel-low citizens. In that timesuch a government as this was thought to be extremelyliberal, for in that day it had scarcely occurred to anyman outside of Rhode Island that Jews and unbelievers,and other persons who were not classed as Christians,were entitled, or could be entitled, to equal rights withtheir fellow men even in a liberal Quaker William Penns chair, in Inde-pendence Hall, Philadelphia. NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA 135 The fact still remained that the little colony of RhodeIsland was the only region on this great continent whereany such things as real and unrestrained religious liberty,and the absolute equality of men before the law, as wenow understand these things, were fully recognized,though Connecticut was a close rival of Rhode Island inliberality. Nevertheless the liberality of Penns govern-ment was so much greater than that which existed inmost of the colonies that immigrants rapidly flowed intoPennsylvania not only from Europe but from the othercolonies and speedily built it up into one of the mostpopulous of the provinces. It was William Penns policy from the first to makeand keep peace with the Indians round about him. Thispolicy was in strict accordance with his religion, whichtaught that all war is wrong and wicked. But it wasalso good policy from the point of view of business in
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