William Penn Life, 2016 (51. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2016-07-01 / 7. szám

What's in a name?

It is particularly fitting that a fraternal life insurance society headquartered in Pittsburgh be named William Penn. Following my last visit to the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, I thought WPA members might be even more proud of the name of their fraternal organization if reminded of all that William Penn and his wife Hannah contributed to Pennsylvania's history.

As most people know, William Penn was a Quaker, a philosopher, a real estate entrepreneur and the founder of Pennsylvania. In 1681, King Charles II of England gave him a large parcel of land to satisfy a debt owed to Penn's father, so Penn sailed here in 1682. The colonists pledged allegiance to him as Penn was an early supporter of colonial unification, which would eventually lead to the United States of America. Always an advoWhy it’s fitting for our Association to be named after William Penn

by Kathy Megyeri

cate of democracy and religious freedom, Penn even made successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans with whom he had good relations. He later set forth democratic principles that served as a framework for the U.S. Constitution.

As a Pacifist Quaker, he proposed a united Europe. Under his leadership, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed. He wrote extensively because he wanted believers to adhere to the spirit of Primitive Christianity, but that resulted in his imprisonment several times in the Tower of London, where he wrote No Cross, No Crown, a classic in Christian theology.

After arriving in America, he parceled out 300,000 acres of land to attract other persecuted minorities, such as Catholics and Lutherans from Europe. Surprisingly,

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