5th grade Leveled Reader

[page 3] [words: 131]
[ART: art of a ship that one would have taken from England to America in 1681]

William wrote about some of the things that he felt all people should have or be protected from. These included things such as the right to a trial by jury, the unfairness about going to jail for the crime of owing money, and he was very much against capital punishment. As we will see, these ideas became very important to William’s role in the Americas.
William spent time in Ireland where he, again, was sent to prison for his unpopular and radical views. He was unsettled and restless for many years. King Charles II owed William’s father a debt. William took this opportunity to move to the New World. In 1681 he was given a charter for land in what is now Pennsylvania. And William was off to the New World.


[page 4] [words: 121]
[ART: famous painting of William Penn and his treaty with the Indians]
[A-head] Life in America
William Penn arrived in his new home of Pennsylvania in 1682. One of the first things he did was to sign a treaty with the Native Americans living in the area. The Delaware tribe lived in the area that William was coming to claim. As those who settled land before him found, the Native Americans were not always willing to simply turn over what was their land and homes to the newly arrived English. Fighting and conflict often occurred.
William Penn approached the Delaware with ideas for a treaty and with money to pay them for the land he was about to settle. Securing peace with the local tribes allowed William to set up his colony without the fear of attack.






[page 5] [words: 137]
[ART: map of the city of Philadelphia as it was built]
[A-head] The City of Philadelphia
William was bringing many of his Quaker values to his new colony, which was named Pennsylvania in honor of his father. He made sure that the people in Pennsylvania could live knowing that they were not going to be sent to prison for their religious beliefs.
He began to plan the capitol city of Philadelphia, which means “the city of brotherly love”. Philadelphia was a well planned city with parks, wide streets, and homes with large yards and river-side views. William had seen some of the problems associated with over crowding in London and was determined to ensure that his new city did not have the same problems.
William was so sure of his relationship with the Delaware that he did not built walls around the city of Philadelphia. William had truly found a path for peace.
[page 6] [words: 136]
[ART: conflicts in Pennsylvania]

[A-head] Penn Returns to England

Life was good in Pennsylvania but trouble was brewing in England. The reign of Charles II was coming to an end and the Quakers were again in trouble. William III, the new king, did not like the teachings of Quakerism and was imprisoning its members. William Penn traveled back to England to help his fellow Quakers. Pennsylvania was left in the hands of others. William was again sent to prison in England for treason and was unable to oversee what was happening back in his colony.
Many of the ideas of freedom and peace that William had built his colony on were being challenged now in his absence. The leaders were arguing and the colony became unsettled. When William finally was able to return to Pennsylvania, in 1701, he went to work to restore the peace.
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