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The new British government's discouragement of religious dissent gave the Cavaliers license to harass the minority groups. Because of his father's high position and social status, young Penn was firmly a Cavalier but his sympathies lay with the persecuted Quakers. To avoid conflict, Penn withdrew from the fray and became a reclusive scholar. [20]
William Penn, an English Quaker, sought to construct a new type of community with religious toleration and a great deal of political freedom.It is believed that Penn's political philosophy is embodied in the West Jersey Concessions and Agreements of 1677, which is an earlier practical experience of government constitution prior to the establishment of Pennsylvania.
The New England Colonies, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were substantially motivated by their founders' concerns related to the practice of religion. The other colonies were founded for business and economic expansion. The Middle Colonies were established on the former Dutch colony of New Netherland.
After the passage of the Residence Act, Philadelphia again served as the capital of the nation from 1790 to 1800 prior to the development of Washington, D.C. as the nation's new capital. Pennsylvania ratified a new state constitution in 1790, which replaced the state's executive council with a governor and a bicameral legislature .
The colony's capital of New Amsterdam was founded in 1625 and located at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan, which grew to become a major world city. The city was captured by the English in 1664; they took complete control of the colony in 1674 and renamed it New York. However the Dutch landholdings remained, and the Hudson River ...
The colony's laws were based on a hybrid of English common law and religious law as laid out in the Bible. [39] The colonial authorities were deeply influenced by Calvinist theology, and were convinced that democracy was the form of government mandated by God. [42] [43] The colony offered nearly all adult males potential citizenship.
Most important, colonial legislatures set up a legal system that was conducive to business enterprise by resolving disputes, enforcing contracts, and protecting property rights. Hard work and entrepreneurship characterized the New England region, as the Puritans and Yankees endorsed the " Protestant Work Ethic " which enjoined men to work hard ...
Winthrop led the first large wave of colonists from England in 1630 and served as governor for 12 of the colony's first 20 years. His writings and vision of the colony as a Puritan "city upon a hill" dominated New England colonial development, influencing the governments and religions of neighboring colonies in addition to those of Massachusetts.