Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, William Penn was a distinguished statesman and a principled defender of human rights and religious liberty. Born on October 14, 1644, to Anglican parents, William Penn converted to Quakerism after hearing the famous apostle Thomas Loe. He spent much of his time in prison for his radical preaching for personal property and religious rights. In 1672, he wrote the concessions and agreements charter for a group of Quaker colonists who were settling in the newly acquired New Jersey. Among its provisions were the right to trial by jury, the freedom from arbitrary imprisonment for debt, and edict against capital punishment. Penn also strongly urged religious freedom, writing, and I quote, ``No men hath power or authority to rule over men's consciences in religious matters.'' Penn is more famously known, however, as the founder of Pennsylvania. He designed the city of Philadelphia as a rectangular gridiron with a center square that divided the city into four quadrants. Penn planned for the city's principal public buildings, the meeting house, school, and statehouse. His conception of Philadelphia has been characterized as one of the earliest attempts at utopian city planning and represented the most extensively preplanned American city at that time. I must confess, Mr. Speaker, that every time I visit Philadelphia, I am always amazed at the ideas and concepts that Penn had even at that time.”