William Penn Influence On American History

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Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn, was the second state to become part of the United States on December 12, 1787. Penn’s father was owed a great amount by King Charles II and, after his death, Penn was granted a vast area of land that he called “Sylvania.” After his death, King Charles II deemed it “Pennsylvania,” meaning “Penn’s Woods.” William Penn, at the age of 22, became a quaker despite his father being Admiral Sir William Penn. “King Charles II of England had a large loan with Penn's father, after whose death, King Charles settled by granting Penn a large area west and south of New Jersey on March 4, 1681. Penn called the area Sylvania (Latin for woods), which Charles changed to Pennsylvania in honor of the elder Penn” (US History). This is just the beginning of Pennsylvania, however. Pennsylvania …show more content…
If the Native Americans knew exactly what they were doing with the land, history may have played out very differently. If they kept their land, Pennsylvania might not have existed. After the Europeans had the land they needed, they fought the Native Americans for any extra land they wanted. The Indians joined the French in the French and Indian War because the French knew the Indians wanted their land back. The French were going to end up taking over the land anyway, but less of it than the British took. The British pulled through, and ended the war in victory. When the Revolutionary War deceased, the newly-founded America decided to expand its borders. The new colonists ventured out into the wilderness West of where the colonies were and established civilizations that became the provinces of the states that would end up being added to the United States later on in history. Pennsylvania was a part in all of this in the governmental aspect more than anything since Philadelphia was a very big political area at the time and held some governmental