William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 for religious as well as economic reasons. Penn wanted a haven for the Society of Friends (Quakers) whose members were being persecuted in England. Pennsylvania means “Penn’s Woods.” King Charles II of England insisted that Penn be included in the name of the colony in honor of the founder’s father who was an admiral in the British navy.

Pennsylvania was also noted for its toleration of numerous religious and national groups. In one of his constitutions, William Penn stated that all believers in one God were to be tolerated, but that only Christians were allowed to hold office.

Among those tolerated were Amish, Church of the Brethren and Mennonites. Since many of these sects were from Germany, they were called Pennsylvania “Dutch,” the anglicized version of Deutch, the German word for German.

Penn also reduced the severity of punishment for crime. In England at this time, more than 200 offenses were punishable by death. In his Constitution of 1682, Penn kept only murder and treason as capital offenses. Also unlike England, a person in prison in Pennsylvania was not required to pay room and board.

Finally, the most unique aspect of Pennsylvania’s colonial charter were clauses stating that Pennsylvania was subject to the acts of Parliament and that laws made in Pennsylvania had to be sent to England within five years and the king in Privy Council had six months to disallow them. These provisions (judicial review and veto by the Privy Council and legislative control at a higher level) helped establish the U. S. constitutional principles of judicial review by the Supreme Court, the veto by the president and federalism (division of governmental powers at two levels).