Editing Charter of Pennsylvania (section)

== Religious and Political Significance ==

For Penn, the charter's greatest significance lay not in its economic provisions but in the opportunity it created to establish a society based on Quaker principles. The Religious Society of Friends faced severe persecution in England, where members were fined, imprisoned, and sometimes killed for their beliefs. Penn had experienced this persecution personally, spending time in the Tower of London and other prisons for his religious activities. The charter gave him the chance to create what he called a "Holy Experiment"—a colony where Quakers and other persecuted groups could practice their faith freely and participate in self-governance.<ref name="dunn">{{cite book |last=Dunn |first=Mary Maples |last2=Dunn |first2=Richard S. |title=The World of William Penn |year=1986 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia}}</ref>

Penn immediately began drafting a Frame of Government for Pennsylvania that would translate Quaker ideals into political institutions. The Frame, completed in 1682, established a representative assembly, guaranteed religious freedom, and protected individual rights—innovations that distinguished Pennsylvania from most other colonies. Penn's promotional literature, published throughout Europe, emphasized these freedoms, attracting settlers from England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The result was one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse colonies in British North America, a characteristic that continues to define Philadelphia and Pennsylvania today.<ref name="bronner"/>