The Pennsylvania Colony

Children's Literature

William Penn remains one of the more peaceful figures in American history. Chartered by the King of England to establish a colony based upon tolerance, Penn established what came to be known as Pennsylvania. Named in a manner that combined Penn's name as well as the term for woods, Pennsylvania rapidly became a prosperous and reasonably run colony. One particularly significant difference between Pennsylvania and most other New World colonies was the perspective of its leaders toward Native Americans. Unlike other locations, where a systematic expropriation and destruction of Native American people was the norm, William Penn called for fair treatment of those populations. Penn saw Native Americans as fellow human beings and not inferiors to be exploited. Sadly, despite Penn's perspectives on this issue Native American populations ultimately were forced westwards and out of their ancestral homes in Pennsylvania. In The Pennsylvania Colony, elementary age readers are provided a rapid-fire introduction to this subject. Short chapters linked to illustrations lay out in brief the life and times of colonialists who settled in the fertile regions of Pennsylvania. Topics such as childhood, education, and life styles all are presented in a concise manner. This is a nice book to whet the appetites of youngsters with an interest in American history and is part of a broader series entitled "The Colonies." 2001, ABDO Publishing Company, Romaneck