what was penns belief about about the treatment of native americans

What did William Penn do to help the natives?

William Penn and Native Americans. William Penn believed strongly that Indians should be treated fairly. He traveled to the interior of the colony and befriended different Native American tribes. He insisted that the Native Americans be paid a fair price for any land that was purchased from them.

What was the purpose of William Penn's Treaty with the Lenape?

Benjamin West's painting (in 1771) of William Penn's 1682 treaty with the Lenape. William Penn believed strongly that Indians should be treated fairly. He traveled to the interior of the colony and befriended different Native American tribes. He insisted that the Native Americans be paid a fair price for any land that was purchased from them.

What is Penn’s treaty with the Indians?

Read about the painting and its historical context Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indians illustrates a scene in which the Quaker leader William Penn is trading peacefully with leaders of the Lenni Lenape and Delaware peoples.

How does Jennings see Penn's relationship with the natives?

Jennings sees William Penn's relationship with Native peoples emerging from and in alignment with his overall concept of his colony "Pennsylvania.".

How did colonists in Pennsylvania treat Native Americans?

Native Americans were encouraged to come to Philadelphia if they had grievances. For almost 75 years, from 1682 to 1755, Pennsylvania was the only colony that didn't have an army but had peace. Word of these special people spread, and Native Americans throughout the colonies respected them.

What was Pennsylvania relations with Native American?

By the 1790s, Native Americans and Pennsylvania's European peoples were permanently estranged from each other, and no Indian nations retained secure possession of homelands within the state's borders. By 1754, European colonization had substantially altered the location and number of Native Americans in Pennsylvania.

What happened to the Native Americans in Pennsylvania?

There are no federally recognized Indian tribes in Pennsylvania, although the most recent census reports an American Indian population of more than 12,000. The Lenape continue to have a modern presence and are working to preserve the heritage of the Algonquian-speaking tribes of eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Did Pennsylvania Colony have Native Americans?

Before European settlement, Pennsylvania was inhabited by many native tribes, including the Erie, Honniasont, Huron, Iroquois (especially Seneca and Oneida), Leni Lenape, Munsee, Shawnee, Susquehannock, and unknown others.

What did William Penn teach us?

Though his “ Holy Experiment ” came to an end, William Penn taught us how different people could coexist.

Why did Native Americans come to Philadelphia?

Native Americans were encouraged to come to Philadelphia if they had grievances. For almost 75 years, from 1682 to 1755, Pennsylvania was the only colony that didn’t have an army but had peace. Word of these special people spread, and Native Americans throughout the colonies respected them.

Why did William Penn steal land?

An English Quaker seeking to live free of religious persecution, Penn took the land in exchange for debts the King owed to Penn's family. A recent article about Christopher Columbus incorrectly mentioned that William Penn stole lands from Native Americans. Penn was a devout Quaker who went to prison for his beliefs.

What did the Quakers believe?

The Quakers were pacifists and believed that the “spark of God” was in everyone. In establishing his “ Holy Experiment ”, Penn had to decide how to reconcile his pacifist beliefs in a dangerous environment. He decided to treat the “savages” with dignity and respect. His critics said it would never work. Native Americans were encouraged to come ...

What was the result of the expanding British and French empires’ land claims in western Pennsylvania?

The expanding British and French empires’ land claims in western Pennsylvania resulted in the French and Indian War. Most Quaker politicians resigned from the Assembly rather than vote for military expenses. Though his “ Holy Experiment ” came to an end, William Penn taught us how different people could coexist.

Why did William Penn establish a model trial system for disputes between Indians and settlers?

To ensure his rule of equality, Penn established a model trial system for disputes between Indians and settlers. Each side was allowed the same number of men on the jury. Because of William Penn's fair dealings , Pennsylvania was one of the few colonies that did not have Indian uprisings.

What were William Penn's accomplishments?

Key Accomplishments: Incorporating Quaker ethics into his colony of Pennsylvania, Penn created a peaceful and prosperous territory that people flocked to.

Why was William Penn imprisoned?

After being imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs , Penn realized the Anglican church had too strong a hold in England and would not tolerate the Friends' Church there. The government owed Penn's family £16,000 in back wages for William's late father, so William Penn struck a deal with the King. Penn got a charter for a colony in America, in exchange ...

What was William Penn's legacy?

Pennsylvania, his legacy, became one of the most populated and prosperous of the colonies. Even though William Penn lost £30,000 in the process, he considered his Holy Experiment in Quaker rule a success.

What was William Penn's radical move?

Religious Tolerance. Perhaps the most radical move William Penn made was complete religious tolerance in Pennsylvania. He remembered too well the court battles and prison sentences he had served in England. In Quaker fashion, Penn saw no threat from other religious groups.

What was the Golden Rule of Pennsylvania?

In keeping with the Golden Rule, William Penn assured the right of private property, freedom from restrictions on business, a free press, and trial by jury. Such liberty was unheard of in the American colonies controlled by the Puritans. In those areas, any political dissent was a crime.

Why did the colony of Pennsylvania get its name?

Penn got a charter for a colony in America, in exchange for canceling the debt. The King came up with the name "Pennsylvania," meaning "Forests of Penn," to honor the Admiral. Penn would be the administrator, and at the start of every year, he was to pay the King two beaver pelts and a fifth of any gold and silver mined within the colony.

What is Benjamin West's treaty with the Indians useful for?

Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (1771-72) will be useful in the study of: America before the Revolutionary War. The colonization of America. Migration and settlement. Native American history.

Why did William Penn paint the portrait of Thomas?

The painting was also meant to bolster the reputation of William Penn’s son Thomas, who hadn’t been very fair in his dealings with the local Natives, and whose near royal authority over the colony was not popular on the eve of the revolutionary War . He was the one who commissioned the painting. It helped to be able to point to something that showed you and your ancestors had been kind, benevolent, and fair.

How long is Benjamin West's treaty with the Indians?

The video “ The making of an American myth: Benjamin West, Penn’s Treaty with the Indians ” is only four minutes long. Ideally, the video should provide an active rather than a passive classroom experience.

Why was the painting "The Colonizers" commissioned?

It was commissioned about 100 years after the scene it shows, and is meant to show the way people wanted to believe that colonization happened.

Who was the Quaker leader who met with the Lenni Lenape and Delaware peoples?

Making myths. Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indians illustrates a scene in which the Quaker leader William Penn is trading peacefully with leaders of the Lenni Lenape and Delaware peoples. It is a recounting of a popular belief that in 1682, Penn met with the Lenni Lenape and Delaware peoples under an elm tree at Shackamaxon ...

Who granted the rights to the land to the Native Americans?

He had been granted the rights to the land by King Charles II of England, but as a Quaker he is shown choosing to do what was morally and ethically right within his beliefs and negotiating peacefully to compensate the Native Americans who were living in what the colonists called Pennsylvania Colony.

Who funded seeing America?

Explore the diverse history of the United States through its art. Seeing America is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

What was Penn's relationship with the Natives?

Furthermore, Penn's relationship with the Natives ties in with his overall concept of his colony. He had a just and fair plan, though one formed by a conception of himself of lord of his domain. His planning was simultaneously 'idealistic' and pragmatic; he had grand visions of life in the New World, and realized them as much as was practicable. And as the various iconographers of Colonial America, including the Capitol sculptors, realized, his method did stand out from his contemporaries. While those who would argue that he essentially sought the same imperialistic goals, only in a kinder, gentler manner, may have a point, one must argue that this 'kindness' was relatively speaking, better than much of the outright hate and distrust that characterized Indian-White relations.

What was the purpose of the Treaty of 1701?

It also capped a major power play: "It conveyed land, controlled trade, and arranged juridical relationships, all at the expense of New York and New York's partners , the Iroquois Five Nations" (Jennings 205). As he had done before, Penn rewarded 'his' Indians. His policies helped make Pennsylvania, in the words of the missionary John Heckewelder, "the last, delightful asylum" for Native Americans (Jennings, 207). Penn's successors were much less fair and scrupulous in dealing with the Indians. The ink was barely dry on the 1701 treaty when Penn's secretary and family steward, James Logan, began to devise ways to reclaim land set aside for the Susquehannocks and the Delaware.

What was the setting of Penn's Treaty?

Shackamaxon, the setting of Penn’s Treaty, was a special place for the Unami, as well as all the Lenapes and their neighboring tribes. It was here that they would gather in the summer months to fish, retreating into the woods to hunt when winter came.

What tribes were in Philadelphia?

The Lenni Lenapes were not one single tribe, but made up of three groups. In the northern areas of their territory were the Munsee, “the people of the stoney country.”. In the middle, or central area where Philadelphia came to be located was the Unami, or the “people down river.”.

How many Lenni were there in 1600?

Historians have estimated that in the year 1600 there may have been upwards of 20,000 Lenni Lenapes living in their ancestral homeland. However, during the 17th century there were several intertribal wars among the Native Americans and a number of epidemics brought on by the arrival of the Europeans. These events reduced the Lenape population to about 4,000 at the time (1682) William Penn arrived. The worst decline in population occurred just before Penn’s arrival, during the fifteen-year period of 1655 and 1670.

Why are the Lenapes called the original people?

The Lenapes appear to be called the “original people” because many of the oral traditions handed down over the years by the Algonquin Indian tribes, of which they are part , state that the Lenape’s homeland was the original birthplace of the Algonquins, hence the reason why many of the various tribes see the Lenape as their “grandfather.”

What were the boundaries of the Unami homeland?

The full boundaries of the Unami homeland were the northern two-thirds of New Jersey (including what would become New York’s Staten Island) and the adjoining parts of eastern Pennsylvania woodland, down to just below the future city of Philadelphia.

Where did the Lenni Lenapes live?

Along the creeks and streams that traversed the Middle Atlantic States, and in particular the Delaware River, lived the Lenni Lenapes, a group of Algonquin-speaking Native Americans. From northern Delaware to southeastern New York and from the Atlantic Ocean to the forests of eastern Pennsylvania, the Lenni Lenapes made their home.

What tribes were the head chiefs of the Lenape?

The tribal organizations had acouncil with three sachems (chiefs), one each from the Turtle, Wolf, and Turkey clans, the three clans that ranged across the three subdivisions of the Lenape: the Unami, the Munsee, and the Unalactigo. The Turtle sachem was always the “head chief,” and thus Tammanend, the chief that made the treaty with William Penn, was from the Turtle clan of the Unami . Shackamaxon, the place where the treaty was held, was part of the Unami homeland.

What is the significance of Benjamin West's treaty with the Indians?

Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indians illustrates a popular legend about the founding of Pennsylvania Colony. In this story, although he had been granted the rights to the land by King Charles II, Penn followed Quaker ideals and met peacefully in 1682 to trade with the leaders of the local Lenni Lenape peoples.

Where to read the Walking Purchase of 1737?

Go Deeper. Read about the Walking Purchase of 1737 at the official website of the Delaware Tribe. Read a booklet about the Walking Purchase from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Read how Benjamin West created his painting, and how it was distributed as a print, at the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

Who funded seeing America?

Explore the diverse history of the United States through its art. Seeing America is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

How did the government try to squelch the Native Americans?

government seek to squelch Native American uprisings, it also sought to stop those cultural traits from being passed to younger generations by assimilating them in boarding schools. Even religious groups felt the need to assimilate and convert these young Native Americans, and they publicized the need for money to pay them in journals that were circulated. These schools took in Native American children and attempted to erase every trace of their former Native American life. They received an American education and were also given American clothes. While at the schools, the Native Americans were required to perform manual labor to contribute to the upkeep of the school, but were not allowed to be compensated for their work.

How did cartoonists recognize the U.S. government’s fragile policies with Native Americans?

Editorial cartoonists recognized the U.S. government’s fragile policies with Native Americans by illustrating them as a house of cards. The government saw the Native Americans as a problem but did not know how to deal with them, even after trying several approaches.

What are some facts about the Trail of Tears?

policies concerning Native Americans in the Mid- and North-West United States are not covered by textbooks. Several Native American tribes were put on reservations together in locations that are not traveled by most Americans .

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Read About The Painting and Its Historical Context

• Making myths Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indiansillustrates a scene in which the Quaker leader William Penn is trading peacefully with leaders of the Lenni Lenape and Delaware peoples. It is a recounting of a popular belief that in 1682, Penn met with the Lenni Lenape and Delaware peoples under an elm tree at Shackamaxon and traded gifts...

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