American History Without A Mention Of Pennsylvania

Andrew Lee Ms. Coulson HIST012 December 17, 2014 Final Assessment It is nearly impossible to study American history without a mention of Pennsylvania. The state is central in American history not only because of its location on the East Coast, but also for the long duration of time that Europeans have inhabited Pennsylvania. Always central to early American history, Pennsylvania was of the first American colonies, birthed many of the founding fathers, and even housed Philadelphia, the first capital of the United States. Furthermore, Pennsylvania had many of America’s firsts, such as the first national bank and the first major road. Pennsylvania was able to see much of the change that occurred throughout America’s history and shared many†¦show more content†¦Penn was given 45,000 acres on the Delaware River and named it Pennsylvania, or â€Å"Penn’s Woods† after his father. Penn then migrated to the new land with a group of Quakers and started to build a community. One of the many issues that ea rly settlers like William Penn had to face was interactions with the Natives of the New World. The differences between the Native Americans and the settling Europeans were plentiful and great—examples are conflicting religious views, social life, family values, and sense of ownership. In fact, it was the latter that sparked multiple problems between the colonizers and the native population. Though the European settlers would try to obtain land through trade, the concept would be completely lost to the Native Americans, who had no sense of ownership. Because of these differences in cultures, the groups soon clashed resulting in sorrow on both sides. Primary Source Three is a letter by William Penn to the Native Americans who inhabit Pennsylvania. The letter starts with the words â€Å"My Friends,† implying the friendly tone of the message and his desire to coexist with the Native American population (Trent). In the first part of the letter, Penn thanks God and credits G od for his ability to come to America. This reaffirms the strong Quaker beliefs and their thorough connotations throughout Pennsylvanian history. Penn then