Seeds of Liberty, Justice, Peace, and Democracy in Early America

Book excerpt: This book focuses on the contributions of William Penn (a Quaker) in sowing some seeds of liberty, justice, peace, and democracy in early America, which later became the basis of the 13 English colonies seeking freedom from English rule and the writing of the US constitution. The work explores Europe and America during the Enlightenment in the late sixteenth century and the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. These were times, however, when discrimination and persecution were common due to prevalent religious and political bigotries. Under those circumstances, Penn dared to bring relief to the suffering people by providing them with a safe and secure haven where liberty, justice, peace, and democracy ruled, and he was the first to do that. The book will be useful to those reformers, practitioners, administrators, and scholars engaged in the areas of political studies, sociological studies, ethics, moral studies, religious and justice studies, peace studies, historical and development studies, social welfare and social work studies, and reform movements.