The History of the Thirteen Colonies of North America 1497-1763Jeffery, Reginald W. (Reginald Welbury)
History
The History of the Thirteen Colonies of North America 1497-1763
Jeffery, Reginald W. (Reginald Welbury)
United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Penn was quick to foresee a prosperous future for his colony, but he
nearly ruined it at the outset by drawing up a well-intentioned but
somewhat cumbersome constitution. There were to be two elective
chambers: the Upper or council, consisting of 72 members, and the Lower,
which was at first to contain 200, and later 500 members. This
constitution, however, was impossible to manage; the Lower assembly was
obviously far too large and proved superfluous; while the Upper was
found to be too bulky for a Cabinet or executive government; for these
reasons a few months after its conception it was radically altered. The
pruning-knife was called into use and the 72 of the Upper chamber were
cut down to 18; at the same time the absurd number of 200 was reduced to
26, and the right of initiating legislation was taken from the
representatives. But Penn was not yet satisfied and undertook still
further alterations in 1686, when he appointed five Commissioners of
State, three of whom were to be a quorum, and to whom the right of veto
in all legislative affairs was granted. This scheme was almost as bad as
his first constitution, for it gave excessive powers to three or four
men; fortunately for the colony it was not perpetuated.
Early in its history troubles came upon Pennsylvania, which had been
founded "with the pious wish and desire that its inhabitants might dwell
together in brotherly love and unity."[191] The flight of James II. was
the first serious blow to Penn's colonial prosperity; it may be that he
was one of the few men who sincerely and deeply regretted the fall of
the last male Stuart ruler of England, for in James' misfortune Penn
also suffered for a time, and his plans as a colony promoter received a
severe check. At the same time Pennsylvania was torn by internal
quarrels concerning what were called the "Territories" or Delaware. This
district, on the south bank of the Delaware River, had been transferred
from the administration of New York and placed under that of
Pennsylvania. The dispute that arose had for its cause the appointment
of magistrates, and it was only settled by a compromise in which
Delaware was for the future to have its own executive, but there was
only to be one elective chamber for the whole province. Still worse days
came to Pennsylvania when the colony was included in the commission to
the pirate-loving Benjamin Fletcher. As in New York, so in the Quaker
settlement he proved himself arbitrary in conduct, brutal and unwise in
action, immoral and corrupt in his private life. The only comfort to the
Pennsylvanian settlers during his rule was that they won their right to
initiate legislation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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