March 4, 1681. Britain’s King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania in order to offer religious freedom to those who settled there. Then, as now, Baptists strongly upheld religious freedom and opposed a state-supported church.
ABHS has many tracts and essays from early Baptists defending religious freedom. The national offices of the American Baptist Churches, USA,and their affiliated mission societies, are in Pennsylvania. ABHS has several tracts written by William Penn, mostly about religious freedom.
