"You are a fool!" William's father shouted. "You had the world ahead of you, and you threw it all away because of a simple religious meeting. Why do you think Parliament has ordered Puritans to be beheaded and their heads impaled on city posts? It's a warning of what awaits those who dare to disobey the law!"
Thanks to the favor William's father enjoyed at the British royal court, all he had to do to gain wealth and privilege was to show himself as a loyal supporter of the king. Instead, he chose to obey his conscience, which led him to be expelled from university, disinherited, imprisoned, and threatened with death.
In a world where freedoms were subject to the whims of rulers, William Penn, a Quaker reformer, worked passionately for the cause of religious tolerance, freedom, and equality for all. (1644-1718)
