by Elizabeth Kelly

Created on: April 21, 2008   Last Updated: December 05, 2008

When William Penn put together two Greek words ("philos", meaning "love" and "delphos", meaning "brother"), he named the city of Philadelphia. The name is not just random word play, though. Penn envisioned the city in Pennsylvania as one where people of all races and backgrounds could live together in peace. He wanted a true City of Brotherly Love, and he didn't stop with just the name. Penn's vision still resonates today in a city that, with its rich diversity, deserves its name.

Penn was a Quaker who received the land that is now Philadelphia as payment for a debt owed him by King Charles II. Charles was glad to make the deal. He managed to both repay the money and get rid of Quakers, who were not well liked by the Anglican government. When Penn colonized the land in 1681, he came up with the name Philadelphia because he wanted to use the land as a haven for people like himself who wanted religious freedom.

While many Quakers flocked to the colony in response to Penn's offer of religious freedom, they weren't the only settlers there. Penn's colony attracted all different sects that had been persecuted by the governments of their own countries. Soon, the area included Huguenots from France, Irish Catholics, Swiss Amish and German Mennonites to name just a few of the sects. The wide variety of religious worshipers often met in barns and in homes as they awaited the building of their own places to worship.

Penn didn't just extend his olive branch to Christians and Europeans. He also included the indigenous people who already lived on the land he was given. He believed that Native Americans and Europeans working together in peace, whatever their beliefs, was a way to glorify the Almighty. His ideas were radical at the time, but still noble today. Penn met with the leaders of the Lenape tribe and signed a treaty that would not be broken in Penn's lifetime, one of the few lasting agreements made with Native Americans.

Today, Philadelphia has numerous neighborhoods, each with its own identity. Though the city has been through many trials in its history, particularly in the turbulent civil rights era of the 60s, it is a proudly diverse area. From Chinatown to Italian Market to the Jewish community, Philadelphia has 100 different neighborhoods with their own cultural uniqueness. William Penn would be proud of the City of Brotherly Love, his radical "experiment". It's not just a name; it's a way of everyday life.

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