ABSTRACT
As Congress began moving toward throwing off British rule, Pennsylvania was experiencing its own internal revolution to overthrow Quaker rule. Pennsylvania was the only state in the Revolutionary era to recognize the people's right to free speech outside of the legislature. The new constitution was the American Revolution's most radical experiment in democracy, the product of Pennsylvania's struggles of the 1750s and 1760s. As per Dickinson's suggestion, Pennsylvania then joined the other colonies in establishing a committee of correspondence, which met in Philadelphia on May 21, 1774, under his leadership. Franklin assured Nathanael Seidel, a nervous Moravian reverend and pacifist, that he was “persuaded that the Congress will give no Encouragement to any to molest your People on Account of their Religious Principles; and tho much is not in my Power, I shall on every Occasion exert my self to discountenance and prevent such infamous Practices”.
