Editing Middle Colonies (section)

==Province of Pennsylvania==

{{main|Province of Pennsylvania}}
[[File:ChesterCourtHouse.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|[[1724 Chester Courthouse|Chester Courthouse]] in Pennsylvania was built in 1724.]]
[[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] granted the land for the Pennsylvania Colony to [[William Penn]] on March 4, 1681 as payment for a debt the crown owed his family.<ref name=gov>Pennsylvania Society of Governors (1916), 180-181.</ref> Penn wrote the [[Frame of Government of Pennsylvania]] before departing for the colony, which called for religious tolerance towards many groups, including the [[Religious Society of Friends]] and local natives.<ref name=Penn>Penn (1682).</ref> As a [[proprietary colony]], Penn governed Pennsylvania, yet its citizens were still subject to the English crown and laws.<ref name=Penn/><ref name=PHMC/> Penn's cousin [[William Markham (Governor)|William Markham]] served as the first colonial deputy governor.<ref name=gov/><ref name=PHMC/>

Demarcated by the [[42nd parallel north]] and [[39th parallel north]], Pennsylvania was bordered by the [[Delaware River]] and the colonies of New York, Maryland, and New Jersey.<ref name=PHMC>Pennsylvania State History.</ref> In 1704, Dutch land given to Penn by the Duke of York was separated and once again became part of the Delaware Colony.<ref name=Penn/> From 1692 to 1694, revolution in England deprived Penn of the governance of his colony. The Pennsylvania Assembly took this opportunity to request expanded power for elected officials, led by [[David Lloyd (judge)|David Lloyd]]. Upon visiting the colony in 1669 and 1701, Penn eventually agreed to allow their Charter of Privileges to be added to the constitution.<ref name=PHMC/> When the British banned western expansion in 1764, fighting among colonists and against the natives swelled. In 1773, [[Arthur St. Clair]] ordered the arrest of a Virginian officer who was commanding troops against armed settlers loyal to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanian revolutionary sentiment continued to grow, and [[Philadelphia]], the largest city in America, soon became the meeting place of the [[Continental Congress]]. The publication of the [[Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776]] by locally elected revolutionaries concluded the history of the Colony, and began the [[Commonwealth of Pennsylvania]].