The Man Who Founded Pennsylvania Also Dreamed Up the European Union
Behind Cameron’s fight to stay in the EU is a 323-year-old plea for peace by William Penn.
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Britain’s Brexit debate has seen the ghosts of Napoleon and Hitler pressed into service by campaigners in favor of leaving the European Union, which they see as an alien idea imposed from overseas. They may have overlooked the contribution of William Penn, the Englishman better known for founding Pennsylvania.
Penn’s argument that wars could be averted by bringing together countries in a European parliament is echoed almost daily in Prime Minister David Cameron’s campaign stump speech.