Legal Definitions - Great Law, The

The Great Law refers to the foundational set of laws enacted in the Province of Pennsylvania in 1682. This comprehensive legal code was established by an assembly convened by William Penn, the colony's founder, and served as the initial framework for governance and justice in the new territory.

• For instance, a historian studying the development of colonial legal systems would identify The Great Law as the primary document that outlined the initial structure of government, defined citizens' rights, and established legal procedures for the nascent Pennsylvania colony. This illustrates its role as the *first code of laws* to systematically organize the legal landscape of the region.

• Consider a student researching early American concepts of religious freedom. They would learn that The Great Law was groundbreaking for its time, guaranteeing liberty of conscience for all monotheists and establishing a more humane approach to criminal justice compared to other colonies. These progressive provisions were integral parts of the *first comprehensive legal code* that shaped Pennsylvania's unique social and legal character from 1682 onward.

• Imagine early settlers arriving in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. They would have found that their rights, responsibilities, and the process for resolving disputes were not left to arbitrary decisions but were clearly laid out in The Great Law. This meant that from its very inception, the colony operated under a defined and publicly accessible legal framework, demonstrating its function as the *established code of laws* for the new province.