Final answer:
William Penn's 'Frame of Government' from 1682 described his vision for Pennsylvania's governance, advocating for a free government where laws rule and the people participate, with safeguards against absolutism. It established a complex government structure and guaranteed religious freedom and basic rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1682, when William Penn journeyed to his colony, he brought an outline of the proposed government known as the first "Frame of Government." This foundational document was significant as it laid out Penn's vision for the governance of Pennsylvania. Penn's Frame of Government expressed his belief in the divine right of government, as well as the conviction that good men are capable of making good laws. It aimed to avoid absolutism by ensuring that any government would remain free to its citizens as long as the laws ruled and the people had a say in those laws, with the document stating, "Any government is free to the people under it (whatever be the frame) where the laws rule, and the people are a party to those laws, and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion." The frame set forth a complex governmental structure with a rotating advisory council consisting of seventy-two members to make laws and an elected assembly of two hundred members to approve them. Importantly, it also guaranteed freedom of religion and preservation of basic rights.