John Penn, originally from Caroline County, Virginia, but living in Granville County, North Carolina, was a North Carolina delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the thirteen colonies. These delegates established the United States as a country independent from Great Britain through the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Penn’s first wish was for America to be free; he voted for independence on July 2, 1776, before signing the Declaration of Independence. Joseph Hewes and William Hooper were the other delegates from North Carolina that signed the Declaration of Independence.
This North Carolinian’s defense of liberty, along with others, changed the course for freedom and independence in the United States.
