While you wait for the opportunity to go to the library and find the volumes
Mr. Kneebone cited, there are some online resources.  (Also, in "The Friendly
Virginians: America's First Quakers" by Jay Worrall, Jr., there is some
discussion of slavery, and MUCH discussion of Thomas Jefferson, which I had
forgotten..a must read for those interested in Quakers in Virginia)

In terms of the condensed timetable of the Quakers' official position on
slavery, I quote from Tom Hamm of Earlham College on the Quaker-Roots,
rootsweb list where the issue has been discussed in depth, repeatedly:

"Briefly, while there were signs of antislavery sentiment among
Friends as early as the 1670s, the movement "gathered steam" in the
1750s.  It was linked to a larger reform movement that generally
tightened the Discipline.  By 1784 all of the yearly meetings of
Friends had ruled that no member could own a slave, and that all
Quaker slaveholders must free them.  Of course, some Friends who
owned slaves chose to keep their slaves and lose their membership."

(At the end of this I have pasted in a submission by a group of Quakers in PA
in 1688 on the morality of slavery, which I hope some of you will find
interesting..  This is one of the first such treatises.  Note that it took
almost a full 100 years, a century, after certain members of the Quaker
community began questioning the morality of slavery before the entire U.S.
"organization" made slave ownership a cause for disownment -- a fact which
usually comes as a surprise to most)

There is an informative, online short historical ESSAY on Quakers and
Slavery, part of a Georgetown University course syllabus here:
http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/amer_studies/limit/slavery.html

There is a wonderful ONLINE BOOK, Reminiscences of Levi Coffin of the
Underground Railroad here:
http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/cgi/sgml/moa-idx?notisid=ABT8668  (To read go down
past the general description to the links for pictures and page numbers.)
Author: Coffin, Levi,
Title: Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the reputed president of the underground
railroad; being a brief history of the labors of a lifetime in behalf of the
slave, with the stories of numerous fugitives, who gained their freedom
through his instrumentality, and many other incidents.
(note: he starts with Wm the Conqueror and 1066)

============
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 08:39:36 -0600
From:  Jerry Zollars <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [Q-R] Anti-slavery actions by Quakers
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Pam asked about how Quakers dealt with the issue of slavery.  Although the
following is rather long, I thought members of the list would be interested
in reading it.

The book, "The Shoemaker Family", by Thomas H. Shoemaker, 1893 includes the
following transcription of a 1688 document:

"This is to the Monthly Meeting held at Rigert Worrels.  these are the
reasons why we are against the traffick of mens-body as followeth:  Is
there any that would be done or handled at this manner?  viz to be sold or
made a slave for all time of his life?  How fearfull & fainthearted are so
many on sea when they see a strange vessel, being afraid it would be a
turck, and they should be tacken and sold for Slaves in Turckey.  Now what
is this better done as Turcks doe? yea is it worse for them, wch say they
are Christians for we hear, that ye most part of such Negers are brought
heither against their will & Consent, and that many of them are stollen.
Now tho' they are black, we cannot conceive there is more liberty to have
them slaves, as it is have other white ones.

"There is a saying, that we shall doe to all men, licke as we will be done
ourselves:  macking no difference of what generation, descent, or Colour
they are.  and those who steal or robb men, and those who purchase them,
are they not all alicke.  Here is liberty of conscience, wch is right &
reasonable, here ought to be lickewise liberty of yr body, except of
evildoers, wch is another case.  But to bring men higher, or to robb and
sell them against their will, we stand against.  In Europe there are many
oppressed for Conscience sacke; and here there are many oppressed wch are
of a black Colour.  And we, who that men must not comitt adultery, some doe
comitt adultery in others, separating wifes from husbands, and giving then
to others, and some sell the children of those poor creatures to other men.

"Oh! doe consider well this thing, you who doe it, if you would be done at
this manner? and if it is done according Christianity? you surpass Holland
& Germany in this thing.  This mackes an ill report in all those Countries
of Europe, where they hear off, that ye Quakers doe here handle men, licke
they handle there ye cattle; and for that reason some have no mind or
inclination to come hither.

"And who shall maintaine this your cause, or plaid for it?  Truely we can
not do so, except you shall inform us better hereof, viz that christians
have liberty to practise this thing.  Pray!  What thing in the world can be
worse towarts us then if men should robb or steal us away & sell us for
slaves to strange Countries, separating housband from their wife &
children.  Being now this is not done at that manner we will be done at,
therefor we contradict & are against this traffick of men body.  Ad we who
profess that it is not lawful to steal, must lickwise avoid to purchase
such things as are stolen, but rather help to stop this robbing and
stealing if possible, and such men ought to be delivered out of ye hands of
ye robbers and set free as well as in Europe.  Then is Pensilvania to have
a good report, in stead it hath now a bad one for this sacke in other
Countries.  Especially whereas ye Europeans are desirous to know in what
manner ye Quakers doe rule in their Province, & most of them doe loock upon
us with an envious eye.  But if this is done well, what shall we is done evil?

"If once these slaves (wch they say are so wicked and stubborn men) should
joint themselves, fight for their freedom and handel their masters &
mastrisses, as they did handle them before;  will these masters &
mastrisses tacke the sword at hand & warr against these poor slaves, licke
we are able to belive, some will not refuse to doe? or have these negers
not as much right to fight for their freedom, as you have to keep them slaves?

"Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad?  and in case you find
it to be good to handle these blacks at that manner, we desire & require
you hereby lovingly that you may inform us herein, which at this time never
was don, Viz, that Christians have Liberty to do so, to the end we shall be
satisfied in this point, & satisfie lickewise our good friends and
acquaintance in our natif Country, to whose it is a terrour or fairfull
thing that men should be handeld so in Pennsilvania.

"This is from our meeting in at Germantown, hold ye 18 of the 2 month 1688
to be delivered to the monthly meeting at Richard Warrels."

Signed by:

Gerret Hendericks
Derick op de Graeff
Francis Daniell Pastorius
Abraham op de Graef

This went up the line to other meetings until 1774 (sic) when the Society of
Friends forbade their members to hold slaves.  According to the Shoemaker
book, "they never ceased protesting and using their influence against the
institution until the Emancipation Proclamation truly made "All men free
and equal."


Jerry Zollars
Santa Fe, NM

______________________________
------------------------------

Best Regards,

Janet (Baugh) Hunter

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