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Early Days

The Quaker movement began in England in the early 1650s. Traditionally George Fox has been taken to be the founder or at least the most important early figure, but modern scholarship suggests a more complicated picture. Most likely, a number of radical Puritans, among them Fox, James Nayler and Edward Burrough, independently came to similar positions, eventually came into contact with one another, and then began to coordinate their preaching. However, since Fox outlived most of the others, his account of the early days as recorded in his Journal, while it may exaggerate his role, is the most detailed one available.

Fox and the other early Quaker preachers believed that direct experience with God was available to all people, without any mediation (e.g. through a pastor, or through sacraments). Friends have often expressed this belief by referring to "that of God in Everyone", "inner light", "inward Christ", "the spirit of Christ within", and many other terms.

Fox left home at age 19 in 1644 on a religious search that lasted about three years, until he reported hearing the voice of Christ, and undergoing a process of personal transformation by the workings of the "inward light". He began preaching publicly in 1648. At that time, Puritanism was predominant in England under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, but religious and political dissent were increasing. Fox was a highly vocal dissenter, as he considered many of the religious practices of the time to be inconsistent with Christian faith. In particular, he rejected the notion of a paid priesthood and of governmentally sanctioned church buildings (which he derided as "steeple-houses"), believing instead that everyone can be a minister and that any worshipful gathering of true Christians is equally legitimate. Thus, traditional Quaker worship had no individual in charge of conducting a planned service; instead, worshippers gathered in silence, which was only interrupted when someone in attendance felt moved by the Spirit to speak. Fox also believed the Puritans were wrong to regard literal reading of Scripture as a higher authority than personal experience of the divine, quoting Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians that "the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."

He began his career by speaking in outdoor public places and in congregations—something he continued to do throughout his life. In many cases this resulted in his abuse and imprisonment—especially when he came into "steeple-houses" to denounce the sermons after the minister had finished, which was the custom and legal during the Commonwealth. From 1652 onward Fox was closely associated with an earlier, very loosely organized movement of religious dissenters, the Seekers. Seekers typically believed that there was no true church in existence, and resigned themselves to waiting for God to reestablish his kingdom, either spiritually or temporally. They had many practices that were similar to the emerging Quaker movement; they had discarded all ceremony in worship and begun the practice of silent meetings which, as Fox rapidly gained followers among the Seekers, became the practice of Friends.

Fox was equally critical of many aspects of English culture besides religious dogma, particularly those that he saw as symptoms of pride and misuse of authority. In 1661, he and other leading Quakers made their first public profession of the peace testimony; it is unclear how universal pacifism was before then, many Quaker converts being sympathetic with the Puritan revolution or even members of the New Model Army, as James Nayler was. After that point, the Quakers maintained that the proper response to injustice was neither violence nor acquiescence, but peaceful non-cooperation. Fox's criticisms of his society were similar to those of the Seekers, Ranters, and Levellers, and he drew followers from all of these groups (as well as from dissatisfied members of Cromwell's movement), but differed from them in his urgent call for a revival of what he saw as original Christian faith and practice, based on obedience to the inwardly revealed word of God and public resistance to injustice. Early Friends saw themselves as "primitive Christianity revived", in William Penn's words, and saw their Puritan and Anglican persecutors as analogous to the Pharisees.

Soon after its birth, the Religious Society of Friends was introduced to Ireland by William Edmundson. He was born in Westmoreland, England in 1627 but moved to Ireland in 1652. On a return trip to England, Edmundson was convinced of the truth of Quakerism under the teaching of James Nayler He went back to Ireland and set up a business in Lurgan, County Armagh. The first Friends meeting in Ireland took place in Edmundson's home there in 1654.

Nayler's sign

In 1656, a popular Quaker minister, James Nayler, went beyond the standard beliefs of Quakers when he rode into Bristol on a horse in the pouring rain, accompanied by a handful of men and women saying "Holy, holy, holy" and strewing their garments on the ground — clearly imitating Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. While this was apparently an attempt to emphasize that the "Light of Christ" was in every person, most observers believed that Nayler and his followers believed him to be Jesus Christ. The group was arrested by the local authorities and handed over to Parliament, where they were tried, probably illegally. Parliament was sufficiently incensed by Nayler's heterodox views that they punished him savagely and sent him back to Bristol to jail indefinitely. This was especially bad for the movement's respectability in the eyes of the Puritan rulers because some considered Nayler (and not Fox, who was in jail at the time) to be the actual leader of the movement. Many historians see this event as a turning point in early Quaker history because many other leaders, especially Fox, made efforts to increase the authority of the group over the leadings of the individual, to prevent similar behavior. In the 1660s and 1670s Fox traveled the country setting up a more formal structure of monthly (local) and quarterly (regional) meetings, which still survives today.

In 1678 the London Yearly Meeting, which is now called the Britain Yearly Meeting, was created and was recognized as the representational head of the Society.

Persecution in England

In 1650 George Fox was imprisoned for the first time. Over and over he was thrown in prison during the 1650's through the 1670's. Other Quakers were put in prison as well. Sometimes the charge was causing a disturbance. Other times it was blasphemy.

Two acts of Parliament made it particularly difficult for Friends. The first was the Quaker Act of 1662, which made it illegal not to take the Oath of Allegiance and to hold any religious meetings other than those of the established church. Because Friends believed it was wrong to take an oath, they were sure to run afoul of this law, as its authors well knew. The second act was the Conventicle Act of 1664, which reaffirmed that holding unauthorized religious meetings was a crime.

Despite these laws, the Friends continued to meet openly. They believed that by doing so, they were testifying to the strength of their convictions and were willing to be punished for doing what they believed was right.

In 1689 the Toleration Act was passed. It allowed for freedom of conscience and prevented persecution by making it illegal to disturb anybody else’s worship. Thus Quakers became tolerated though still not widely understood and accepted.

See also: Margaret Fell

Persecution in the New World

Friends faced persecution again as they migrated to America. The first Friends in the New World came in order to spread their beliefs. In 1656 Mary Fisher and Ann Austin did so, and were imprisoned and banished by the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their books were burned, and most of their property was confiscated. They were imprisoned in terrible conditions, deprived of food and even light. Were it not for somebody smuggling food to them, they might have starved in their cell. They were eventually deported.

In 1657 a group of Friends from England landed at Long Island in what was then called New Amsterdam. One of these Friends, Robert Hodgson preached to large crowds of people. He was arrested, imprisoned, and flogged. Some sympathetic Dutch colonists were able to get him released. The preaching continued with some positive response as well as some continued persecution. Finally, on December 27, 1657 some of the citizens of Flushing wrote to the governor in protest. They reminded Governor Peter Stuyvesant that the colony's charter allowed for freedom of conscience. The document is called the Flushing Remonstrance. It is the first instance in the American colonies of settlers petitioning for religious freedom.

Some Friends in New England were only imprisoned or banished. A few were also whipped, branded, or otherwise corporally punished. A few were acutally executed by the Puritan leaders, usually for ignoring and defying orders of banishment. Mary Dyer was thus executed in 1660. Three other martyrs to the Quaker faith in Massachusetts were William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson, and William Leddra.

In contrast to the intolerant Puritans, several colonies offered safe haven for the Friends in the New World. Rhode Island was founded on the principle of religious freedom, and many Friends migrated there. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware were also tolerant of the Friends. In fact, Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn specifically as a place for Quakers to live in peace. Maryland, which was established as a haven for Roman Catholics extended a welcome to Friends as well.

18th Century

In 1691 George Fox died. Thus, the Quaker movement went into the 18th Century without one of its most influential early leaders. Thanks to the Toleration Act of 1689, people were no longer criminals simply by being Friends.

During this time, other people began to recognize Quakers for their integrity in social and economic matters. Many Quakers went into manufacturing or commerce, because they were not allowed to earn academic degrees at that time. These Quaker businessmen were successful, in part, because people trusted them. The customers knew that Quakers felt convicted to set a fair price for goods and not to haggle over prices. They also knew that Quakers were committed to quality work, and that what they produced would be worth the price.

Some useful and popular products made by Quaker businesses at that time included iron and steel by Abraham Darby and pharmaceuticals by William Allen.

At the same time that Friends were succeeding in manufacturing and commerce, they were also becoming more concerned about social issues and becoming more active in society at large.

One such issue was slavery. The Germantown (Pennsylvania) Monthly Meeting put their opposition to slavery into their minutes in 1733, but abolitionism did not become universal among Friends until its promotion by concerned Friends like Anthony Benezet and John Woolman. Woolman was a farmer, retailer, and tailor from New Jersey who became convinced that slavery was wrong. Before that time, some Friends owned slaves. In general they opposed mistreatment of slaves and promoted the teaching of Christianity to them. Woolman argued that the entire practice of buying, selling, and owning human beings was wrong in principle. Other Friends started to agree and became very active in the Abolition movement. The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting prohibited members from owning slaves in 1776.

Another issue that became a concern of Friends was the treatment of the mentally ill. Tea merchant, William Tuke opened the Retreat at York in 1796. It was a place where the mentally ill were treated with the dignity that Friends believe is inherent in all human beings. Most asylums at that time forced such people into deplorable conditions and did nothing to help them.

By the late 1700s, Quakers were sufficiently recognized and accepted that United States Constitution contained language specifically directed at Quaker citizens -- in particular, the explicit allowance of "affirming," as opposed to "swearing," various oaths.

Influential Quakers of the 19th Century

During the 19th Century, Friends continued to have an impact on the world around them. Many of the industrial concerns started by Friends in the previous century continued. New ones began. Friends also continued and increased their work in the areas of social justice and equality. They made other contributions as well in the fields of science, literature, art, law and politics.

In the realm of industry Edward Pease opened the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northern England in 1825. It was the first modern railway in the world. It carried coal from the mines to the seaports. Henry and Joseph Rowntree owned a chocolate factory in York, England. When Henry died, Joseph took it over. He provided the workers with more benefits than most employers of his day. He also funded low-cost housing for the poor. John Cadbury founded another chocolate factory, which his sons George and Richard eventually took over.

Quakers actively promoted equal rights during this century as well. Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony were active in the movement to abolish slavery. Somewhat as a result of their initial exclusion from abolitionist activities, they changed their focus to the right of women to vote and influence society. Thomas Garret was a leader in the movement to abolish slavery, personally assisting Harriet Tubman to escape from slavery and to coordinate the Underground Railroad. Richard Dillingham died in a Tennessee prison where he was incarcerated for trying to help some slaves escape. Levi Coffin was also an active abolitionist, helping thousands of escaped slaves migrate to Canada and opening a store for selling products made by former slaves.

Prison reform was another concern of Quakers at that time. Elizabeth Fry and her brother Joseph John Gurney campaigned for more humane treatment of prisoners and for the abolition of the death penalty. They had moderate success in that Parliament did eventually pass legislation to improve prison conditions and to decrease the number of capital crimes.

In the early days of the Society of Friends, Quakers were not allowed to get an advanced education. Eventually some did get opportunities to go to university and beyond, which meant that more and more Quakers could enter the various fields of science. Thomas Young an English Quaker, did experiments with optics, contributing much to the wave theory of light. He also discovered how the lens in the eye works and described astigmatism and formulated an hypothesis about the perception of color. Young was also involved in translating the Rosetta Stone. He translated the demotic text and began the process of understanding the hieroglyphics. Maria Mitchell was an astronomer who discovered a comet. She was also active in the abolition movement and the women’s suffrage movement. Joseph Lister promoted the use of sterile techniques in medicine, based on Pasteur’s work on germs. Thomas Hodgkin was a pathologist who made major breakthroughs in the field of anatomy. He was the first doctor to describe the type of lymphoma named after him. He was also active in the movement to abolish slavery and to protect aboriginal people. John Dalton formulated the atomic theory of matter, among other scientific achievements.

Quakers were not apt to participate publicly in the arts. For many Quakers these things violated their commitment to simplicity and were thought too “worldly.” Some Quakers, however, are noted today for their creative work. John Greenleaf Whittier was an editor and a poet in the United States. Among his works were some poems involving Quaker history and hymns expressing his Quaker theology. He also worked in the abolition movement. Edward Hicks painted religious and historical paintings in the naive style.

At first Quakers were barred by law and their own convictions from being involved in the arena of law and politics. As time went on, a few Quakers in England and the United States did enter that arena. Joseph Pease was the son of Edward Pease mentioned above. He continued and expanded his father’s business. In 1832 he became the first Quaker elected to Parliament. Noah Haynes Swayne was the only Quaker to serve on the United States Supreme Court. He was an Associate Justice from 1862-1881. He strongly opposed slavery, moving out of the slave-holding state of Virginia to the free state of Ohio in his young adult years.

In the 19th Century Friends began to be influenced by the revivals sweeping the United States. Robert Pearsall Smith and his wife Hannah Whitall Smith, Quakers from New Jersey, had a huge impact on the Christian world. They promoted the Wesleyan idea of Christian perfection, also known as holiness or sanctification, among Quakers and among various denominations. Their work inspired the formation of many new Christian groups. Hannah Smith was also involved in the movements for women’s suffrage and for temperance.

19th century controversies and divisions

The Society in Ireland, and later, the United States suffered a number of separations during the 19th century. In 1827, Elias Hicks was expelled for expressing universalistic views, and in 1828, a number of Friends in sympathy with him separated to form a parallel system of Yearly meetings in America. The Friends who opposed Hicks came to be known as Orthodox Friends.

In the early 1840's the Orthodox Friends in America were exercised by a transatlantic dispute between Joseph John Gurney of England and John Wilbur of Rhode Island. Gurney, troubled by the example of the Hicksite separation, emphasized Scriptural authority and favored working closely with other Christian groups. Wilbur, in response, defended the authority of the Holy Spirit as primary, and worked to prevent the dilution of the Friends tradition of Spirit-led ministry. After privately criticizing Gurney in correspondence to sympathetic Friends, Wilbur was expelled from his yearly meeting in a questionable proceeding in 1842. Over the next several decades, a number of Wilburite-Gurneyite separations occurred. (See A short history of Conservative Friends for further information.)

Friends in Britain remained united for the most part during the course of these separations.

Starting in the late 19th century, many American Gurneyite Quakers adopted the use of paid pastors, planned sermons, hymns and other elements of Protestant worship services. This type of Quaker meetings is known as "programmed meetings". Worship of the traditional, silent variety is called an "unprogrammed meeting", although there is some variation on how the unprogrammed meetings adhere strictly to the lack of programming. Some unprogrammed meetings may have also allocated a period of hymn-singing or other activity as part of the total period of worship, while others maintain the tradition of avoiding all planned activities. (See also Joel Bean.)

Sources

• Abbott, Margaret Post, et al. Historical Dictionary of the Friends, Scarecrow Press, 2003. ISBN 0-81084-483-4

• Punshon, John. Portrait in Grey: A Short History, Britain Yearly Meeting, 1984. ISBN 0-85245-180-6

External Links

• Historical Overview by David Murray-Rust
• Quaker Information Center
• A Quaker Page at the Street Corner Society
• Timeline

• Quakerism