by Jeanne Gehret
by Jeanne Gehret
Quaker Meeting House, Adams. Photo by Jeanne Gehret
Quakerism was at the center of the Anthony family. It was a bee in the bonnet of Susan’s antislavery activities that began in New York State, and a spur atop the saddle for Merritt and Daniel as they rode with the Kansas cavalry in the Civil War.
Quaker warriors—isn’t that an oxymoron? As it turns out, no. Though many in the Society of Friends were pacifist, teetotalers, and opponents of slavery, there were many exceptions.
It seems the major tenet upon which 19th century 
Quakers agreed is that every person embodies an inner light worthy of universal respect. They reverenced this light in many ways—for example, some educated all their children, both male and female, to be self-supporting. Others worked for the abolition of slavery, believing that no human should be in bondage. Others campaigned against liquor, believing it to be the root of most social ills. (Daniel and Lucy Read espoused all these causes–abolition, temperance, and women’s rights.)
A dispute at the Friends’ Meeting House in Farmington, NY sparked the first women’s rights convention in 1848. To say that Quakerism spawned freethinkers is an understatement. More on this next time.
Share
Related Articles
After three novels and five decades of marriage, I have a few things to say about long love. Not the falling into kind, but the staying in kind. I’ve been [...]
One of the hazards of writing historical fiction is the research rabbit hole. These detours can last minutes or entire days, and they pull you away from the story you [...]
Last month I had major surgery on my shoulder. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just a frozen shoulder, as I previously thought. Shortly before my operation, I finished revising the final chapter [...]
Jennifer Chiaverini has written a historical novel on the Women’s March of 1913. Ordinarily, this would be an ideal combination of my favorite author and a favorite topic. But this [...]