The first antislavery society in America was formed by, mostly, members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. The Quakers had formed an abolitionist philosophy that was in line with the religion’s belief in equality for all individuals.
On April 14, 1775, a group of men gathered at the Sun Tavern on Second Street in Philadelphia to establish the first
Harrison was fined in a Philadelphia court for giving protection to the Neville family. When this incident gained notoriety, members of the Quaker Philadelphia Meeting came together to form the antislavery society. At its first meeting, the antislavery society enlisted legal counsel to help the Nevilles and five other victims illegally held in bondage and to form a standing committee to investigate any conditions of slavery in the Philadelphia area.
“Am I not a man and a brother?” pleads a slave in chains. The image was adopted originally by England’s Society for the Abolition of Slavery in the 1780’s, but it is symbolic of the struggles against slavery in the American colonies as well.
The Revolutionary War interrupted regular meetings until 1784. At this time, Quaker abolitionist Anthony Benezet revived the antislavery society as members learned that two African Americans had committed suicide rather than be illegally enslaved. Benezet increased the membership to forty, including
One of the basic principles espoused by Quaker founder
Representing the radical leadership of Philadelphia Friends,
During the early eighteenth century, the conservative, wealthy membership of the Philadelphia Meeting took a somewhat confusing position on slavery. Their inconsistent policies included a separate meeting for African Americans, a request that Quakers in the West Indies stop sending slaves to Philadelphia, and disciplinary measures for members of the meeting who were engaged in antislavery activity. Many prominent Quakers, such as James Logan, Jonathan Dickinson, and Isaac Norris, continued to purchase and own slaves.
The customary procedure of resolving issues at Friends’ meetings was to achieve a consensus by gaining a sense of the meeting. Thus, the Quaker drift toward an antislavery sentiment gained momentum with the efforts of a few radicals but achieved success only when the majority bowed to the principles of Quaker conscience.
Unpopular radical member Benjamin Lay
By the 1730’s, the effects of the antislavery movement were evident among Quakers as more Friends provided for the manumission of their slaves in their wills. In addition, the increased immigration of Germans in need of work eliminated the demand for slave labor in the Middle Colonies.
Much of the credit for the success of the antislavery movement among Quakers must be given to New Jersey Quaker John Woolman. Known for his gentle, persuasive approach as a Quaker minister, he began a series of visitations to Quaker slaveholders in New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South in 1743. In 1754, he published Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes,
Some have argued that Quakers were willing to emancipate their slaves because slavery was not profitable in Pennsylvania in the absence of labor-intensive agriculture. Others claim that Quaker sensitivity to antislavery was aroused not by their own religious ideals but rather by eighteenth century Enlightenment philosophy, which held that liberty is a natural human right. These may be considered arguments; nevertheless, it was the Quakers who first championed the antislavery cause and who organized the first antislavery group in America. The Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery served as a model for other antislavery groups. As early as 1794, other states that had formed antislavery societies were asked to send representatives to Philadelphia for annual meetings. As new associations were formed, Friends constituted a majority of the membership. Statesmen such as Franklin, Rush,
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Davis, David Brion. The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, 1770-1823. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1975. An exhaustive study of the slave question immediately before the American Revolution and in the succeeding federal period, which includes the pioneering efforts of the Quakers. -
Frost, J. William, ed. The Quaker Origins of Antislavery. Norwood, Pa.: Norwood Editions, 1980. A history of the Quaker antislavery cause that includes a comprehensive collection of Quaker documents. -
James, Sydney V. A People Among Peoples: Quaker Benevolence in Eighteenth Century America. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963. This classic work discusses antislavery as an outreach of Quaker religious piety, along with the Quakers’ other efforts for the good of the social order. -
Nash, Gary B. Quakers and Politics: Pennsylvania 1681-1726. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1968. Places the antislavery cause within the larger framework of troubled politics in colonial Pennsylvania. -
_______. Race and Revolution. Madison, Wis.: Madison House, 1990. An examination of racial relations during the Revolutionary War. Chapter 2, “The Failure of Abolitionism,” includes information on the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. The book also contains supporting annotated documents, including a petition from the society. -
Newman, Richard S. The Transformation of American Abolition: Fighting Slavery in the Early Republic. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. A history of American abolitionist activities from the 1770’s to the 1830’s. Newman traces the beginning of the abolition movement to Pennsylvania, and the first four chapters detail the founding and activities of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. -
Soderlund, Jean R. Quakers and Slavery: A Divided Spirit. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985. A study of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and its progression to an antislavery philosophy. Draws parallels with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s.
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Benjamin Banneker; Olaudah Equiano; Benjamin Franklin; Alexander Hamilton; John Jay; Ann Lee; Thomas Paine; Benjamin Rush; Samuel Sewall; Granville Sharp; George Whitefield; William Wilberforce.