Slavery and the Meetinghouse: The Quakers and the Abolitionist Dilemma, 1820-1865

201 Pages·2007·1.578 MB·English

by  Ryan P. Jordan

American History
Religion
religious activism had the effect of defining JoRdan Sl ave ry Slavery
limits for citizen participation in American
civil society. S and the
By tying religious liberty to anti-aboli-
tionism, Quaker leaders demonstrated how An exploration of the conflict between l a n d t h e M e et i nghouse
the process of religious democratization
threatened many, and how ostensibly liberal religious liberty and the anti-slavery a The Quakers and the
M e e t i n g h o u s e
concerns about the mixing of politics and abolitionist dilemma,
movement in pre–Civil War America v
religion could be mobilized for illiberal ends 1820–1865
such as the continued compromise over the
e
future of slavery. Ryan P. JoRdan
“Impressive. As someone who has worked with most of the ma- r th e Qu a k e r s
Ryan P. JoRdan is visiting lecturer at This book explores the limits of religious dis-
terials Jordan has used, I am struck by his thorough, thoughtful,
the University of California–San Diego. sent in antebellum America, and reminds us
a n d t h e
and incisive use of them. The prose is smooth, even, and readable. y
of the difficulties facing reformers who tried
I do not agree with all of his conclusions, but he argues his case to end slavery through peaceful protest.
ab o l i t i o n i s t
well and raises questions about Quakers and anti-slavery that are a Because the pacifist and anti-slavery beliefs
a
major contribution to American religious and reform history.” of the Society of Friends appeared closely
n d i l e m m a,
—Thomas A. Hamm, Earlham College to approximate the agenda of the American
d Anti-Slavery Society, many abolitionists be-
1 8 2 0 –1 8 6 5
lieved that the Quakers would rally behind
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their cause. Their opponents meanwhile
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feared that the Quakers might support a
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movement considered by many to be sedi-
tious. Both were mistaken.
M
In the years before the Civil War, the
e Society of Friends opposed the abolition-
ist campaign for an immediate end to slav-
e
INDIANA ery and considered abolitionists within the
t
church as heterodox radicals seeking to de-
i
University Press stroy civil and religious liberty. In response,
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many Quaker abolitionists began to build
Bloomington & Indianapolis
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“comeouter” institutions where social and
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http://iupress.indiana.edu
and where church members could fuse re-
1-800-842-6796 o
ligious worship with social activism. The
u
conflict between the Quakers and the abo-
s litionists highlights the dilemma of liberal
e religion within a slaveholding republic and
suggests how the discussion of the limits of
R ya n P. J o R d a n
INDIANA
Jacket illustration: Longwood Progressive Friends
Yearly Meeting, 1865. Courtesy of Chester County
Historical Society, West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Slavery
and the
Meetinghouse

Slavery
and the
Meetinghouse
the quakers
and the
abolitionist dilemma,
1820–1865
Ryan P. Jordan
indiana university press
bloomington and indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
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© 2007 by Ryan P. Jordan
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
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requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—
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manufactured in the united states of america
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jordan, Ryan P., date
Slavery and the meetinghouse : the Quakers and the abolitionist dilemma, 1820–1865 /
Ryan P. Jordan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-253-34860-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Antislavery movements—United States—History—19th century. 2. Abolitionists—
United States—History—19th century. 3. Slavery and the church—Society of
Friends—History—19th century. 4. Slavery and the church—United States—History—
19th century. 5. Slaves—Emancipation—United States. 6. Quakers—United States—
Political activity—History—19th century. 7. Quaker abolitionists—United States—
History—19th century. 8. Paci¤sm—United States—History—19th century. 9. Society
of Friends—United States—History—19th century. 10. United States—Church history.
I. Title.
E449.J775 2007
326.089′96073—dc22 2006027587
1 2 3 4 5 12 11 10 09 08 07
For Dad, Kevin, and Aaron

Contents
preface ix
acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Quakers, Slavery, and
the “Peaceable Kingdom” 1
1. Quaker Gradualists and the Challenge of Abolitionism 24
2. Slavery, Religious Liberty, and the “Political” Abolitionism of
the Indiana Anti-Slavery Friends 41
3. Friends and the “Children of Africa”: Quaker Abolitionists
Confront the Negro Pew 67
4. “Progressive” Friends and the Government of God 81
5. Quaker Paci¤sm and Civil Disobedience in
the Antebellum Period 104
Conclusion: “Fighting Quakers,” Abolitionists,
and the Civil War 122
notes 135
bibliography 155
index 163

Preface
This book explores the manner in which the Society of Friends (Quakers)
translated their critique of state-sanctioned force into political practice
when confronting the antebellum American movement for immediate
emancipation. The Society of Friends, both in the United States and in
Great Britain, had represented the vanguard of opposition to slavery dur-
ing the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. But the implica-
tions of their religious beliefs remained unclear as the American abolition-
ist movement became more radical in the 1830s. Because Quaker paci¤st
and anti-slavery beliefs closely approximated the agenda of the American
Anti-Slavery Society, some reformers expected Friends to support their
cause to divorce the American government and Constitution from slave-
holding. At the same time, other politicians and ministers feared that the
Quakers might lend their backing to a movement considered by many to
be seditious. Although they were paci¤sts, Quakers had no desire to be
revolutionaries: leaders of the church feared that their dislike of slavery
might in fact instigate armed con®ict. As a result, the Society of Friends
in the United States followed the larger trend of American society in op-
posing the American Anti-Slavery Society’s campaign for immediatism,
while leading Friends de¤ned the abolitionists within their church as
heterodox radicals working toward the destruction of civil and religious
liberty.
The following account of the abolitionist controversy within Quaker
meetinghouses recovers the largely forgotten negative reactions to the
immediatist movement from denominations that otherwise agreed with
the abolitionists’ campaign to purge American churches of slaveholding.
While historians have spent much time examining the motivations and
views of the 250,000 or so Americans who supported the American Anti-
Slavery Society, they have written almost nothing about the views of the
several hundred thousand Christians who belonged to churches with views
that seemed to agree with aspects of the immediatist agenda, but who did
not support it. Historians have also left unexplored the serious scrutiny