Publication Date
2026
College
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
History
Document Type
Poster
Description
When someone thinks of abolition, the first things that come to mind are Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, or the Underground Railroad. However, many of the early abolitionists in the North American colonies were, in fact, Quakers. Quakers were the first to lead the charge in the pursuit of abolition as early as the mid-seventeenth century. There is much more to Quakers and their history than the white-haired, stuffy-looking gentleman in a big hat on the box of your morning oatmeal. One of the main tenets in The Religious Society of Friends is a vow of pacifism, and many Quakers saw slavery as a major affront to this tenet. Early abolitionists brought the concept of anti-slavery to many people who had never even contemplated it before. Although abolition took the entire nation becoming embroiled in a bloody Civil War to become reality, it is only because these pioneers of social justice had led the way for over two hundred years. Clearly presenting these exceptional figures, their efforts to end slavery, and the major events that occurred in the colonies resulting from their actions, in chronological order, is key to understanding their significance in the history of the early abolitionist movement. The list of Quakers who were early abolitionists included figures with such prominent names as George Fox, the founder of The Religious Society of Friends, more commonly known as the Quakers. Fox wrote a letter to England in 1657, titled To Friends Beyond Sea, that have Blacks and Indian Slaves, speaking out against slavery. Some of the key documents and events in this fight against slavery include the first written document in protest of slavery in the North American colonies in 1688, which is titled the Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery. An Exhortation and Caution to Friends Concerning Buying or Keeping of Negroes written in 1693, is the second anti-slavery protest document written by the Quakers and the very first ever printed. Benjamin Lay was a very radical and vocal Quaker who was in loud opposition to the idea of slavery. He used what became known as “Guerrilla Theater” to protest slavery to the public. Some of these theatrical protest events would be known as the “Bloody Book Stabbing” as well as the “Sit-Down Strike.” He even went as far as kidnapping a local child in an attempt to show the slave owning parents the grief felt by enslaved parents who had their children forcibly taken from them. Benjamin Lay himself wrote a book in 1738 titled All Slave-Keepers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates, where he posed many deep societal questions about the concept of slavery itself. Anthony Benezet, an eighteenth-century Quaker who was a teacher, played a huge part in educating many young Black children and exposing all levels of society to the horrors of slavery by creating his educational pamphlets. Benezet took education very seriously and believed everyone had a right to be able to receive one. He fought very passionately to give as many people as possible the chance to better themselves through studying and hard work. Another very prominent figure in the early years of abolitionism was the son of a very successful slave trader, but unlike many others discussed, he was not a Quaker; his name was John Laurens. In a letter to his father, Laurens talks about his disdain for the system of slavery so readily accepted in the Southern colonies. A very well-known South Carolina statesman and soldier, Laurens, even fought alongside George Washington and other historically notable figures during the American Revolution. He would go on to be a vocal advocate for the abolition of slavery, which was extremely rare in South Carolina at the time. Near the end of the war, Laurens proposed the amazing idea of recruiting over three thousand enslaved men from South Carolina and Georgia to create an entire regiment of enslaved soldiers. The idea was that they would be granted their freedom upon completion of their military service fighting against the British. Unfortunately, the Continental Congress shot down Laurens' idea in the end because many in the South feared arming the enslaved population would cause more harm than good. Another notable non-Quaker figure in the early abolitionist movement, who was a former slave herself, is the remarkable woman named Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mum Bett. She became the first Black enslaved woman to sue for her freedom in the state of Massachusetts and win. This was an extraordinary case and had massive repercussions throughout the colonies that set a precedent in the court of law for years to come. To present these exceptional figures and events in the early years of the anti-slavery movement that took place in the North American colonies clearly and concisely, it needs to be done chronologically. All this is done in the hope that everyone will see that even when you are outnumbered by many people who oppose your deepest beliefs, if those beliefs are rooted in justice and liberty for all people, you can overcome even the greatest obstacles. Abolition was viewed as completely impossible by many people and even caused America to be split in half and cause the bloodiest war in U.S. history, but in the end, it was successful. All you need to have is determination, an iron will, to never give up hope, and a little luck never hurts either.