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155-571: The Society of Friends , commonly known as the Quakers, were structured primarily by Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly and Preparative meetings. Those names indicated not only the frequency of their gatherings, but also the geographical span of their authority. A preparative meeting involved a single congregation, while a yearly meeting covered a wide area. Genesee Yearly Meeting, for example, included about twenty-five Quarterly and Monthly meetings in central and western New York, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. In

310-601: A Recorded Minister in Manchester . His 1835 book A Beacon to the Society of Friends insisted that the inner light was at odds with a religious belief in salvation by the atonement of Christ. This Christian controversy led to Crewdson's resignation from the Religious Society of Friends, along with 48 fellow members of Manchester Meeting and about 250 other British Quakers in 1836–1837. Some of these joined

465-476: A boy and a white one for a girl. One of her daughters, Harriot Stanton Blatch , became, like her mother, a leader of the women's suffrage movement . Because of the spacing of their children's births, one historian has concluded that the Stantons must have used birth control methods. Stanton herself said her children were conceived by what she called "voluntary motherhood." In an era when it was commonly held that

620-585: A boy!" Stanton had many educational opportunities as a young child. Their neighbor, Reverend Simon Hosack, taught her Greek and mathematics. Edward Bayard, her brother-in-law and Eleazar's former classmate at Union College, taught her philosophy and horsemanship. Her father brought her law books to study so she could participate in debates with his law clerks at the dinner table. She wanted to go to college, but no colleges at that time accepted female students. Moreover, her father initially decided she did not need further education. He eventually agreed to enroll her in

775-507: A charge of religious blasphemy . According to Fox's autobiography, Bennet "was the first that called us Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord". It is thought that Fox was referring to Isaiah 66:2 or Ezra 9:4 . Thus the name Quaker began as a way of ridiculing Fox's admonition, but became widely accepted and used by some Quakers. Quakers also described themselves using terms such as true Christianity, Saints, Children of

930-599: A committee from Genesee Yearly Meeting told the Michigan Meeting that Genesee Yearly Meeting would no longer recognize them if they did not restore their meeting of ministers and elders. Michigan Quarterly Meeting did not do so. At the June 1848 gathering of Genesee Yearly Meeting at the Farmington Meeting House about 20 miles southeast of Rochester, New York , the clerk repeatedly refused to read

1085-399: A convention of both men and women. How, for example, might people react if a woman ruled a man out of order? Stanton herself spoke in opposition to the election of a woman as the chair of this convention, although she later acknowledged her mistake and apologized for her action. When the first National Women's Rights Convention was organized in 1850, Stanton was unable to attend because she

1240-494: A delegate. Although Mott was much older than Stanton, they quickly bonded in an enduring friendship, with Stanton eagerly learning from the more experienced activist. While in London, Stanton heard Mott preach in a Unitarian chapel, the first time Stanton had heard a woman give a sermon or even speak in public. Stanton later gave credit to this convention for focusing her interests on women's rights. An accumulation of experiences

1395-505: A delegation from the organization met with President Abraham Lincoln and asked him to declare an immediate end to slavery. The organization slowly declined. By its fiftieth anniversary in 1903, its annual meetings had been reduced in length to two days, and its Proceedings , published annually, contained far fewer pages than before. The group disbanded in 1940. Its building, the Longwood Meeting House, still stands at

1550-701: A dispute erupted in the Green Street Meeting over the practice of holding separate meetings for men and women and also of giving special weight to the opinions of ministers and elders. After a formal separation in the Pennsylvania Yearly Meeting in 1852, the Pennsylvania Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends was organized on May 22, 1853, at the Kennett Meeting House . Later known as the Friends of Human Progress,

1705-538: A document called "The Basis of Religious Association," authored by Thomas M'Clintock , the organization's leading figure. It stated that there would be no hierarchy of meetings, as each local group would make its own decisions. There would be no ministers, and no member would be subordinate to another. Men and women would meet together, not separately. Members would not be bound by creed or doctrine. The organization would focus not on theology but on practical goodness. The document said, "The true basis of religious fellowship

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1860-510: A great people to be gathered". Following this he travelled around England, the Netherlands, and Barbados preaching and teaching with the aim of converting new adherents to his faith. The central theme of his Gospel message was that Christ has come to teach his people himself. Fox considered himself to be restoring a true, "pure" Christian church. In 1650, Fox was brought before the magistrates Gervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton, on

2015-480: A group of men who financed John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in an effort to spark an armed uprising of enslaved African Americans. At Smith's home, where she spent summers and was considered "part of the family," she met Henry Brewster Stanton , a prominent abolitionist agent. Despite her father's reservations, the couple married in 1840, omitting the word "obey" from the marriage ceremony. Stanton later wrote, "I obstinately refused to obey one with whom I supposed I

2170-774: A large household, but she found herself unsatisfied and even depressed by the lack of intellectual companionship and stimulation in Seneca Falls. During the 1850s, Henry's work as a lawyer and politician kept him away from home for nearly 10 months out of every year. This frustrated Elizabeth when the children were small because it made it difficult for her to travel. The pattern continued in later years, with husband and wife living apart more often than together, maintaining separate households for several years. Their marriage, which lasted 47 years, ended with Henry Stanton's death in 1887. Both Henry and Elizabeth were staunch abolitionists, but Henry, like Elizabeth's father, disagreed with

2325-431: A letter by Stanton, who did not participate in person in a national convention until 1860. While visiting Seneca Falls in 1851, Susan B. Anthony was introduced to Stanton by Amelia Bloomer , a mutual friend and a supporter of women's rights. Anthony, who was five years younger than Stanton, came from a Quaker family that was active in reform movements. Anthony and Stanton soon became close friends and co-workers, forming

2480-494: A meeting house in 1672 that was visited by George Fox in the same year. They were able to establish thriving communities in the Delaware Valley , although they continued to experience persecution in some areas, such as New England . The three colonies that tolerated Quakers at this time were West Jersey , Rhode Island , and Pennsylvania , where Quakers established themselves politically. In Rhode Island, 36 governors in

2635-568: A more structured organisation, which led to separate women's meetings. Through the women's meetings, women oversaw domestic and community life, including marriage. From the beginning, Quaker women, notably Margaret Fell , played an important role in defining Quakerism. They were involved in missionary work in various ways and places. Early Quaker women missionaries included Sarah Cheevers and Katharine Evans. Others active in proselytising included Mary Penington , Mary Mollineux and Barbara Blaugdone . Quaker women published at least 220 texts during

2790-574: A national Famine Relief Committee in May 1942, encouraging a network of local famine relief committees, among the most energetic of which was the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, Oxfam . Irving and Dorothy Stowe co-founded Greenpeace with many other environmental activists in 1971, shortly after becoming Quakers. Some Quakers in America and Britain became known for their involvement in

2945-475: A national leader of the women's rights movement , spoke on women's rights at the founding meeting of the Congregational Friends. By the 1850s, she had become an active member. She later said, "The Quaker meeting-house at Junius, N.Y., was at one time the great centre and rallying point for all those interested in reforms of the day in both church and state." Susan B. Anthony , who later became

3100-523: A new style of dress to the upstate New York area. Unlike traditional floor-length dresses, it consisted of pantaloons worn under a knee-length dress. Amelia Bloomer , Stanton's friend and neighbor, publicized the attire in The Lily , a monthly magazine that she published. Thereafter it was popularly known as the "Bloomer" dress, or just " Bloomers ." It was soon adopted by many female reform activists despite harsh ridicule from traditionalists, who considered

3255-638: A new world rather than fighting to destroy the old", as did the American Friends Service Committee . Birmingham in England had a strong Quaker community during the war. Many British Quakers were conscripted into the Non-Combatant Corps during both world wars. After the two world wars had brought the different Quaker strands closer together, Friends from different yearly meetings – many having served together in

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3410-622: A peak of 60,000 in England and Wales by 1680 (1.15% of the population of England and Wales). But the dominant discourse of Protestantism viewed the Quakers as a blasphemous challenge to social and political order, leading to official persecution in England and Wales under the Quaker Act 1662 and the Conventicle Act 1664 . This persecution of Dissenters was relaxed after the Declaration of Indulgence (1687–1688) and stopped under

3565-671: A prepared Bible message coordinated by a pastor (with the largest Quaker group being the Evangelical Friends Church International ). Some 11% practice waiting worship or unprogrammed worship (commonly Meeting for Worship ), where the unplanned order of service is mainly silent and may include unprepared vocal ministry from those present. Some meetings of both types have Recorded Ministers present, Friends recognised for their gift of vocal ministry. The proto- evangelical Christian movement dubbed Quakerism arose in mid-17th-century England from

3720-411: A relationship that was a turning point in their lives and of great importance to the women's movement. The two women had complementary skills. Anthony excelled at organizing, while Stanton had an aptitude for intellectual matters and writing. Stanton later said, "In writing we did better work together than either could alone. While she is slow and analytical in composition, I am rapid and synthetic. I am

3875-664: A statement of faith known as the Richmond Declaration . Supported by many of the older, longstanding members in the London Yearly Meeting, Braithwaite saw the Richmond Declaration of Faith as being a bulwark against "unsound and dangerous doctrine" in times when Friends were "in a state of discipline and warfare". This statement of faith was agreed to by 95 of the representatives at a meeting of Five Years Meeting Friends, but unexpectedly

4030-854: A variety of industries. Two notable examples were Abraham Darby I and Edward Pease . Darby and his family played an important role in the British Industrial Revolution with their innovations in ironmaking. Pease, a Darlington manufacturer, was the main promoter of the Stockton and Darlington Railway , which was the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives. Other industries with prominent Quaker businesses included banking ( Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays PLC ), pharmaceuticals ( Allen & Hanburys ), chocolate ( Cadbury and Fry's ), confectionery (Rowntree ), shoe manufacturing ( Clarks ), and biscuit manufacturing ( Huntley & Palmers ). Voltaire 's Letters on

4185-467: A wife must submit to her husband's sexual demands, Stanton believed that women should have command over their sexual relationships and childbearing . She also said, however, that "a healthy woman has as much passion as a man." Stanton encouraged both her sons and daughters to pursue a broad range of interests, activities, and learning. She was remembered by her daughter Margaret as being "cheerful, sunny and indulgent." She enjoyed motherhood and running

4340-419: A women's rights issue because of laws that gave husbands complete control of the family and its finances. The law provided almost no recourse to a woman with a drunken husband, even if his condition left the family destitute and he was abusive to her and their children. If she managed to obtain a divorce, which was difficult to do, he could easily end up with sole guardianship of their children. In 1852, Anthony

4495-562: A women's temperance convention. Later that year, about five hundred women met in Rochester and created the Women's State Temperance Society, with Stanton as president and Anthony as state agent. This leadership arrangement, with Stanton in the public role as president and Anthony as the energetic force behind the scenes, was characteristic of the organizations they founded in later years. In her first public speech since 1848, Stanton delivered

4650-526: Is not identity of theological belief but unity of heart and oneness of purpose in respect to the great practical duties of life." The organization was not restricted to Quakers. According to historian Christopher Densmore, Congregational Friends, "provided a platform for reformers who were otherwise Quakers, Unitarians , Spiritualists and Free Thinkers ." The call to its meeting in 1854 envisioned "… an assembly in which Christians, Jews, Mahammedans, and Pagans, men and women of all names and no name, may mingle

4805-576: Is now the Mid-India Yearly Meeting. Later it spread to Madagascar from 1867, China from 1896, Sri Lanka from 1896, and Pemba Island from 1897. After the 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus between Christians and Druze, many missionaries flocked to Ottoman Syria . These missionaries included Friends from several nations. The Friends Syrian Mission was established in 1874, which among other institutions ran

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4960-663: The Act of Toleration 1689 . One modern view of Quakerism at this time was that the direct relationship with Christ was encouraged through spiritualisation of human relations, and "the redefinition of the Quakers as a holy tribe, 'the family and household of God ' ". Together with Margaret Fell , the wife of Thomas Fell , who was the vice-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and an eminent judge, Fox developed new conceptions of family and community that emphasised "holy conversation": speech and behaviour that reflected piety, faith, and love. With

5115-537: The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution from Rhode Island Quakers, trial by jury, equal rights for men and women, and public education. The Liberty Bell was cast by Quakers in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Early Quakerism tolerated boisterous behaviour that challenged conventional etiquette, but by 1700, its adherents no longer supported disruptive and unruly behaviour. During the 18th century, Quakers entered

5270-513: The Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Convention Stanton was the primary author of the convention's Declaration of Rights and Sentiments , which was modeled on the U.S. Declaration of Independence . Its list of grievances included the wrongful denial of women's right to vote, signaling Stanton's intent to generate a discussion of women's suffrage at the convention. This was a highly controversial idea at

5425-531: The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was introduced that would provide suffrage for black men only, they opposed it, insisting that suffrage should be extended to all African Americans and all women at the same time. Others in the movement supported the amendment, resulting in a split. During the bitter arguments that led up to the split, Stanton sometimes expressed her ideas in elitist and racially condescending language. In her opposition to

5580-512: The Finger Lakes region. Their house , which is now a part of the Women's Rights National Historical Park , was purchased for them by Elizabeth's father. The couple had seven children. At that time, child-bearing was considered to be a subject that should be handled with great delicacy. Stanton took a different approach, raising a flag in front of her house after giving birth, a red flag for

5735-674: The First Epistle of Peter . They include those with evangelical , holiness , liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity, as well as Nontheist Quakers . To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures . In 2017, there were an estimated 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa followed by 22% in North America . Some 89% of Quakers worldwide belong to evangelical and programmed branches that hold services with singing and

5890-645: The Great Separation of 1827, which resulted in a parallel system of Yearly Meetings in America, joined by Friends from Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Baltimore. They were referred to by opponents as Hicksites and by others and sometimes themselves as Orthodox. Quakers in Britain recognised only the Orthodox Quakers and refused to correspond with the Hicksites. Isaac Crewdson was

6045-711: The Inward light . They were imprisoned in harsh conditions for five weeks and banished by the Massachusetts Bay Colony . Their books were burned, and most of their property confiscated. In 1660, English Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged near Boston Common for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. She was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs . In 1661, King Charles II forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. In 1684, England revoked

6200-633: The Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups breaking with the established Church of England . The Quakers, especially the Valiant Sixty , sought to convert others by travelling through Britain and overseas preaching the Gospel. Some early Quaker ministers were women. They based their message on a belief that "Christ has come to teach his people himself", stressing direct relations with God through Jesus Christ and belief in

6355-574: The London Yearly Meeting for the same reason in 1865. They formed a separate body of Friends called Fritchley General Meeting , which remained distinct and separate from London Yearly Meeting until 1968. Similar splits took place in Canada. The Yearly Meetings that supported John Wilbur's religious beliefs became known as Conservative Friends . In 1887, a Gurneyite Quaker of British descent, Joseph Bevan Braithwaite , proposed to Friends

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6510-520: The New York Tribune , a daily newspaper edited by Horace Greeley . The status of married women at that time was in part set by English common law which for centuries had set the doctrine of coverture in local courts. It held wives were under the protection and control of their husbands. In the words of William Blackstone 's 1769 book Commentaries on the Laws of England : "By marriage,

6665-767: The Nobel Peace Prize . Religious strife in the Kingdom of England had existed for centuries, with proto-Protestant groups (mainly the Lollards ) popping up before the English Reformation brought radical ideas to the mainstream. During and after the English Civil War (1642–1651) many dissenting Christian groups emerged, including the Seekers and others. A young man, George Fox ,

6820-782: The Penn's Creek Massacre of 1755. Early colonial Quakers also established communities and meeting houses in North Carolina and Maryland, after fleeing persecution by the Anglican Church in Virginia. In a 2007 interview, author David Yount ( How the Quakers Invented America ) said that Quakers first introduced many ideas that later became mainstream, such as democracy in the Pennsylvania legislature,

6975-606: The Plymouth Brethren . Orthodox Friends became more evangelical during the 19th century and were influenced by the Second Great Awakening . This movement was led by British Quaker Joseph John Gurney . Christian Friends held Revival meetings in America and became involved in the Holiness movement of churches. Quakers such as Hannah Whitall Smith and Robert Pearsall Smith became speakers in

7130-474: The Quietist period in the history of their church, becoming more inward-looking spiritually and less active in converting others. Marrying outside the Society was cause for having one's membership revoked. Numbers dwindled, dropping to 19,800 in England and Wales by 1800 (0.21% of the population), and 13,859 by 1860 (0.07% of population). The formal name "Religious Society of Friends" dates from this period and

7285-700: The Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank, which still exist today and is affiliated with the Friends United Meeting . The Swiss missionary Theophilus Waldmeier founded Brummana High School in Lebanon in 1873. Evangelical Friends Churches from Ohio Yearly Meeting sent missionaries to India in 1896, forming what is now Bundelkhand Yearly Meeting . Cleveland Friends went to Mombasa , Kenya , and started what became

7440-576: The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade , or The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, were Quakers: John Barton (1755–1789); William Dillwyn (1743–1824); George Harrison (1747–1827); Samuel Hoare Jr (1751–1825); Joseph Hooper (1732–1789); John Lloyd; Joseph Woods Sr (1738–1812); James Phillips (1745–1799); and Richard Phillips. Five of the Quakers had been amongst

7595-691: The Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York , which was founded and run by Emma Willard . In her memoirs, Stanton said that during her student days in Troy she was greatly disturbed by a six-week religious revival conducted by Charles Grandison Finney , an evangelical preacher and a central figure in the revivalist movement. His preaching, combined with the Calvinistic Presbyterianism of her childhood, terrified her with

7750-405: The abolitionist movement and signing a petition for women's suffrage in 1867. She was described, at least earlier in her life, as "[n]early six feet tall, strong willed and self-reliant, ... She was the only person in the household not in awe of her husband who was 12 years her senior." Elizabeth was the seventh of eleven children, six of whom died before reaching full adulthood, including all of

7905-589: The campaign against slavery . Quakers condemned slavery but discouraged members from mixing with non-Quakers where possible, and that included broad-based anti-slavery organizations. An additional issue was the status of women. Quaker men and women met separately, and some of the decisions of the women's meetings required approval by the men's meetings. In 1837, a proposal originating with the Junius Monthly Meeting in western New York asked Genesee Yearly meeting to eliminate this subordination and place

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8060-404: The 1650s, individual Quaker women prophesied and preached publicly, developing charismatic personae and spreading the sect. This practice was bolstered by the movement's firm concept of spiritual equality for men and women. Moreover, Quakerism initially was propelled by the nonconformist behaviours of its followers, especially women who broke from social norms. By the 1660s, the movement had gained

8215-489: The 17th century. However, some Quakers resented the power of women in the community. In the early years of Quakerism, George Fox faced resistance in developing and establishing women's meetings. As controversy increased, Fox did not fully adhere to his agenda. For example, he established the London Six Weeks Meeting in 1671 as a regulatory body, led by 35 women and 49 men. Even so, conflict culminated in

8370-465: The 1840s, two intertwined issues increasingly created divisions within the Hicksite branch of the Quakers. One issue was its hierarchical structure, which placed local bodies under the authority of higher-level bodies and gave meetings of ministers and elders the authority to discipline members. The other issue was the question of whether Quakers should be allowed to join organizations that were leading

8525-713: The 1880s. It soon changed its name to the Progressive Friends, and in 1854 changed it again to Friends of Human Progress to make it clear that it was not a religious sect. Participants included such nationally known social reformers as Frederick Douglass , Susan B. Anthony , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Charles Lenox Remond , Samuel May , Amy and Isaac Post , and Gerritt Smith . Similar organizations were formed afterward in Michigan, Green Plain, Ohio ; North Collins, New York , Chester County, Pennsylvania and several other places. "The Basis of Religious Association"

8680-769: The Bible as secondary to the individual cultivation of God's light within. With Gurneyite Quakers' shift toward Protestant principles and away from the spiritualisation of human relations, women's role as promoters of "holy conversation" started to decrease. Conversely, within the Hicksite movement the rejection of the market economy and the continuing focus on community and family bonds tended to encourage women to retain their role as powerful arbiters. Elias Hicks 's religious views were claimed to be universalist and to contradict Quakers' historical orthodox Christian beliefs and practices. Hicks' Gospel preaching and teaching precipitated

8835-401: The Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers because the founder of the movement, George Fox , told a judge to quake "before the authority of God". The Friends are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to be guided by the inward light to "make the witness of God" known to everyone. Quakers have traditionally professed a priesthood of all believers inspired by

8990-582: The Civil War led Hicksite Friends to espouse the core tenets of the Congregational/Progressive Friends who had left their meetings only two decades earlier." The Progressive Friends movement also declined after the Civil War, but for a different reason. Opposition to slavery had been the most important purpose of most of these groups. As a result, most of them ceased to function after slavery had been abolished as an outcome of

9145-438: The English (1733) included the spirit of commerce and religious diversity in Great Britain, with the first four letters based on the Quakers. Quakers have a long history of establishing educational institutions. Initially, Quakers had no ordained clergy , and therefore needed no seminaries for theological training. In England, Quaker schools sprang up soon after the movement emerged, with Friends School Saffron Walden being

9300-506: The Five Years Meeting due to a concern of what they saw as the allowance of modernism in the FYM. Some Orthodox Quakers in America disliked the move towards evangelical Christianity and saw it as a dilution of Friends' traditional orthodox Christian belief in being inwardly led by the Holy Spirit . These Friends were headed by John Wilbur , who was expelled from his yearly meeting in 1842. He and his supporters formed their own Conservative Friends Yearly Meeting. Some UK Friends broke away from

9455-425: The Friends Ambulance Unit or the American Friends Service Committee, or in other relief work – later held several Quaker World Conferences. This brought about a standing body of Friends: the Friends World Committee for Consultation . A growing desire for a more fundamentalist approach among some Friends after the First World War began a split among Five Years Meetings . In 1924, the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends

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9610-455: The Light, and Friends of the Truth, reflecting terms used in the New Testament by members of the early Christian church. Quakerism gained a considerable following in England and Wales, not least among women. An address "To the Reader" by Mary Forster accompanied a Petition to the Parliament of England presented on 20 May 1659, expressing the opposition of over 7000 women to "the oppression of Tithes". The overall number of Quakers increased to

9765-449: The Manchester Conference in England in 1895, one thousand British Friends met to consider the future of British Quakerism, and as a result, Liberal Quaker thought gradually increased within the London Yearly Meeting. During World War I and World War II , Friends' opposition to war was put to the test. Many Friends became conscientious objectors and some formed the Friends Ambulance Unit , aiming at "co-operating with others to build up

9920-452: The Massachusetts charter , sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws in 1686 and, in 1689, passed a broad Toleration Act. Some Friends migrated to what is now the north-eastern region of the United States in the 1660s in search of economic opportunities and a more tolerant environment in which to build communities of "holy conversation". In 1665 Quakers established a meeting in Shrewsbury, New Jersey (now Monmouth County), and built

10075-558: The Midwest. Acceptance of the theory of evolution became more widespread in Yearly Meetings who moved toward liberal Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, creationism predominates within evangelical Friends Churches, particularly in East Africa and parts of the United States. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the so-called Quaker Renaissance movement began within London Yearly Meeting. Young Friends in London Yearly Meeting at this time moved away from evangelicalism and towards liberal Christianity. This movement

10230-479: The Progressive Spiritualists, and the Friends of Progressive Spiritualists, Little is known about these organizations, and it isn't clear how much their activities reflected the original reform goals of the Progressive Friends movement. Congregational Friends meetings were established in at least these locations: The historian who compiled this list in 1920 said that some of the listed local groups might not have been independent but instead were associated with one of

10385-469: The Richmond Declaration was not adopted by London Yearly Meeting because a vocal minority, including Edward Grubb , opposed it. Following the Christian revivals in the mid-19th century, Friends in Great Britain sought also to start missionary activity overseas. The first missionaries were sent to Benares ( Varanasi ), in India, in 1866. The Friends Foreign Mission Association was formed in 1868 and sent missionaries to Madhya Pradesh , India, forming what

10540-406: The Senate Judiciary Committee. This further brought women's suffrage and officeholding to the forefront of Congress's agenda, even though the New Departure agenda was ultimately rejected. The relationship was not without its strains, especially as Anthony could not match Stanton's charm and charisma. In 1871, Anthony said, "whoever goes into a parlor or before an audience with that woman does it at

10695-463: The Seneca Falls Convention, it strengthened the women's rights movement by increasing the ability of women to act independently. By weakening the traditional belief that husbands spoke for their wives, it assisted many of the reforms that Stanton championed, such as the right of women to speak in public and to vote. In 1853, Susan B. Anthony organized a petition campaign in New York state for an improved property rights law for married women. As part of

10850-419: The Stantons moved to Boston (Chelsea), Massachusetts, where Henry joined a law firm. While living in Boston, Elizabeth enjoyed the social, political, and intellectual stimulation that came with a constant round of abolitionist gatherings. Here, she was influenced by such people as Frederick Douglass , William Lloyd Garrison and Ralph Waldo Emerson . In 1847, the Stantons moved to Seneca Falls , New York, in

11005-401: The Wilkinson–Story split, in which a portion of the Quaker community left to worship independently in protest at women's meetings. After several years, this schism became largely resolved, testifying to the resistance of some within the Quaker community and to the spiritual role of women that Fox and Margaret Fell had encouraged. Particularly within the relatively prosperous Quaker communities of

11160-496: The abolition of slavery, and they led it in the largest petition drive in U.S. history up to that time. They started a newspaper called The Revolution in 1868 to work for women's rights. After the war, Stanton and Anthony were the main organizers of the American Equal Rights Association , which campaigned for equal rights for both African Americans and women, especially the right of suffrage. When

11315-561: The abolitionist and resettlement movement in the early part of that century. Quaker Laura Smith Haviland , with her husband, established the first station on the Underground Railroad in Michigan. Later, Haviland befriended Sojourner Truth , who called her the Superintendent of the Underground Railroad. Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( née Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902)

11470-464: The abolitionist movement. In the early history of Colonial America , it was fairly common for Friends to own slaves, e.g. in Pennsylvania . During the early to mid-1700s, disquiet about this practice arose among Friends, best exemplified by the testimonies of Benjamin Lay , Anthony Benezet and John Woolman , and this resulted in an abolition movement among Friends. Nine of the twelve founding members of

11625-747: The age of 15. The only girl in its advanced classes in mathematics and languages, she won second prize in the school's Greek competition and became a skilled debater. She enjoyed her years at the school and said she did not encounter any barriers there due to her gender. She was made sharply aware of society's low expectations for women when Eleazar, her last surviving brother, died at the age of 20 just after graduating from Union College in Schenectady, New York . Her father and mother were incapacitated by grief. The ten-year-old Stanton tried to comfort her father, saying she would try to be all her brother had been. Her father said, "Oh my daughter, I wish you were

11780-596: The better writer, she the better critic." Anthony deferred to Stanton in many ways throughout their years of work together, not accepting an office in any organization that would place her above Stanton. In their letters, they referred to one another as "Susan" and "Mrs. Stanton." Because Stanton was homebound with seven children while Anthony was unmarried and free to travel, Anthony assisted Stanton by supervising her children while Stanton wrote. Among other things, this allowed Stanton to write speeches for Anthony to give. One of Anthony's biographers said, "Susan became one of

11935-417: The boys. Her mother, exhausted by giving birth to so many children and the anguish of seeing so many of them die, became withdrawn and depressed. Tryphena, the oldest daughter, together with her husband Edward Bayard, assumed much of the responsibility for raising the younger children. In her memoir, Eighty Years & More , Stanton said there were three African-American manservants in her household when she

12090-484: The color line.” Tension developed within the Pennsylvania Yearly Meeting as early as 1845 when members of the Marlborough Meeting House opposed efforts by their supervisory bodies to prevent members from joining with non-Quakers in anti-slavery organizations. In 1848, after news had spread about the separation in western New York and the formation there and elsewhere of the Congregational Friends,

12245-551: The common law. Some Southern states like Texas and Florida provided more equality for women. Across the country state legislatures were taking control away from common law traditions by passing legislation. In 1836, the New York legislature began considering a Married Women's Property Act , with women's rights advocate Ernestine Rose an early supporter who circulated petitions in its favor. Stanton's father supported this reform. Having no sons to pass his considerable wealth to, he

12400-471: The convention but quickly became a central tenet of the women's movement. She was also active in other social reform activities, especially abolitionism . In 1851, she met Susan B. Anthony and formed a decades-long partnership that was crucial to the development of the women's rights movement. During the American Civil War , they established the Women's Loyal National League to campaign for

12555-432: The convention's keynote address, one that antagonized religious conservatives. She called for drunkenness to be legal grounds for divorce at a time when many conservatives opposed divorce for any reason. She appealed for wives of drunkard husbands to take control of their marital relations, saying, "Let no woman remain in relation of wife with the confirmed drunkard. Let no drunkard be the father of her children." She attacked

12710-412: The cost of a fearful overshadowing, a price which I have paid for the last ten years, and that cheerfully, because I felt that our cause was most profited by her being seen and heard, and my best work was making the way clear for her." Excessive consumption of alcohol was a severe social problem during this period, one that began to diminish only in the 1850s. Many activists considered temperance to be

12865-659: The door to all who recognize the Equal Brotherhood of the Human Family, without regard to sex, color or condition". Participants included such nationally known figures as Lucretia Mott , William Lloyd Garrison and Harriet Jacobs . Its annual meetings in the early years lasted for three or four days and involved hundreds of people attending lectures and picnics. Contrary to traditional Quaker practice, these meetings included concerts and congregational singing. The organization also held missionary meetings throughout

13020-510: The eastern United States, the focus on the child and "holy conversation" gave women unusual community power, although they were largely excluded from the market economy. With the Hicksite–Orthodox split of 1827–1828, Orthodox women found their spiritual role decreased, while Hicksite women retained greater influence. Described as "natural capitalists" by the BBC , many Quakers were successful in

13175-527: The edge of the Longwood Gardens . This organization was the largest of the Progressive Friends groups, and it lasted the longest. The Collins Annual Meeting of the Friends of Human Progress in North Collins, New York , southwest of Buffalo , met annually from 1848 until after 1945. It soon developed a strong orientation toward spiritualism , the belief that communication is possible with

13330-424: The family and was almost another mother to Mrs. Stanton's children." One of Stanton's biographers said, "Stanton provided the ideas, rhetoric, and strategy; Anthony delivered the speeches, circulated petitions, and rented the halls. Anthony prodded and Stanton produced." Stanton's husband said, "Susan stirred the puddings, Elizabeth stirred up Susan, and then Susan stirs up the world!" Stanton herself said, "I forged

13485-467: The first 100 years were Quakers. West Jersey and Pennsylvania were established by affluent Quaker William Penn in 1676 and 1682 respectively, with Pennsylvania as an American commonwealth run under Quaker principles. William Penn signed a peace treaty with Tammany , leader of the Delaware tribe, and other treaties followed between Quakers and Native Americans. This peace endured almost a century, until

13640-457: The first half of the 20th century before the country's independence in 1963. International volunteering organisations such as Service Civil International and International Voluntary Service were founded by leading Quakers. Eric Baker , a prominent Quaker, was one of the founders of Amnesty International and of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament . The Quaker Edith Pye established

13795-559: The first three volumes of the History of Woman Suffrage , a massive effort to record the history of the movement, focusing largely on her wing of it. She was also the primary author of The Woman's Bible , a critical examination of the Bible that is based on the premise that its attitude toward women reflects prejudice from a less civilized age. Elizabeth Cady was born into the leading family of Johnstown , New York. Their family mansion on

13950-811: The first women's suffrage petition directed to Congress during the drafting of the Fourteenth Amendment. The women challenged the use of the word "male" in the version submitted to the States for ratification. When Congress failed to remove the language, Stanton announced her candidacy as the first woman to run for Congress in October 1866. She ran as an independent and secured only 24 votes, but her candidacy sparked conversations surrounding women's officeholding separate from suffrage. In December 1872, Stanton and Anthony each wrote New Departure memorials to Congress and were invited to read their memorials to

14105-501: The footwear firm of C. & J. Clark and the big three British confectionery makers Cadbury , Rowntree and Fry ; and philanthropic efforts, including abolition of slavery, prison reform , and social justice . In 1947, in recognition of their dedication to peace and the common good, Quakers represented by the British Friends Service Council and the American Friends Service Committee were awarded

14260-420: The human family, without regard to color or sex, possess potentially the same faculties and powers, capable of like cultivation and development and consequently has the same rights, interests and destiny." According to historian Nancy A. Hewitt, members of this organization “may have been unique among their contemporaries, including other activists and other Quakers, in extending this belief in human equality across

14415-401: The husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage." The husband of a married woman became the owner of any property she brought into a marriage. She could not sign contracts, operate a business in her own name, or retain custody of their children in the event of a divorce. In practice some American courts followed

14570-521: The idea of female suffrage. One biographer described Henry as, "at best a halfhearted 'women's rights man.'" While on their honeymoon in England in 1840, the Stantons attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. Elizabeth was appalled by the convention's male delegates, who voted to prevent women from participating even if they had been appointed as delegates of their respective abolitionist societies. The men required

14725-477: The idea of women wearing any sort of trousers as a threat to the social order. To Stanton, it solved the problem of climbing stairs with a baby in one hand, a candle in the other, and somehow also lifting the skirt of a long dress to avoid tripping. Stanton wore "Bloomers" for two years, abandoning the attire only after it became clear that the controversy it created was distracting people from the campaign for women's rights. Other women's rights activists eventually did

14880-488: The informal group of six Quakers who had pioneered the movement in 1783, when the first petition against the slave trade was presented to Parliament. As Quakers could not serve as Members of Parliament, they relied on the help of Anglican men who could, such as William Wilberforce and his brother-in-law James Stephen . By the beginning of the American Revolutionary War , few Friends owned slaves. At

15035-425: The latter meeting in favor of a resolution for the enfranchisement of Black men and also one that said the "grand and fundamental idea" of equality and justice "will not have been practically carried out till woman, equally with man, shall have secured to her the power to cast her ballot." The organization asserted that people had the same capabilities regardless of sex or race, declaring in 1853 that "every member of

15190-465: The legal status of woman and slaves, saying, "The prejudice against color, of which we hear so much, is no stronger than that against sex. It is produced by the same cause, and manifested very much in the same way. The negro's skin and the woman's sex are both prima facie evidence that they were intended to be in subjection to the white Saxon man." The legislature passed the improved law in 1860. In 1851, Elizabeth Smith Miller , Stanton's cousin, brought

15345-446: The listed yearly meetings. After the end of the American Civil War in 1865, Quaker congregations entered a period of steep decline as the younger generation abandoned Quaker dress, speech and discipline. This rejection of traditional practices undercut the authority of Quaker elders and ministers, resulting in restructurings along the lines envisioned earlier by the Progressive Friends. According to historian Judith Wellman, "In effect,

15500-525: The men's and women's meetings on equal footing. Their proposal was adopted by the Genesee Yearly Meeting but not by Yearly Meetings in other areas of the country. In 1843, Michigan Quarterly Meeting, a part of Genesee Yearly Meeting, eliminated its separate meetings of ministers and elders, thereby placing all its members on equal footing. This action was opposed by important forces in Genesee Yearly Meeting. The issue festered until 1847 when

15655-455: The more urban, wealthier, Orthodox Quakers. With increasing financial success, Orthodox Quakers wanted to "make the Society a more respectable body – to transform their sect into a church – by adopting mainstream Protestant orthodoxy". Hicksites, though they held a variety of views, generally saw the market economy as corrupting, and believed Orthodox Quakers had sacrificed their orthodox Christian spirituality for material success. Hicksites viewed

15810-520: The most prominent. Quaker schools in the UK and Ireland are supported by The Friends' Schools' Council. In Australia, Friends' School, Hobart , founded in 1887, has grown into the largest Quaker school in the world. In Britain and the United States, friends have established a variety of institutions at a variety of educational levels . In Kenya, Quakers founded several primary and secondary schools in

15965-804: The most successful Friends' mission. Their Quakerism spread within Kenya and to Uganda , Tanzania , Burundi , and Rwanda . The theory of evolution as described in Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) was opposed by many Quakers in the 19th century, particularly by older evangelical Quakers who dominated the Religious Society of Friends in Great Britain. These older Quakers were suspicious of Darwin's theory and believed that natural selection could not explain life on its own. The influential Quaker scientist Edward Newman said that

16120-507: The movement. When the split was healed more than twenty years later, Stanton became the first president of the united organization, the National American Woman Suffrage Association . This was largely an honorary position; Stanton continued to work on a wide range of women's rights issues despite the organization's increasingly tight focus on women's right to vote. Stanton was the primary author of

16275-533: The national leader the women's suffrage movement , served as clerk of the organization in 1857. Frederick Douglass , a leading abolitionist who was formerly enslaved, attended several meetings as well, including those in June 1861 and 1866, when Friends of Human Progress discussed how to react to the outbreak of the Civil War and its aftermath. According to the National Anti-Slavery Standard , Douglass spoke with "unrivaled eloquence" at

16430-474: The ninth, which read, "it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves the sacred right of the elective franchise." Following a vigorous debate, this resolution was adopted only after Frederick Douglass , an abolitionist leader who had formerly been enslaved, gave it his strong support. Stanton's sister Harriet attended the convention and signed its Declaration of Sentiments. Her husband, however, made her remove her signature. Although this

16585-416: The organization met annually at the Longwood Meeting House near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania , a western suburb of Philadelphia. The new organization announced its principles in an "Exposition of Sentiments" that said, among other things, "We interrogate no man as to his theological belief; we send no Committees to pry into the motives of those who may desire to share the benefits of our Association; but open

16740-572: The possibility of her own damnation : "Fear of judgment seized my soul. Visions of the lost haunted my dreams. Mental anguish prostrated my health." Stanton credited her father and brother-in-law with convincing her to disregard Finney's warnings. She said they took her on a six-week trip to Niagara Falls during which she read works of rational philosophers who restored her reason and sense of balance. Lori D. Ginzberg, one of Stanton's biographers, says there are problems with this story. For one thing, Finney did not preach for six weeks in Troy while Stanton

16895-563: The presentation of these petitions to the legislature, Stanton spoke in 1854 to a joint session of the Judiciary Committee, arguing that voting rights were needed to enable women to protect their newly won property rights. In 1860, Stanton spoke again to the Judiciary Committee, this time before a large audience in the assembly chamber, arguing that women's suffrage was the only real protection for married women, their children and their material assets. She pointed to similarities in

17050-455: The primary author of its "Basis of Religious Association," presided over the second evening session of the convention. At least twenty-three of the one hundred signers of the convention's Declaration of Sentiments were from the Congregational Friends, nineteen of them from the Junius meeting near Waterloo. Elizabeth Cady Stanton , a key organizer of the Seneca Falls convention who later became

17205-484: The proposal. An estimated 300 women and men attended the two-day Seneca Falls Convention . In her first address to a large audience, Stanton explained the purpose of the gathering and the importance of women's rights. Following a speech by Mott, Stanton read the Declaration of Sentiments, which the attendees were invited to sign. Next came the resolutions, all of which the convention adopted unanimously except for

17360-515: The region, with speakers, professional singers, and the distribution of reform tracts. Eusebius Barnard , Isaac Mendenhall , and other members of the congregation were active in the Underground Railroad and assisted hundreds of fugitive slaves to escape to freedom in Canada or the northern states. The most effective of these station masters, Thomas Garrett , helped more than 2,500 African Americans escape from slavery. In June 1862,

17515-567: The religious beliefs of Joseph John Gurney were known as Gurneyite yearly meetings. Many eventually collectively became the Five Years Meeting (FYM) and then the Friends United Meeting , although London Yearly Meeting , which had been strongly Gurneyite in the 19th century, did not join either of these. In 1924, the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends , a Gurneyite yearly meeting, was started by some Friends who left

17670-400: The religious establishment, calling for women to donate their money to the poor instead of to the "education of young men for the ministry, for the building up a theological aristocracy and gorgeous temples to the unknown God." At the organization's convention the following year, conservatives voted Stanton out as president, whereupon she and Anthony resigned from the organization. Temperance

17825-656: The religious movement and introduced Quaker phrases and practices to it. British Friends became involved with the Higher Life movement , with Robert Wilson from the Cockermouth meeting founding the Keswick Convention . From the 1870s it became common in Britain to have "home mission meetings" on Sunday evening with Christian hymns and a Bible-based sermon, alongside the silent meetings for worship on Sunday morning. The Quaker Yearly Meetings supporting

17980-405: The report from Michigan Quarterly Meeting. Two days of heated debate followed over the propriety of this refusal. When it became clear that Genesee Yearly Meeting was severing ties with Michigan Quarterly Meeting, about 200 members walked out in protest and began planning a new Yearly Meeting. Convening at Farmington on October 6, 1848, they called themselves the Congregational Friends and adopted

18135-808: The restructuring of the family and household came new roles for women; Fox and Fell viewed the Quaker mother as essential to developing "holy conversation" in her children and husband. Quaker women were also responsible for the spirituality of the larger community, coming together in "meetings" that regulated marriage and domestic behaviour. The persecution of Quakers in North America began in July 1656 when English Quaker missionaries Mary Fisher and Ann Austin began preaching in Boston. They were considered heretics because of their insistence on individual obedience to

18290-536: The same. Stanton had already antagonized traditionalists in 1852 at the women's temperance convention by advocating a woman's right to divorce a drunken husband. In an hour-long speech at the Tenth National Women's Rights Convention in 1860, she went further, generating a heated debate that took up an entire session. She cited tragic examples of unhealthy marriages, suggesting that some marriages amounted to "legalized prostitution." She challenged both

18445-461: The sentimental and the religious views of marriage, defining marriage as a civil contract subject to the same restrictions of any other contract. If a marriage did not produce the expected happiness, she said, then it would be a duty to end it. Strong opposition to her speech was voiced in the ensuing discussion. Abolitionist leader Wendell Phillips , arguing that divorce was not a women's rights issue because it affected both women and men equally, said

18600-593: The spirits of the dead. According historian Ann Braude, "In 1883, they incorporated in order to rebuild their meeting place, Hemlock Hall, which was ultimately replaced by Lily Dale , a spiritualist summer meeting ground that still flourishes today." Similar spiritualist groups appeared in the Midwest with names like the Yearly Meeting of Progressive Friends and Spiritualists, the Quarterly Meeting of

18755-432: The subject was out of order and tried unsuccessfully to have it removed from the record. In later years on the lecture circuit, Stanton's speech on divorce was one of her most popular, drawing audiences of up to 1200 people. In an 1890 essay entitled "Divorce versus Domestic Warfare," Stanton opposed calls by some women activists for stricter divorce laws, saying, "The rapidly increasing number of divorces, far from showing

18910-495: The sympathies and feelings of a common nature, and labor together for the promotion of human welfare." The call implicitly included the native Haudenosaunee people, who followed their own traditional religious practices and who were working with local Quakers to prevent their forcible removal from that area to lands farther west. The organization met at the Junius Meetinghouse near Waterloo, New York annually into

19065-503: The theory was "not compatible with our notions of creation as delivered from the hands of a Creator". However, some young Friends such as John Wilhelm Rowntree and Edward Grubb supported Darwin's theories, using the doctrine of progressive revelation. In the United States, Joseph Moore taught the theory of evolution at the Quaker Earlham College as early as 1861. This made him one of the first teachers to do so in

19220-640: The thunderbolts, she fired them." By 1854, Anthony and Stanton "had perfected a collaboration that made the New York State movement the most sophisticated in the country," according to Ann D. Gordon , a professor of women's history. After the Stantons moved from Seneca Falls to New York City in 1861, a room was set aside for Anthony in every house they lived in. One of Stanton's biographers estimated that, over her lifetime, Stanton spent more time with Anthony than with any other adult, including her own husband. In December 1865, Stanton and Anthony submitted

19375-595: The time but not an entirely new one. Her cousin Gerrit Smith , no stranger to radical ideas himself, had called for women's suffrage shortly before at the Liberty League convention in Buffalo. When Henry Stanton saw the inclusion of women's suffrage in the document, he told his wife that she was acting in a way that would turn the proceedings into a farce. Lucretia Mott, the main speaker, was also disturbed by

19530-562: The town's main square was handled by as many as twelve servants. Her conservative father, Daniel Cady , was one of the richest landowners in the state. A member of the Federalist Party , he was an attorney who served one term in the U.S. Congress and became a justice in the New York Supreme Court. Her mother, Margaret Cady ( née Livingston), was more progressive, supporting the radical Garrisonian wing of

19685-400: The tragic and fateful voyage of the slave ship Sally . Brown broke away from his three brothers, became an abolitionist, and converted to Christian Quakerism. During the 19th century, Quakers such as Levi Coffin and Isaac Hopper played a major role in helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad . Black Quaker Paul Cuffe , a sea captain and businessman, was active in

19840-521: The universal priesthood of all believers. This personal religious experience of Christ was acquired by direct experience and by reading and studying the Bible . Friends focused their private lives on behaviour and speech reflecting emotional purity and the light of God, with a goal of Christian perfection . A prominent theological text of the Religious Society of Friends is A Catechism and Confession of Faith (1673), published by Quaker divine Robert Barclay . The Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887)

19995-518: The voting rights of African Americans Stanton was quoted to have said, "It becomes a serious question whether we had better stand aside and let 'Sambo' walk into the kingdom first." Frederick Douglass , an abolitionist friend who had escaped from slavery, reproached her for such remarks. Stanton became the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association , which she and Anthony created to represent their wing of

20150-584: The war's end in 1783, Yarnall family members along with fellow Meeting House Friends made a failed petition to the Continental Congress to abolish slavery in the United States . In 1790, the Society of Friends petitioned the United States Congress to abolish slavery. One example of a reversal in sentiment about slavery took place in the life of Moses Brown , one of four Rhode Island brothers who, in 1764, organized and funded

20305-546: The war, forming groups such as the Free Quakers and the Universal Friends . Later, in the 19th century, there was a diversification of theological beliefs in the Religious Society of Friends, and this led to several larger splits within the movement. The Hicksite–Orthodox split arose out of both ideological and socioeconomic tensions. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Hicksites tended to be agrarian and poorer than

20460-471: The war. The few remaining groups declined in vigor as new organizations emerged as centers for reform activity, such as Anthony and Stanton's National Woman Suffrage Association . By 1920, the existence of the Congregational/Progressive Friends movement had largely been forgotten, even by most Quaker historians. Ironically, by then the type of organization envisioned in the 1848 "Basis of Religious Association" had become routinely accepted by most Quakers. This

20615-413: The women to sit in a separate section, hidden by curtains from the convention's proceedings. William Lloyd Garrison , a prominent American abolitionist and supporter of women's rights who arrived after the vote had been taken, refused to sit with the men and sat with the women instead. Lucretia Mott , a Quaker minister, abolitionist and women's rights advocate, was one of the women who had been sent as

20770-540: The women's rights movement around the country in 1848 and into the future," according to Judith Wellman, a historian of the convention. The convention initiated the use of women's rights conventions as organizing tools for the early women's movement. By the time of the second National Women's Rights Convention in 1851, the demand for women's right to vote had become a central tenet of the United States women's rights movement . A Rochester Women's Rights Convention

20925-461: The wrongs of society in general, and of women in particular." This knowledge, however, did not immediately lead to action. Relatively isolated from other social reformers and fully occupied with household duties, she was at a loss as to how she could engage in social reform. In the summer of 1848, Lucretia Mott traveled from Pennsylvania to attend a Quaker meeting near the Stanton's home. Stanton

21080-532: Was a local convention organized on short notice, its controversial nature ensured that it was widely noted in the press, with articles appearing in newspapers in New York City, Philadelphia and many other places. The Seneca Falls Convention is now recognized as an historic event, the first convention to be called for the purpose of discussing women's rights. The convention's Declaration of Sentiments became "the single most important factor in spreading news of

21235-434: Was adopted by many Orthodox Friends and continues to serve as a doctrinal statement of many yearly meetings. Quakers were known to use thee as an ordinary pronoun, refuse to participate in war , wear plain dress , refuse to swear oaths , oppose slavery , and practice teetotalism . Some Quakers founded banks and financial institutions, including Barclays , Lloyds , and Friends Provident ; manufacturers including

21390-469: Was adopted by several of these organizations. The June 1848 separation that led to the formation of the Congregational Friends played an important role in initiating the first women's rights convention , held a month later in Seneca Falls, New York , four miles east of Waterloo. Four of the five women who organized that convention were part of the new group of progressive Quakers. Thomas M'Clintock,

21545-415: Was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention , the first convention to be called for the sole purpose of discussing women's rights, and was the primary author of its Declaration of Sentiments . Her demand for women's right to vote generated a controversy at

21700-561: Was dissatisfied with the teachings of the Church of England and nonconformists . He claimed to have received a revelation that "there is one, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition", and became convinced that it was possible to have a direct experience of Christ without the aid of ordained clergy. In 1652 he had a vision on Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, in which he believed that "the Lord let me see in what places he had

21855-540: Was elected as a delegate to the New York state temperance convention. When she tried to participate in the discussion, the chairman stopped her, saying that women delegates were there only to listen and learn. Years later, Anthony observed, "No advanced step taken by women has been so bitterly contested as that of speaking in public. For nothing which they have attempted, not even to secure the suffrage, have they been so abused, condemned and antagonized." Anthony and other women walked out and announced their intention to organize

22010-596: Was entering into an equal relation." While uncommon, this practice was not unheard of; Quakers had been omitting "obey" from the marriage ceremony for some time. Stanton took her husband's surname as part of her own, signing herself Elizabeth Cady Stanton or E. Cady Stanton, but not Mrs. Henry B. Stanton. Soon after returning from their European honeymoon, the Stantons moved into the Cady household in Johnstown. Henry Stanton studied law under his father-in-law until 1843, when

22165-675: Was especially true for the Friends General Conference , one of the two main branches of Quakerism after 1900. Its first General Secretary, Henry Wilbur, was a long-time supporter of the Longwood Progressive Friends. Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends , a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations . Members refer to each other as Friends after John 15:14 in

22320-445: Was faced with the prospect of having it eventually pass to the control of his daughters' husbands. Stanton circulated petitions and lobbied legislators in favor of the proposed law as early as 1843. The law eventually passed in 1848 . It allowed a married woman to retain the property that she possessed before the marriage or acquired during the marriage, and it protected her property from her husband's creditors. Enacted shortly before

22475-437: Was having an effect on Stanton. The London convention had been a turning point in her life. Her study of law books had convinced her that legal changes were necessary to overcome gender inequities. She had personal experience of the stultifying role of women as wives and housekeepers. She said, "the wearied, anxious look of the majority of women, impressed me with a strong feeling that some active measures should be taken to remedy

22630-464: Was held in Rochester, New York two weeks later, organized by local women who had attended the one in Seneca Falls. Both Stanton and Mott spoke at this convention. The convention in Seneca Falls had been chaired by James Mott , the husband of Lucretia Mott. The Rochester convention was chaired by a woman, Abigail Bush , another historic first. Many people were disturbed by the idea of a woman chairing

22785-406: Was invited to visit with Mott and three other progressive Quaker women. Finding herself in sympathetic company, Stanton said she poured out her "long-accumulating discontent, with such vehemence and indignation that I stirred myself, as well as the rest of the party, to do and dare anything." The gathered women agreed to organize a women's rights convention in Seneca Falls a few days later, while Mott

22940-446: Was not a significant reform activity for Stanton afterwards, although she continued to use local temperance societies in the early 1850s as conduits for advocating women's rights. She regularly wrote articles for The Lily , a monthly temperance newspaper that she helped transform into one that reported news of the women's rights movement. She also wrote for The Una , a women's rights periodical edited by Paulina Wright Davis , and for

23095-517: Was particularly influenced by Rowntree, Grubb, and Rufus Jones . Such Liberal Friends promoted the theory of evolution, modern biblical criticism , and the social meaning of Christ's teaching – encouraging Friends to follow the New Testament example of Christ by performing good works. These men downplayed the evangelical Quaker belief in the atonement of Christ on the Cross at Calvary . After

23250-402: Was pregnant. Instead, she sent a letter to the convention entitled "Should women hold office" that outlined the movement's goals. The letter emphatically endorsed women's right to hold office, stating that "women might have a 'purifying, elevating, softening influence' on the 'political experiment of our Republic.'” Thereafter it became a tradition to open national women's rights conventions with

23405-561: Was probably derived from the appellations "Friends of the Light" and "Friends of the Truth". Conservative Friends (US 2K) Friends United Meeting (US 25K, world 170K) Evangelical Friends Church International (US 34K, world 200K) Beaconite Friends General Conference (US 22K, world 32K) Around the time of the American Revolutionary War , some American Quakers split from the main Society of Friends over issues such as support for

23560-656: Was started by some Friends who left the Five Years Meeting. In 1926, Oregon Yearly Meeting seceded from the Five Years Meeting , bringing together several other yearly meetings and scattered monthly meetings. In 1947, the Association of Evangelical Friends was formed, with triennial meetings until 1970. In 1965, this was replaced by the Evangelical Friends Alliance, which in 1989 became Evangelical Friends Church International . In

23715-413: Was still in the area. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpation on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her… He has not ever permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. Elizabeth Cady Stanton ,

23870-417: Was there. Ginzberg suspects that Stanton embellished a childhood memory to underline her belief that women harm themselves by falling under the spell of religion. As a young woman, Stanton traveled often to the home of her cousin, Gerrit Smith , who also lived in upstate New York. His views were very different from those of her conservative father. Smith was an abolitionist and a member of the " Secret Six ,"

24025-552: Was young. Researchers have determined that one of them, Peter Teabout, was a slave and probably remained so until all enslaved people in New York state were freed on July 4, 1827. Stanton recalled him fondly, saying that she and her sisters attended the Episcopal church with Teabout and sat with him in the back of the church rather than in front with the white families. Stanton received a better education than most women of her era. She attended Johnstown Academy in her hometown until

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