The Quakers (Denominations in America) [Hardcover]

Hugh Barbour (Author), J. William Frost (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313228167 | ISBN-13: 978-0313228162 | Publication Date: November 15, 1988

This volume interweaves theology, social history, and biography in the first comprehensive history of Quakers in America to be published in more than forty years. Barbour and Frost treat all branches of American Quakers, tracing the history of the denomination from 1650 to the present and demonstrating how changes in the movement can be related to the traditions of the Society of Friends and developments in the wider cultural context. The text presents the lives and ideas of prominent Quaker men and women: George Fox, William Penn, John Woolman, Elias Hicks, Joseph John Gurtney, Rufus Jones, Henry Cadbury, and many others. The authors show that today although a Quaker can be fundamentalist, an evangelical, a moderate, or a liberal, the twentieth century has been marked by attempts to reunify and affirm a common tradition among all branches of the denomination. After initial chapters dealing with the genesis of Quakerism under George Fox in Puritan England, the authors turn to an examination of the Society of Friends in colonial America. They reveal the Friends' creative response to persecution after 1660, the intellectual achievements of William Penn and Robert Barclay, and the creation of early colonies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Later chapters address the influence of Quaker pacifism and opposition to slavery, the establishment of Quaker communities in midwestern and western states, and the theological divisions within the Society of Friends that characterized the movement in the nineteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This volume is part of a series designed to provide readers with scholarly and current histories of major American denominations set within the broad context of social and cultural history. Frost (Swarthmore) and Barbour Earlham) are specialists in the history of the Society of Friends or Quakers. In the first part of this work, they sketch the English origins of the movement, devoting primary attention to the events and personalities that shaped the various branches of the American denomination. The second part of their book consists of biographical sketches of persons important in the development of Quakerism in America. Carefully researched and written, this volume should quickly replace older works- e.g., Howard Brinton's Friends for 300 Years and D. Elton Trueblood's The People Called Quakers-as the standard introduction to Quakerism for American readers. Although far from comprehensive, it has notes, and index, a chronological table, and a bibliographical essay to guide serious scholars in further investigations. This volume belongs in most college, university, and large public libraries.”–Choice

“From two professors of religion, a comprehensive history of the Society of Friends in the U.S. Barbour and Frost begin with American Quakerism's British antecedents, then follow the sect's movement into North America (where nearly half of the world's Quakers now live), its spread westward, and its opposition to slavery. The nineteenth-century division in American Quakerism and its twentieth-century reconciliation are also examined. The authors are careful to explain what Quakers believed at every stage of their development and how they organized their lives around the religious and social movements they fostered or fought against. The second part of this engaging book is a biographical dictionary of Quaker leaders.”–Reference Books Bulletin

“. . . The effort to place Quakers within the context of American culture--revivals, revolution, slavery and Civil War for example--are particularly helpful. The book concludes with an encyclopedia of prominent Quakers--a valuable reference tool. The authors . . . are able historians of the Quaker experience. This is a welcome study of Quaker history.”–Review and Expositor

“This volume outlines the development of Quakerism from its seventeenth-century British origins to the multinational institution it is today. Focusing on anti-slavery activities and evangelical influences in doctrine and holiness of life, it demonstrates the complexities of Quaker doctrine and practice as they evolved on the American frontier in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These and other issues led to splits between `Hicksites' and `Orthodox,' and further between Orthodox `Gurneyites' and `Wilburites' between 1827 and the Civil War. Further, it includes a useful biographical section on influential Quaker leaders . . . the book is a good general history of Quakers and QT akerism. It will serve the nonspecialist very well.”–Religious Studies Review

“...The authors have done an excellent job of bringing the American Quaker landscape up to date.”–Church History

“This book contains an excellent survey of the historical and theological development of American Quakerism with a sufficiently detailed account of the Society of Friends in general to make it valuable to British readers also. The sections on Quaker origins will be essential for those non-Quaker scholars who need an up to date summary of recent thought on the matter. It includes footnotes, maps and a helpful biographical supplement on leading American Quakers. ". . . This reviewer regards it as a very important addition to Quaker history and believes it will be widely read and used for years to come. . .”–Theological Book Review The Journal of American History

About the Author

HUGH BARBOUR is Professor of Religion at Earlham College and Professor of Church History at Earlham School of Religion.

J. WILLIAM FROST is Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor of Quaker History and Research and Director of the Friends Historical library, Swarthmore College.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 421 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group (November 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313228167
• ISBN-13: 978-0313228162
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Protestantism > Quaker

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