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John Woolman's Efforts in Behalf of Freedom:
Electronic Edition.
Houston, G. David
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(caption title) John Woolman's Efforts in Behalf of Freedom
G. David Houston
126-138 p.
Lancaster, Pa.; Washington, D. C.
The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc.
1917
From The Journal of Negro History 2, no. 2 (April 1917), 126-138.
Call number E185 .J86 v. 2 1917 (Davis Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998
Languages Used:
- English
LC Subject Headings:
- Woolman, John, 1720-1772.
- Society of Friends.
- Abolitionists -- New Jersey -- Biography.
- Antislavery movements.
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Page 126
JOHN WOOLMAN'S EFFORTS IN BEHALF OF FREEDOM
Pioneers of epoch-making reforms are seldom accorded the reward they merit. Later apostles usually obscure the greatness of their predecessors, and posterity is prone to overlook the pristine achievements of those who first had the vision. Such is the case of John Woolman, a poor, untutored shopkeeper of New Jersey. He was among the foremost to visualize the wrongs of human slavery, but his real significance as an abolitionist has been greatly dimmed by the subsequent deeds of such apostles as Garrison, Phillips, and Lincoln.
John Woolman's career as an apostle of freedom dates
from his first appearance in the ministry of the Society of
Friends, an organization commonly known as the Quakers,
founded by George Fox in England during the middle of
the seventeenth century. Shortly after the organization of
this society, many of the members migrated to New England
and the Middle Atlantic Colonies. Others were exiled
by Charles II to the West Indies.1
1 The Act of Banishment enforced by Charles II against all dissenters. 2 This opinion was held and supported by Richard Nisbit, in his "Slavery
Not Forbidden by Scripture, or a Defence of the West India Planters." See
"Slave Trade Tracts," Vol. 1, Tract 3. The same opinion was given by John
Millar, LL.D., of the University of Glasgow, in his treatise on the "Ranks of
Society."
Paradoxical as it may
seem, these earliest Friends, though distinguishing themselves
from other Christian sects by their special stress
on immediate teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit,
had no scruples against keeping slaves. As a matter of
fact, there was a prevalent conviction that Christianity indorsed
slavery.2
This anomalous indifference to the enslaved Negro's condition remained almost constant until 1742. A few sporadic attempts, to be sure, were made to discountenance
Page 127
slavery, but popular opinion, incited by greed, favored the
institution. In 1671, for example, George Fox, during his
visit to Barbadoes, admonished slaveholders to train their
slaves in the fear of God; and further admonished the overseers
"to deal gently and mildly with their Negroes, and
not use cruelty towards them as the manner of some hath
been and is, and after certain years of servitude make them
free."3
3 Whittier, "The Journal of John Woolman," 7. 4 Ibid., 7. 5 Pa. Mag., IV, 28. 6 Whittier, "The Journal of John Woolman," 8-9.
Four years later, William Edmundson complained
against the unjust treatment of slaves, but was brought, for
his pains, before the Governor, on the charge of "endeavoring
to excite an insurrection among the blacks."4
In 1688
the German Quakers of Germantown, Pennsylvania, sent to
the Yearly Meeting for the Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Colonies a protest against "the buying and keeping of
Negroes."5
The matter was taken under advisement, but
not until eight years later did the Yearly Meeting advise
against "bringing in any more Negroes." The Chester
Quarterly Meeting, however, insisted upon the adoption of
definite measures against slave traffic, but the Society never
manifested any enthusiasm for such legislation. The
Friends were themselves slaveholders, and slaveholders
were rapidly increasing their wealth and power through
slavery; so they felt no pressing need of reform. The
Yearly Meetings, therefore, like many modern congresses,
dextrously dodged the grave issue of Negroes' rights, and
merely expressed an opinion meekly opposed to the importation
of the blacks, and a desire that "Friends generally
do, as much as may be, avoid buying such Negroes as shall
hereafter be brought in, rather than offend any Friends who
are against it; yet this is only caution and not censure."6
Not until 1742 was any appreciable influence exerted on the
Friends against slavery. A storekeeper of Mount Holly,
New Jersey, requested his clerk to prepare a bill of sale of a
Negro woman whom he had sold. The thought of writing
Page 128
such an instrument greatly oppressed the clerk. He complied,
however, but afterwards told both the employer and
the customer that he considered slave keeping inconsistent
with the Christian religion.7
7 Woolman relates this experience in the first chapter of his "Journal,"
as follows: "My employer, having a Negro woman, sold her, and desired me
to write a bill of sale, the man being waiting who bought her. The thing was
sudden; and though I felt uneasiness at the thoughts of writing an instrument
of slavery for one of my fellow creatures, yet I remembered that I was hired
by the year, that it was my master who directed me to do it, and that it was
an elderly man, a member of our Society, who bought her; so through weakness
I gave way and wrote it; but at the executing of it I was so afflicted in mind,
that I said before my master and the Friend that I believed slave keeping to be
a practice inconsistent with the Christian religion. This, in some degree,
abated my uneasiness; yet as often as I reflected seriously upon it I thought
I should have been clearer if I had desired to be excused from it, as a thing
against my conscience; for such it was." "Journal of John Woolman,"
Edition Philadelphia, 1845, pp. 30-31.
The clerk who ventured such
an opinion was John Woolman.
John Woolman was born in Northampton, in Burlington
County, West Jersey, in the year 1720. His youthful
struggle against wickedness was in many respects similar to
Bunyan's. The fear of God seized him in early boyhood,
and an intense religious fervor characterized his future
career. Though this fervor was undoubtedly an innate
tendency, it owed its development partly to the early guidance
of pious parents; for Woolman's father was, without
doubt, a devout Christian. Every Sunday after meeting,
the children were required to read the Holy Scriptures or
some religious books. Here, no doubt, was the beginning of
Woolman's religious devotion to the teachings of the Bible.8
8 Concerning this early home training, Woolman writes: "The pious instructions
of my parents were often fresh in my mind, when I happened to be
among wicked children, and were of use to me. Having a large family of
children, they used frequently, on first days, after meeting, to set us one after
another to read the Holy Scriptures, or some religious books, the rest sitting
by without much conversation; I have since often thought it was a good practice.
From what I had read and heard, I believed there had been, in past
ages, people who walked in uprightness before God in a degree exceeding any
that I knew or heard of now living." "Journal of John Woolman," 20.
At times, during his youth, he apparently forgot these
earliest teachings, but he never wandered too far to be reproved
by his conscience. When he reached the age of
Page 129
sixteen, his will was finally subdued, and he learned the
lesson that youth seldom learns,--that "all the cravings of
sense must be governed by a Divine principle." He tells us
that he became convinced that "true religion consisted in an
inward life, wherein the heart doth love and reverence God,
the Creator, and learns to exercise true justice and goodness,
not only toward all men, but also toward the brute
creatures."9
9 "Journal of John Woolman," 25.
All this time Woolman lived with his parents and
worked on the plantation. His schooling was, consequently,
meagre, but he gave a generous portion of his leisure to his
self improvement. At the age of twenty one, he left home
to tend shop and keep books for a baker in Mount Holly.
Meanwhile, his religious fervor was growing more intense,
and with it his genuine philanthropy. The inevitable sequence
of his accelerated enthusiasm for spreading the
teachings of Christianity was his entrance into the Christian
ministry.10
10 That Woolman had a very lofty conception of his calling will appear in
his following reflection: "All the faithful are not called to the public ministry;
but whoever are, are called to minister of that which they have tasted and
handled spiritually. The outward modes of worship are various; but whenever
any are true ministers of Jesus Christ, it is from the operation of his
Spirit upon their hearts, first purifying them, and thus giving them a just
sense of the conditions of others. This truth was early fixed in my mind, and
I was taught to watch the pure opening, and to take heed lest, while I was
standing to speak, my own will should get uppermost, and cause me to utter
words from worldly wisdom, and depart from the channel of the true gospel
ministry." "Journal of John Woolman," 29.
In 1746 Woolman accompanied his beloved friend, Isaac
Andrews, on a tour through Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina.
It was on this journey that he beheld for the first time
the miseries of slavery.11
11 According to tradition, Woolman travelled mostly on foot during his
journeys among slaveholders. Brissot points out the similarity between the
Apostles' practices and Woolman's. The comparison is entertaining, but
cannot on all points be reconciled with facts given by Woolman himself in
his "Journal." See Brissot's "New Travels in America," published in 1788. Woolman's impression of slavery at this time is best told in his own words
referring to this first journey. He writes: "Two things were remarkable to
me in this journey: first, in regard to my entertainment. When I ate, drank,
and lodged free-cost with people who lived in ease on the hard labor of their
slaves I felt uneasy; and as my mind was inward to the Lord, I found this
uneasiness return upon me, at times, through the whole visit. Where the
masters bore a good share of the burden, and lived frugally, so that their servants
were well provided for, and their labor moderate, I felt more easy; but
where they lived in a costly way, and laid heavy burdens on their slaves, my
exercise was often great, and I frequently had conversation with them in
private concerning it. Secondly, this trade of importing slaves from their
native country being much encouraged amongst them, and the white people
and their children so generally living without such labor, was frequently the
subject of my serious thoughts. I saw in these southern provinces so many
vices and corruptions, increased by this trade and this way of life, that it appeared
to me as a dark gloominess hanging over the land." "Journal of John
Woolman," 93.
He became so depressed with
Page 130
what he saw that on his return he wrote an essay on the
subject, publishing it in 1754. The essay appeared under
the elongated title of "Some Considerations on the Keeping
of Negroes Recommended to the Professors of Christianity
of Every Denomination."12
12 Note that this essay was not published until eight years after Woolman's
journey. The publication in 1754 was due partly to the suggestion of
Woolman's father, who, just before his death, persuaded his son to publish the
essay. This essay may be found in "Slave-Trade Tracts," Vol. 2. 13 See Some Considerations, etc.
The theme of Woolman's
discussion is the Brotherhood of Man. "All men by nature,"
he argues, "are equally entitled to the equity of the Golden
Rule, and under indispensable obligations to it."13
The
whole discussion, which is an appeal to the Friends to be
mindful of the teachings of the Bible, glows with the religious
zeal which was so eminently characteristic of the
author. It is replete with such Biblical references as are
sure to have a wholesome effect upon a religious sect like the
Society of Friends.
Woolman made a second visit in 1757 to the Southern meetings of the Society of Friends. Again he beheld the miseries of slavery and became greatly alarmed at the extension of the system. Everywhere he turned, he saw slaves. What pained him most was the presence of slaves in the homes of Friends. He declined, therefore, to accept the hospitality of his several hosts, feeling that the acceptance of such courtesies would be an indorsement or encouragement of the
Page 131
evil.14
14 In this connection, Woolman has two striking passages on page 61 of
his "Journal," viz., "Receiving a gift, considered as a gift, brings the
receiver under obligations to the benefactor, and has a natural tendency to
draw the obliged into a party with the giver. To prevent difficulties of this
kind, and to preserve the minds of judges from any bias, was the Divine prohibition:
'Thou shalt not receive any gift; for a gift bindeth the wise, and
perverteth the words of the righteous.'" (Exod. XXIII, 8.) Again, "Conduct is more convincing than language, and where people, by
their actions, manifest that the slave-trade is not so disagreeable to their principles,
but that it may be encouraged, there is not a sound uniting with some
Friends who visit them." 15 Woolman answered this argument by showing that Noah and his family
were all who survived the flood, according to Scripture; and as Noah was of
Seth's race, the family of Cain was wholly destroyed. Woolman's opponent,
however, replied that after the flood Ham went to the land of Nod and took
a wife; that Nod was a land far distant, inhabited by Cain's race, and that
the flood did not reach it; and as Ham was sentenced to be a servant of
servants to his brethren, these two families, being thus joined, were undoubtedly
fit only for slaves. Woolman answered that the flood was a judgment
upon the world for their abominations, and it was granted that Cain's
stock was the most wicked, and therefore unreasonable to suppose that they
were spared. As to Ham's going to the land of Nod for a wife, no time being
fixed, Nod might be inhabited by some of Noah's family before Ham married
a second time. Moreover, according to the text, "All flesh died that
moved upon the earth." (Gen. VII, 21.) For the full account of the argument,
see the "Journal," p. 66. It is interesting in this connection to note how Montesquieu, in his "Spirit
of Laws," treats this color argument with ridicule. He writes ironically: "Were I to vindicate our right to make slaves of the Negroes, these
should be my arguments. "The Europeans, having extirpated the Americans, were obliged to make
slaves of the Africans for clearing such vast tracts of land. "Sugar would be too dear, if the plants which produce it were cultivated
by any other than slaves. "These creatures are all over black, and with such a flat nose that they
can scarcely be pitied. "It is hardly to be believed that God, who is a wise being, should place a
soul, especially a good soul, in such a black ugly body. "The Negroes prefer a glass necklace to that gold, which polite nations
so highly value: can there be greater proof of their wanting common sense? "It is impossible for us to suppose these creatures to be men, because,
allowing them to be men, a suspicion would follow, that we ourselves are not
Christians."--Book XV, Chap. V.
Meanwhile, he held confidential talks with Friends
on the subject of slavery. On one occasion, when a colonel
of the militia berated the Negroes' slothful disposition,
Woolman replied that free men, whose minds are properly
on their business, find a satisfaction in improving, cultivating,
and providing for their families; whereas Negroes,
laboring to support others, and expecting nothing but slavery
during life, have not the same inducement to be industrious.
Again, when another slaveholder gave the wretchedness
of Negroes, occasioned by intestine wars, as a justification
of slave-traffic, Woolman answered that, if compassion
for the Africans, on account of their domestic troubles, was
the real motive of buying them, the spirit of tenderness
should incite the Friends to use the Negroes kindly, as
strangers brought on of affliction. Many other arguments
were urged in defence of slavery, among which number was
the oft-repeated notion that the Africans' color subjects
them to, or qualifies them for, slavery, inasmuch as they are
descendants of Cain who was marked with this color, because
he slew his brother Abel.15
In short, a large portion
Page 132
of Woolman's time during this second journey was given over to answering such arguments. He travelled in the two months, during which he was out, about eleven hundred and fifty miles. His efforts were not without fruit, for he made a profound impression on many of the honest hearted.
All this time Woolman fought single-handed against
overwhelming odds, but he was destined soon to have help
from two of the most remarkable and antithetical personages
connected with this early movement against slavery;
namely, Benjamin Lay and Anthony Benezet.16
16 See Clarkson's "History of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade,"
II, 148, and Vaux's "Memoirs of Anthony Benezet." 17 See John Greenleaf Whittier's "Introduction to John Woolman's Journal."
Lay represented
the revolutionary type of reformer. Whittier describes
his personal appearance as "a figure only four and
a half feet high, hunchbacked, with projecting chest, legs
small and uneven, arms longer than his legs; a huge head,
showing only beneath his enormous white hat large, solemn
eyes and a prominent nose; the rest of his face covered with
a snowy semicircle of beard falling low on his breast--a
figure to recall the old legends of troll, brownie, and
kobold."17
By birth he was a Friend, but the Society in
Page 133
England disowned him on account of his revolutionary propensities. He took up residence in the West Indies, but was compelled to leave on account of his violent denunciation of slavery. He went to Philadelphia, but finding slavery there, retired to a cave, where he lived a most eccentric life, refusing to eat food or wear clothes which had been secured at the expense of animal life, or produced by slave labor. He made frequent excursions, however, from his cave to denounce slavery, his favorite subject being "Deliverance to the Captive." He usually succeeded in being heard, though he was detested by the slaveholders. On one occasion, when he interrupted a meeting in Philadelphia, he was forcibly ejected by a burly blacksmith. He remained, however, the most fearless of the earliest abolitionists. Though his methods were entirely different from Woolman's, and though, no doubt, neither reformer was influenced by the other, Lay's stubborn fight against slavery was obviously helpful to Woolman's calmer campaign against the same evil.
Anthony Benezet, on the other hand, was a reformer of
riper judgment and calmer methods than Lay. He has been
described as "a small, eager faced man, full of zeal and
activity, constantly engaged in works of benevolence, which
were by no means confined to the blacks."18
18 This description is by the Marquis de Chastellux, author of "De la
Felicite Publique." 19 For an exhaustive discussion of Benezet, see the "Journal of Negro
History," Vol. II, No. 1.
He was a
descendant of persecuted French Protestants. He, therefore,
inherited an aversion to any form of persecution, and
readily became a benefactor of the slave. It was inevitable
that he should become a friend of Woolman, and a coadjutor
in the movement to abolish slavery.19
Whether Lay or Benezet was influenced by Woolman may be a matter of speculation and debate. The consideration of primary importance is the increasing interest manifested in abolition. The Friends were beginning to realize that slavery was contradictory to the basic principles of
Page 134
their organization. Woolman's real opportunity, therefore,
came at the memorable Yearly Meeting of 1758, in Philadelphia
--the meeting which Whittier has seen fit to term
"one of the most important convocations in the history of
the Christian church." All during the early part of the
meeting, Woolman remained silent, his "mind frequently
covered with inward prayer." But, when towards the close
of the meeting, the subject of slavery was brought up, he
took such an active part in the discussion that he dominated
that part of the meeting. His remarks were simple but impressive.20
20 Woolman reports his remarks in substance as follows: "In the difficulties
attending us in this life nothing is more precious than the mind of truth
inwardly manifested; and it is my earnest desire that in this weighty matter
we may be so truly humbled as to be favored with a clear understanding of
the mind of truth, and follow it; this would be of more advantage to the Society
than any medium not in the clearness of Divine wisdom. The case is
difficult to some who have slaves, but it should set aside all self-interest, and
come to be weaned from the desire of getting estates, or even from holding
them together, when truth requires the contrary, I believe way will so open that
they will know how to steer through those difficulties." - "Journal", pp. 91-92. 21 "Journal of John Woolman," 93.
The effect was so immediate that many slave-holders
expressed a desire to pass a rule to treat as offenders
Friends who in the future bought slaves. But there arose the
criticism, that the real evil could hardly be cured "until
a thorough search was made in the circumstances of such
Friends as kept Negroes with respect to the uprighteousness
of their motives in keeping them, that impartial justice
might be administered throughout." Sober thought prevailed.
Many assented to the proposition, and others declared
that liberty was the Negro's right. Before the meeting
closed, John Woolman, John Scarborough, Daniel Stanton,
and John Sykes were appointed a committee "to visit
and treat with such Friends as kept slaves."21
Thus the
first important step towards the abolition of slavery was
taken.
The committee lost no time in setting out on their mission. Such a stupendous undertaking, however, was fraught with obvious difficulties. In the first place, the system of
Page 135
slavery had assumed such large proportions that it required
a number of years to visit and treat with any appreciable
number of slaveholders. Again, it was by no means easy to
persuade slaveholders to give up a possession which meant
so much to them in power and wealth. Finally, it was unfortunately
true in the eighteenth century, as it is in the twentieth,
that an argument of right and justice, based upon
Christianity, did not have instantaneous effect upon professing
Christians. But Woolman seemed divinely inspired
to perform his mission. He travelled extensively and never
hesitated to approach Friends on the subject of slavery.22
22 Speaking of his mission, Woolman writes: "I have found an increasing
concern on my mind to visit some active members in our Society who have
slaves, and having no opportunity of the company of such as were named in
the minutes of the Yearly Meeting, I went alone to the houses, and, in fear of
the Lord, acquainted them with the exercise I was under; and thus, sometimes
by a few words, I found myself discharged from a heavy burden." "Journal,"
p. 97. 23 "Journal of John Woolman," 96.
At the Yearly Meeting for 1759, he was gratified to learn
that a recommendation had been made to Friends "to labor
against buying and keeping slaves."23
As a means of promoting his cause, Woolman published
in 1762 the second part of his "Considerations on Keeping
Negroes," a continuation of his appeal for the operation of
the Golden Rule.24
24 Following are two typical passages taken from the essay: "Through
the force of long custom, it appears needful to speak in relation to color.
Suppose a white child, born of parents of the meanest sort, who died and left
him an infant, falls into the hands of a person, who endeavors to keep him a
slave, some men would account him an unjust man in doing so, who yet appear
easy while many black people, of honest lives, and good abilities, are enslaved,
in a manner more shocking than the case here supposed. This is owing chiefly
to the idea of slavery being connected with the black color, and liberty with
the white. And where false ideas are twisted into our minds, it is with difficulty
we get fairly disentangled." "Slave-Trade Tracts," Vol. 2. Again, "The color of a man avails nothing, in the matters of right and
equity. Consider color in relation to treaties; by such, disputes betwixt nations
are sometimes settled. And should the Father of us all so dispose things,
that treaties with black men should sometimes be necessary, how then would
it appear amongst the princes and ambassadors, to insist upon the prerogative
of the white color?" "Slave-Trade Tracts," Vol. 2.
The overseers of the press offered to
print the essay at the expense of the Yearly Meeting, but
Page 136
Woolman did not accept the offer. He published the essay
at his own expense.25
25 "Journal of John Woolman," p. 126.
Woolman gives the following reason
for not accepting the overseers' offer: "This stock is the
contribution of the members of our religious society in
general, among whom are some who keep Negroes, and
being inclined to continue them in slavery, are not likely
to be satisfied with such books being spread among a people,
especially at their own expense, many of whose slaves are
taught to read, and, such receiving them as a gift, often
conceal them. But as they who make a purchase generally
buy that which they have a mind for, I believe it best to sell
them expecting by that means they would more generally be
read with attention."
The story of the rest of Woolman's life is but a repetition
of his travels and labors in behalf of abolition. He
travelled extensively, beheld the deplorable conditions attending
slavery, and preached to Friends his only sermon,
that "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you,
do ye even so unto them." He did not live to see the slaves
manumitted by all the slaveholding Friends, but he "was
renewedly confirmed in mind that the Lord (whose tender
mercies are over all his works, and whose ear is open to all
the cries and groans of the oppressed) is graciously moving
in the hearts of people to draw them off from the desire
of wealth and to bring them into such an humble, lowly
way of living that they may see their way clearly to repair
to the standard of true righteousness, and may not only
break the yoke of oppression, but may know Him to be their
strength and support in times of outward affliction."26
26 Ibid., p. 98.
Woolman's career was fittingly brought to an end in
England, the birthplace of the society for whose improvement
he labored so faithfully. He landed at London in
June, 1772, and went straightway to the Yearly Meeting.27
27 William J. Allinson, editor of the Friends' Review, tells the following
story concerning Woolman's first appearance in England: The vessel reached
London on the fifth day of the week, and John Woolman, knowing that the
meeting was then in session, lost no time in reaching it. Coming in late and
unannounced, his peculiar dress and manner excited attention and apprehension
that he was an itinerant enthusiast. He presented his certificate from
Friends in America, but the dissatisfaction still remained, and some one remarked
that perhaps the stranger Friend might feel that his dedication of
himself to this apprehended service was accepted, without further labor, and
that he might now feel free to return to his home. John Woolman sat silent
for a space, seeking the unerring counsel of Divine Wisdom. He was profoundly
affected by the unfavorable reception he met with, and his tears
flowed freely. . . . He rose at last, and stated that he could not feel himself
released from his prospect of labor in England. Yet he could not travel in
the ministry without the unity of Friends; and while that was withheld he
could not feel easy to be of any cost to them. He could not go back as had
been suggested; but he was acquainted with a mechanical trade, and while the
impediment to his service continued he hoped Friends would be kindly willing
to employ him in such business as he was capable of, and that he might not
be chargeable to any. A deep silence prevailed over the assembly, many of whom were touched
by the wise simplicity of the stranger's words and manner. After a season of
waiting, John Woolman felt that words were given him to utter as a minister
of Christ. The spirit of his Master bore witness to them in the hearts of
his hearers. When he closed, the Friend who had advised against his further
service rose up and humbly confessed his error, and avowed his full unity with
the stranger. All doubt was removed; there was a general expression of unity
and sympathy, and John Woolman, owned by his brethren, passed on to his
work. Whittier, "Journal of John Woolman" 257-258.
Page 137
He visited a number of meetings in neighboring towns. While he was attending a meeting of Friends at York, he was smitten with small pox. He died of the malady, October 1, 1772. But his difficult duty had been performed, and his labor had not been in vain. His efforts had so greatly influenced the Society of Friends that the traffic in slaves had been almost abandoned during his life. Some, of course, continued the practice of holding slaves; but a protest against the practice was made at the Yearly Meeting two years after the death of Woolman, and in 1776 the subordinate meetings were instructed to "deny the right of membership to such as persisted in holding their fellow men as property. " Thus, within four years after the pious reformer's death, the Society of Friends embraced the doctrine of abolition and made slaveholding an offence against Christianity.
The life of John Woolman furnishes another example of a poor but courageous man, who, guided by the real teachings
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of the Christian religion, rendered a great service to mankind. Living at a time when the defence of black men's rights was considered reprehensible, he fought against discouraging odds for the brotherhood of mankind. He was meek, persuasive, and confident. He was not a scholar, but "the greatest clerks be not the wisest men," says Chaucer. Like Bunyan, he was a student of the Holy Bible, and well understood its teachings. He realized that no power is durable, or any religion permanent, that is based on hypocrisy. He realized, further, that the grave question of men's rights must be interpreted in terms of the Christian religion. His fellow Friends, incited by selfish motives, had become unmindful of the basic elements of their religion. In their attempt to condone slavery and embrace the religion of brotherhood, they had made Christianity appear farcical. John Woolman's task, then, was not to propagate a new religion, but to make fashionable the Christian religion in which all professed a belief. He succeeded because he was allied to the right. He succeeded because he fought courageously against the wrong. He succeeded because he was a true disciple of the Christian religion. Although his laudable achievement is somewhat overlooked in these days, and his name does not command a conspicuous place on the pages of anthologies, the true lovers of freedom and the sincere exponents of the Christian religion will always remember with reverence the wonderful service of John Woolman, the pious Quaker of New Jersey.
G. DAVID HOUSTON
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