Quakers in the abolition movement
Quakers played a major role in the abolition movement against slavery. The Quakers were the first whites to denounce slavery in the American colonies and Europe. Quakers began denouncing slavery as early as 1688, when four German Quakers started protesting near Philadelphia. John Woolman and Anthony Benezet protested against slavery, and demanded that the Quaker society cut ties with the slave trade. These two individuals led the abolitionist movement in Pennsylvania. It was their belief that if the slave trade was stopped, then the institution of slavery would soon follow.
It was easier for most Quakers to oppose the slave trade and slave ownership than to oppose the institution of slavery itself. While individual Quakers spoke out against slavery after U.S. independence, local meetings of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were divided on how to respond to the institution. Outspoken Quaker abolitionists were sharply criticized by other Quakers, a conflict described by Ryan P. Jordan in his book, Slavery and the Meetinghouse: The Quakers and the Abolitionist Dilemma, 1820-1865.
The Pennsylvania Abolition Society consisted primarily of Quakers. In fact, seven of the ten original white members were Quakers, and 17 of the 24 who attended the four meetings held by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society were Quakers. Quakers were also prominently involved with the Underground Railroad. For example, Levi Coffin started helping runaway slaves as a child in North Carolina. Later in his life, Coffin moved to the Ohio-Indiana area, where he became known as the President of the Underground Railroad. Elias Hicks penned the 'Observations on the Slavery of the Africans' in 1811 (2nd ed. 1814), urging the boycott of the products of slave labor.
Many families assisted slaves in their travels through the Underground Railroad. Henry Stubbs and his sons helped runaway slaves get across Indiana. The Bundy family operated a station that transported groups of slaves from Belmont to Salem, Ohio.
Many Quakers were persecuted by slave owners, and forced west in an attempt to avoid persecution.