 |
Quaker Pennsylvania: Refuge from Priestcraft?
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
Calvert – 26
principles of Quaker politicians. “The cloaking of our Parsimony under Disguises of Religious scruple,” he wrote offhandedly in his letterbook, “has been ye General misrepresentation of us every where.”
157
Rather than address Smith’s lengthy diatribe point by point, Norris seemed
more interested in assessing the potential damage—or lack of it—that Smith might do to the public reputation and efficacy of the Quaker Party. “[Y]e violent Spirit of Smith’s Pamphlet to ruin [the Quakers] at a blow is a scheme that has by no means been calmly considered or digested” by his readers.
158
Confident in the strength of his party, however, Norris concluded
that Smith would be easily dismissed first as a “Tool [of the proprietors] to Propagate the Doctrine wherever he can here & in the neighboring Governmts.” But also, his threat was minimal because “his Character with all here is at a low Ebb every way.”
159
Such attacks,
therefore, while calculated to undermine the strength and stability of the Quaker Party, instead had the opposite effect. When any “silly Parson Preaches against ye Quakers,” he observed, “They are only Contemned for it by the Greater part of their Congregation.” Because of this, he continued, the Quaker Party had been very successful in garnering support from other religious and ethnic groups in Pennsylvania: “the Church of England & Quakers continue on very strong Terms of Union for ye Whole & themselves in Particular, without any formal Cabals for that Purpose. --- And ye Dutch [Germans] joyn them in dread of an Arbitrary Govermt.”
160
Thus it is
not surprising that everything the opposition did to try to discredit the Quaker Party backfired and instead only made it stronger.
161
But Smith did not present the whole picture of the Quakers’ political tactics. They were
not about to leave it up to chance that the Germans would vote for them. Because of Pennsylvania’s liberal policies and open immigration in its early years, the colony grew quickly and Quakers became a distinct minority in the colony. Oddly, however, “[The majority of this Province] are depriv’d of their share in legislation; laws are made and imposed upon them, and measures are taken which they do not approve, and yet cannot prevent, because they are not fairly represented in Assembly.” Williamson was certain that “This grievance is the foundation of all our trouble, and has its origin from Quakers.”
162
Indeed, Quakers made certain that,
although the minority in the colony, they would never be the minority in the Assembly. When new counties began to clamor for representation in the Assembly, Friends feared a disruption of their power. Accordingly, they passed a law in 1729 that allowed fewer seats to new counties than were given to the three original (and Quaker-dominated) counties.
163
On the other hand,
because of the strong German support of John Kinsey, the county of Berks was originally created to give them a voice in 1752. But because of the rapidity with which the German population grew, Quaker lawmakers soon redrew the boundaries to divide their vote in order to minimize their role in the government.
164
The scathing response which followed, addressed to Quaker
legislators, is an indication of how this was move was perceived by a portion of the population:
157
Norris, May 24, 1755, p. 76.
158
Ibid., April 29, 1755. p. 71.
159
Ibid., May 18, 1755. p. 72.
160
Ibid., April 29, 1755. p. 71.
161
One of the most notable instances is the election riots of 1742 in which the proprietary encouraged sailors to
intimidate and physically assault Quakers at the polls. Instead of the intended result, Quakers won the election in a landslide. For a contemporary account, see Peters, 136.
162
Williamson, Plain Dealer 1: 4.
163
Lawmaking and Legislators, 2: 52.
164
Ibid., 53.
|
| |
| |
|
|
Calvert – 26
principles of Quaker politicians. “The cloaking of our Parsimony under Disguises of Religious
scruple,” he wrote offhandedly in his letterbook, “has been ye General misrepresentation of us
every where.”
more interested in assessing the potential damage—or lack of it—that Smith might do to the
public reputation and efficacy of the Quaker Party. “[Y]e violent Spirit of Smith’s Pamphlet to
ruin [the Quakers] at a blow is a scheme that has by no means been calmly considered or
digested” by his readers.
that Smith would be easily dismissed first as a “Tool [of the proprietors] to Propagate the
Doctrine wherever he can here & in the neighboring Governmts.” But also, his threat was
minimal because “his Character with all here is at a low Ebb every way.”
therefore, while calculated to undermine the strength and stability of the Quaker Party, instead
had the opposite effect. When any “silly Parson Preaches against ye Quakers,” he observed,
“They are only Contemned for it by the Greater part of their Congregation.” Because of this, he
continued, the Quaker Party had been very successful in garnering support from other religious
and ethnic groups in Pennsylvania: “the Church of England & Quakers continue on very strong
Terms of Union for ye Whole & themselves in Particular, without any formal Cabals for that
Purpose. --- And ye Dutch [Germans] joyn them in dread of an Arbitrary Govermt.”
not surprising that everything the opposition did to try to discredit the Quaker Party backfired
and instead only made it stronger.
But Smith did not present the whole picture of the Quakers’ political tactics. They were
not about to leave it up to chance that the Germans would vote for them. Because of
Pennsylvania’s liberal policies and open immigration in its early years, the colony grew quickly
and Quakers became a distinct minority in the colony. Oddly, however, “[The majority of this
Province] are depriv’d of their share in legislation; laws are made and imposed upon them, and
measures are taken which they do not approve, and yet cannot prevent, because they are not
fairly represented in Assembly.” Williamson was certain that “This grievance is the foundation
of all our trouble, and has its origin from Quakers.”
although the minority in the colony, they would never be the minority in the Assembly. When
new counties began to clamor for representation in the Assembly, Friends feared a disruption of
their power. Accordingly, they passed a law in 1729 that allowed fewer seats to new counties
than were given to the three original (and Quaker-dominated) counties.
because of the strong German support of John Kinsey, the county of Berks was originally created
to give them a voice in 1752. But because of the rapidity with which the German population
grew, Quaker lawmakers soon redrew the boundaries to divide their vote in order to minimize
their role in the government.
legislators, is an indication of how this was move was perceived by a portion of the population:
157
Norris, May 24, 1755, p. 76.
158
Ibid., April 29, 1755. p. 71.
159
Ibid., May 18, 1755. p. 72.
160
Ibid., April 29, 1755. p. 71.
161
One of the most notable instances is the election riots of 1742 in which the proprietary encouraged sailors to
intimidate and physically assault Quakers at the polls. Instead of the intended result, Quakers won the election in a
landslide. For a contemporary account, see Peters, 136.
162
Williamson, Plain Dealer 1: 4.
163
Lawmaking and Legislators, 2: 52.
164
Ibid., 53.
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention is the premier solution for your association's abstract management solutions needs. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
