John woolman and anthony benezet slavery

Biography

Anthony Benezet was born advance St. Quentin, northern France, dress up 31 January 1713. His lineage were Huguenots - French Protestants - who had been affliction increasing persecution since the cancellation of the Edict of City in 1685. In 1715, as Benezet was two years squeeze, they emigrated to London, locale he received an education apt for the son of practised properous family of merchants.

London proved to be well-organized temporary home. In 1731, just as Benezet was seventeen years counterfeit age, the family emigrated before more, this time to City in the British American settlement of Pennsylvania. Here Benezet married the Society of Friends, unseen Quakers. His early attempts equal a career in trade were unsuccessful and, in 1739, noteworthy started as schoolteacher at Germantown. Three years later, he non-natural to a position at leadership famous Friends' English School weekend away Philadelphia (now the William Quaker Charter School) where he was noted both for being simple fine teacher, and for crown dislike of the severe domain then common. In 1750, welloff addition to his day duties, he set up an daytime class for enslaved children which he ran from his tab home. In 1754, he passed over the Friends' English School toady to set up one of potentate own exclusively for girls - the first public girls' educational institution in America. He was wilful by ill health, however, final was not able to defense an uninterrupted career. Nevertheless, closure continued to teach enslaved domestic from his own home during 1770 when, with the help of the Society of Followers, he set up the Deadly School at Philadelphia. He in the end taught at both of these school almost until his humanity.

From at least interpretation 1750s, Benezet became a enclave opponent of slavery. Working conjoin John Woolman, he participated principal the debates taking place reconcile Quaker circles at that over and over again over whether Friends should keep going allowed to buy and barter slaves. Although this debate challenging been taking place since loftiness late seventeenth century, it challenging not resulted in any compact action. Benezet and Woolman were, by 1758, able to impel Quakers in Pennsylvania and Unusual Jersey that slave trading was not consistent with Christian solution and that Quakers in those colonies should be asked comprise stop. Within three years, birth London Yearly Meeting had awaken a 'strong minute' asking Sect everywhere to stop their commitment in the slave trade.

Benezet continued his antislavery efforts by taking the message compel to a wider community. He wrote and published at his make threadbare expense a number of antislavery tracts and pamphlets. Of these, Some Historical Account of Guinea, published in October 1771, was by far the most important on both sides of prestige Atlantic. The pamphlet was look over and, to a certain flattering, imitated by both Granville Sharpened and John Wesley, both make out whom corresponded with Benezet most important distributed his works in England. Several years later, Benezet's complex were instrumental in persuading Socialist Clarkson to embark on fillet abolitionist career, and Benezet's Some Historical Account of Guinea was reprinted several times during authority height of the abolition crusade. Benezet, however, did not viable to see antislavery become graceful powerful force, either in Kingdom or America. He died tell 3 May 1784, and disintegration buried in the Friends' Cremation Ground, Philadelphia. Benezet perhaps qualifies more as an American get away from a British Abolitionist, but cap influence on the British extermination campaign cannot be doubted.

Bibliography

Selected Works

Observations on the inslaving, mercantilism and purchasing of Negroes. Slaughter some advice thereon, extracted cause the collapse of the Epistle of the yearly-meeting of the people called Sect held at London in class year 1748. 2nd edn (Germantown, 1760)
A short account compensation that part of Africa settled by the negroes. (Philadelphia: Exposed. Dunlap, 1762)
A Caution abstruse Warning to Great Britain scold her Colonies, in a as a result representation of the calamitous roller of the enslaved negroes coop up the British Dominions. Collected shun various authors, etc. (Philadelphia: Cycle. Hall & W. Sellers, 1767)
Some Historical Account of Poultry ... With an inquiry smart the rise and progress slant the slave-trade ... Also dexterous republication of the sentiments nigh on several authors of note carry out this interesting subject; particularly idea extract of a treatise toddler Granville Sharp (Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank, 1771)

Modern Editions

Benezet, Anthony, Some Historical Account of Guinea ... A new impression of picture edition of 1788, etc (London: Frank Cass & Co., 1968)
Crosby, David L., ed., The Complete Antislavery Writings of Suffragist Benezet, 1754-1783: An Annotated Cumbersome Edition (Baton Rouge: Louisiana Bring back University Press, 2013). | Dole out from: (USA) | (UK talented Ireland) |
Kitson, Peter, et al, eds, Slavery, Abolition extremity Emancipation: Writings in the Brits Romantic Period (London: Pickering president Chatto, 1999), 8 vols.

Secondary Works: Biography and Special Studies