Quakers as Peacemakers

Finally, the Society of Friends is well known for its concern for peace. Quakers have been thought of traditionally as pacifists and non resisters to violence and war, although this is not an entirely accurate picture. As Rufus Jones put it, "They seek always to organize and to level against it [any great evil] the most effective forces there are." Nevertheless, from the very inception of the Society, Friends have attempted to avoid war by doing away with the causes and the occasion for war Quakers have often attempted to be the peacemakers by leading exemplary lives as well as by developing conditions which would make violence unnecessary.

George Fox's original testimony that war is intrinsically wrong, that it- is not a necessary evil with which one has to live, and that no effort required in working for its abolition is too great, came at a time when most people thought of war as noble or at least inevitable. This Quaker testimony was, and still is, difficult for many people to accept. As a result, Quakers have often suffered for their convictions. George Fox's own simple style of dress-his leather trousers, umbrella, and long hair-was his way of protesting against the militarism of Oliver Cromwell's day.

William Penn's establishment of the "Holy Experiment" in Pennsylvania is considered to be the most important early event in developing an attitude of peace among Americans. Pennsylvania became a model for liberalism, truth, justice, honor, and peace in the American colonies. Because of their beliefs in honesty, peace, and the equality of men, the Quakers of Pennsylvania-and one could suppose that the same would be true of most Quakers everywhere-developed a better relationship with the American Indians than any other English group. The Quakers treated the Indians with respect, traded with them honestly, and respected their treaties. It has been reported that there were never any known organized Indian attacks on Quaker settlements in Pennsylvania.

The American Revolutionary War proved to be an extremely difficult period for the Quakers for, on the one hand, many of them rejoiced in the possibility of freedom from England but, on the other hand, they abhorred the violence which was bringing it about. Some Quakers who joined the Revolutionary Army formed their own society and were called Free Quakers.

The attitude of the Ohio Yearly Meeting toward war was clearly expressed in its original Book of Discipline of 1819 which reads:

it is the earnest concern of the Yearly Meeting, that Friends may adhere faithfully to our ancient testimony against wars and fighting.

That furnishing waggon, or other means for conveying of military stores, is a military service ... and that a tax levied for the purchasing of drums, colours, or for other warlike uses cannot be paid consistently with our Christian testimony.

It is further the sense and judgement of the Yearly Meeting, that it is inconsistent with our religious testimony and principle, for any Friend to pay a fine or tax, levied on account of their refusal to muster or to serve in the militia, although such fine or imposition may be applied toward defraying the expenses of civil government....

The greatest, and possibly most difficult, time of violence for Friends came during the American Civil War. Many Friends had difficulty deciding whether to stand by their peace convictions or to approve a war in which they thought one belligerent was definitely on the side of justice. This problem was especially acute for Friends who lived in the South. Many southern Friends left their homes to move westward during the Civil War. Those who remained in the South as conscientious objectors were called abolitionists and traitors and were subjected to extreme harassment. However, Friends in the Confederacy were not the only ones to suffer. Northern Friends faced an equally difficult situation, even though some northern Quakers did volunteer for service. In all, about two hundred to three hundred Quakers enlisted in the Union forces. Most of thes:e came from Indiana where Colonel John Palmer, a Hicksite Friend, led a regiment which had many Quaker officers and men.

The spirit of patriotism swept through Mount Pleasant when President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers in 1861. Approximately 160 young men from Mount Pleasant Township, none of them Quakers, joined the Union Army. Several of them were enrolled in the First Virginia Regiment which was commanded by a Colonel Thoburn, who was the son-in-law of Mount Pleasant resident Dr. Benjamin Mitchell, a Presbyterian minister. Duncan Milner, a Presbyterian from Mount Pleasant, fought in the Civil War and nearly died as a result of wounds received in the battle of Chickamauga. He was asked by Mrs. Sarah E. Jenkins, a noted Quaker minister, how he, being a Christian young man, could have attempted to take the life of fellow men. Milner responded that it was not an easy question during war. "I suppose under the same conditions I would again become a soldier, but I hate war."

Even though a few Quakers did fight during the Civil War, the vast majority refused to violate their peace testimony and thereby suffered the consequences. Northern Friends who refused to enroll in the army after being drafted or to pay the muster fines for such refusal often had their property confiscated as payment for the delinquent fines. Minutes of the meetings for sufferings revealed that property confiscated from dissenting Friends was much more valuable than the amount of the fines imposed. In 1862, a Barnesville, Ohio, meeting for sufferings addressed a letter to Governor David Tod protesting a gubernatorial directive requiring all men eligible for military service to enroll for the draft, but no change resulted.

That same year Ohio Yearly Meeting sent the following letter to President Lincoln:

The Ohio Yearly Meeting of' Friends convened at Mt. Pleasant Jefferson County Ohio 9th month 1862 respectfully represents.-That owing to the prestnt unhappy condition of'our country and the enrollment of' names in order to draft therefrom some thousands to be placed in the Army-Many of our members who are now sharing in common with other good citizens the trials of the times are subject to the still greater trial of having for conscience sake to decline in this particular to obey the authorities of a government under which we enjoy many privileges and blessings and to which we hope ever to be found loyal.

We would briefly call the attention of the President to the fact with which he is no doubt acquainted that our Society has from its rise (a period of more than two hundred years) borne a testimony against all wars and fighting's believing them to be at variance with the pure and peaceable dispensation of' the Gospel of Christ-and have constantly under all governments felt constrained to refuse to bear arms or pay an equivalent in lieu thereof Also to the legislation of various States of this Union in which our members are exempt from military services-And therefore respectfully submit whether there cannot be something done by the authorities of the general government for the relief of all members of our Society not already exemted [sic] by state enactments.-In conclusion we would express our deep sympathy with the President in the various difficulties which press upon him in this day of 'sore calamity.

In December 1863 Ohio Yearly Meeting rejected a proposal by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a resident of Steubenville in Jefferson County whose grandmother had been a minister among Friends in Ohio. He suggested that Quakers purchase exemption from military service by payment of $300 into a special fund for Negro refugees, but the Quakers declined, "inasmuch as it would be the payment of a sum of money in lieu of military service which we cannot conscientiously comply with." Friends established committees to give advice and render aid to individuals drafted or persecuted for their beliefs concerning the war. Eventually, Secretary Stanton issued orders for the release of many Friends who had been drafted into service.

The attitude of the Society of Friends regarding the issues of war and violence has changed little over the years. By their example Quakers hope to become peacemakers. As Rufus Jones said:

The world will at least be better off if there is a Christian group ... resolved to live for these hopes [peace], for this way of life, to bear their clear testimony for peace and love at any cost and at any price, and ready, if the last supreme sacrifice is demanded, to die for that faith and for that vision.

And D. Elton Trueblood has written:

The Quaker dedication to peace, when rightly understood, is something which is cherished not for the sake of a doctrine and not even for the sake of Quakers. It is cherished for the sake of the world. The only purpose is to aid, as imaginatively and as bravely as possible, in taking away the "occasion of all wars."

The Mount Pleasant Meeting House, for many years the home of the Ohio Yearly Meeting, was the first yearly meeting house west of the Allegheny Mountains, which gave it its claim to being "the mother meeting house of all Quakers west of the Alleghenies." Often referred to as the "Gateway to the New West," Mount Pleasant and the surrounding region served as a base from which all Quakerdom west of Ohio spread. It can be assumed that the Friends moving westward from here made similar contributions to the development of a peaceful and orderly society, the promotion of education, and the advancement of the economic well-being of people generally as did those Quakers who settled in Ohio. Today, the stately meeting house stands as testimony to the dynamic spirit which emanated from this small, but influential, community during several decades of the nineteenth century.