Quakers and Slavery, 1657-1865: An International Interdisciplinary Conference Thursday 4 – Saturday 6 November 2010 The McNeil Center for Early American Studies Swarthmore College Haverford College Keynote Speakers: Gary B Nash (UCLA), Jerry Frost (Swarthmore), James Walvin (York)

This major international, interdisciplinary conference, held in November 2010, examined the history, literature, and culture of the Quaker relationship with slavery, from the society’s origins in the English Civil War to the end of the American Civil War. In 1657, George Fox wrote “To Friends beyond sea, that have Blacks and Indian Slaves” to remind them that Quakers who owned slaves should be merciful and should remember that God “hath made all Nations of one Blood.” His argument may seem far from radical today, but it initiated three centuries of Quaker debate and activism over the problem of slavery that would ultimately see Friends taking key roles in abolition and emancipation movements on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond. It was, however, by no means inevitable that Quakers would embrace antislavery. In the seventeenth century, and most of the eighteenth century, Quakers were divided on the issue, particularly in the British American colonies, with some denouncing slavery, and others owning slaves. In the following century, Quakers were more unified in their opposition to slavery, but encountered a range of spiritual, political, and personal challenges while taking their antislavery message to a wider world. This interdisciplinary conference examined the history, literature, and culture of the Quaker relationship with slavery, from the society’s origins in the English Civil War up to the end of the American Civil War, with a focus on what David Brion Davis has called “The Quaker Antislavery International”. Quakers and Slavery, 1657-1865: An International Interdisciplinary Conference was held in Philadephia on 4 - 6 November 2010. It was hosted by The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Swarthmore College, and Haverford College, and supported by Bryn Mawr College, Kingston University London, and the University of East Anglia. Conference Program: An archive of the conference program. Organizers: information about the conference organizing team Contact: get in touch with the conference organizers Search: search this website using Google Call For Papers: although the deadline for proposals has passed, the full text of the original conference call for papers is available here in HTML, PDF, and Microsoft Word formats Quakers and Slavery Digitizing Project: an important online resource created by the conference's sponsors.