Jean R. Soderlund

This book explores the growth of abolitionism Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from 1688 to 1780, providing a case study of how groups change their moral attitudes. The author reveals that a number of Quaker communities in the Delaware Valley were highly resistant to the arguments of the Quaker abolitionists. Meetings came to oppose slavery at different times in the 1700s, and resistance to reform was linked to the economic interests of influential Friends that were slowest to give up slaveholding.… (meer)

I thought this was a good book, and I definitely enjoyed taking a college-level US history course (I took one at Norwalk Community College in CT because it is a requirement for elementary teaching certification and, well, that never came up during my undergrad as a medieval studies major). It's hard to say how much of my enjoyment of this book came from the contents, and how much was from the fact that my professor was totally awesome. If you're on the lookout for a history book, I would recommend this, nonetheless.… (meer)