Day 2- Quaker Meeting House

What’s a Quaker?  You have probably seen or heard of them, even if you aren’t quite sure.  For example, ever eaten Quaker Oatmeal?

One famous Quaker, was William Penn, the man who was issued a tract of land in the colonies, which we now call Pennsylvania.  Quakers were peaceful people and believed that all men were equal.

         Does that mean they didn’t own slaves?

Nope! Much to my surprise, some Quakers did own slaves.  They were businessmen and slavery was common throughout the colonies.  That did begin to change during the 1800’s in the lead up to the Civil War.  Quakers played a large role in the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement of the 1850’s.

Are Quakers still around?

Yes! Quakers are still around and I had to opportunity to go into their meeting house and meet a few.  They look no different than you or I.

How did Quakers worship?

Quakers are very interesting in that they have no dogma in their religion. (Dogma would be considered the rule book to how you worship)  Their meeting house is set up with multiple pews are facing one another in a square pattern.  They have no church leaders, no minister, no preacher. (In fact, their meeting house is very plain inside with no ornamentation at all!)  Instead, they sit for about ten minutes silently and then someone might stand to say something.  From there, people think about their words and then someone might comment back a few minutes later.  In fact, would be completely acceptable for an entire meeting (about an hour) to be silent the entire time.

         Were Quakers liked?

Not entirely.  In the time period, Quakers were often criticized because they did not show proper respect.  If you were walking down the street and met someone of a higher rank or station ( a judge perhaps) it was expected that you would stop, tip you hat, and say good morning.  But, Quakers did not do this since they believed that all were equal.  This was seen as a big NO NO in the time period!