Join us for a talk by Jeff Denman, author of Philadelphia Quakers and the American Revolution.
Fleeing political upheavals in England for settlement in the New World, Quakers rose to unprecedented economic and political power in the Pennsylvania colony. However, the failure of the Quaker-dominated government to provide for defense in the wars from the 1730s into the 1760s was the beginning of their downfall. By the Revolution, their fortunes had waned, and they were brutally suppressed by their political foes. Seventeen Quakers and three others were exiled to Virginia without so much as a hearing, and Quaker farms and businesses were subject to depredations. Labeled dissenters by Loyalist and Patriot alike, they stood their ground, alone and isolated. Through the words of those who were there, author and historian Jeff Denman vividly describes the precipitous rise of the Philadelphia Quakers and their fall during the American Revolution.
This program is made possible through a partnership between the Haverford Township Historical Society and the Library.
The Haverford Township Free Library and the Haverford Township Historical Society are participating in a Township-wide collaboration of non-profit organizations producing a special series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial in 2026.
