Mothers of Feminism: The Story of Quaker Women in America

The considerable contribution of Quaker women to American society is explored here by a Haverford College professor. From their early history in the American colonies, shaped by their religious commitment to pacifism and mentored by prominent male Quakers, e.g., George Fox, William Penn, John Woolman, these women, shows Bacon, spread the gospel as they pioneered rights movements. In the vanguard of the antislavery thrust in the last century, their nonresistance stance, exemplified in the strategies of Lucretia Mott, Susan Anthony and others, bore fruit in women's suffrage. Contemporary Quaker women, nurtured in the tradition of sexual equality and egalitarian marriage, are at odds with radical feminism, Bacon maintains, but resilient in coping with change. This well-written study is complemented by photographs. (August 6)