To be silent-- would be criminal : the antislavery influence and writings of Anthony Benezet / Irv A. Brendlinger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brendlinger, Irv A., 1943-

Series:

Pietist and Wesleyan studies ; no. 20.

Revitalization: explorations in world Christian movements

Pietist and Wesleyan studies ; no. 20

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Benezet, Anthony, 1713-1784.

Antislavery movements--United States--History--18th century.

Antislavery movements.

Abolitionists--United States--History--18th century.

Abolitionists.

Benezet, Anthony.

Benezet, Anthony, 1713-1784--Social and political views.

Benezet, Anthony, 1713-1784--Influence.

Abolitionists--United States--Biography.

History.

United States.

Quakers--United States--Biography.

Quakers.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 229 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press : Center for the Study of World Christian Revitalization Movements, 2007.

Summary:

Born in 1713 of French Huguenot stock, Philadelphia Quaker Anthony Benezet was probably the most significant force in advancing the battle against slavery and the African slave trade in the eighteenth century. While the names of abolitionists like Granville Sharp, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, and John Wesley are familiar to many, the name Anthony Benezet is seldom recognized. And yet it was his work that reinforced Sharp's legal battles, his tracts that singularly influenced both Clarkson and Wesley to join the cause, and his friendship with Benjamin Franklin that encouraged Franklin to lead the American antislavery society after Benezet's death.

To Be Silent ... Would Be Criminal introduces the development of antislavery activity in America and traces the life of Benezet, examining both his work and influence. Benezet's correspondence with his contemporaries is reproduced, providing insight into his relationships and desire to build a viable network to oppose slavery. A letter Benezet wrote to Lady Huntingdon, the chief administer behind the Calvinistic wing of Methodism, inspired the title of this book: "... where the lives & natural as well as religious welfare of so vast a number of our Fellow Creatures is concerned, to be Silent, where we apprehend it a duty to speak our sense of that which causes us to go mourning on our way, would be criminal." All but one of Benezet's antislavery tracts, which are otherwise available only in special archives, are replicated in full, further demonstrating Benezet's uniquely significant role in the eventual victory over slavery.

Contents:

Benjamin Lay and early protesters

Benezet's life, an overview

Benezet's antislavery writing

Benezet's most explicit influence

Others influenced by Benezet

In response to the closing of the life

Letters

Tracts.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-224) and index.

ISBN:

0810857650

OCLC:

70129068

Publisher Number:

9780810857650