How did members of the Society of Friends – commonly known as Quakers and as proponents of pacifism – handle the conflicts that accompanied the American Revolutionary War?
Historian Maxine Lurie will discuss how Quakers reacted in New Jersey when she speaks at the Lawrence Historical Society’s annual Mary Tanner Lecture on Oct. 17. It will be held at 7 p.m. at Lawrence High School at 2525 Princeton Pike.
The lecture series is named for the late Mary Tanner, who served on the Lawrence Historical Society’s Board of Trustees. She was also the first woman to serve on the Lawrence Township Council from 1976 to 1981.
Lurie, who is a retired history professor, became interested in the topic after she came across the story of Richard Stockton, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Although not a Quaker himself, he was descended from a family of Quakers.
“I found a complicated story about how difficult it was to live in New Jersey in the midst of a civil war,” said Lurie, who taught at Marquette University, Rutgers University and Seton Hall University.
Stockton, who built Morven in Princeton, initially did not oppose King George III. He considered himself to be a subject of the king, but gradually changed his mind.
Stockton joined other revolutionaries – Patriots – and signed the document that led to war between the colonists and Great Britain. He fled Princeton and was captured in Monmouth County by British soldiers in November 1776. He was imprisoned in New York City.
Stockton took an oath to support King George III and was pardoned. Many people took the oath because it appeared that the Revolutionary War was going to end in defeat for the Americans.
But after his release, Stockton took a second oath in December 1777 stating that he did not hold himself bound to bear allegiance to King George III. The second oath committed him to support “the government established in this state (New Jersey).”
Quakers were faced with a dilemma in how they they responded to being caught in the middle of a civil war. It was complicated by their religious and political beliefs, such as pacifism and their ideas about the origin of government.
The Quakers were pacifists who did not believe in war, but like everything else about the Revolutionary War, when looked at closely it gets complicated, Lurie said. Their stance was difficult with war swirling around them.
Most tried to remain neutral and refused to serve in the military, to pay taxes or support the war in other ways. But some Quakers picked up arms, usually – but not always – joining the Patriots.
Although these events occurred 250 years ago, there are still war zones around the world, as well as conflicts between religion and politics. Families are divided over issues.
“I am hoping that talking about these difficulties will help people connect the past to the present,” Lurie said.
