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THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

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Taylor, the circular emphasized the associ<strong>at</strong>ion’s goal to increase the manufacture and<br />

production <strong>of</strong> free-labor goods. As Orthodox Quakers, the three were thoroughly imbued<br />

with the evangelical fervor <strong>of</strong> th<strong>at</strong> particular branch <strong>of</strong> the Society <strong>of</strong> Friends and<br />

embraced gender ideals traditionally associ<strong>at</strong>ed with evangelical Christianity. 33 Yet,<br />

Rhoads, Pennock, and Taylor represented, in some ways, divergent responses to<br />

organized abolitionism.<br />

Probably the most liberal <strong>of</strong> the three men, Pennock had been active in free<br />

produce since the 1820s when he helped James Mott and other Philadelphia Quakers<br />

establish the Free Produce Society <strong>of</strong> Pennsylvania. He was a member <strong>of</strong> the Bible<br />

Associ<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> Friends, which was organized in 1829. Pennock was one <strong>of</strong> the few<br />

Orthodox Friends to play a prominent role in the secular abolitionist movement. When<br />

George Thompson lectured in Philadelphia, he stayed with the Pennocks. Pennock was a<br />

leader in the American Free Produce Associ<strong>at</strong>ion and was responsible for recruiting<br />

Gerrit Smith to th<strong>at</strong> group. Pennock also held leadership positions in the Pennsylvania<br />

Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society. Pennock’s abolitionist<br />

activities were not without controversy among his co-religionists. In 1845, British<br />

Quaker Alex Derkin cautioned Pennock against taking “too active a part in the Abolition<br />

societies.” Derkin said he did not want to discourage Pennock from doing all he could<br />

33 Philadelphia Free Produce Associ<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> Friends, “To Our Fellow Members <strong>of</strong> the Religious<br />

Society <strong>of</strong> Friends,” Quaker Broadsides, TQC. See also Drake, Quakers and Slavery, 172-173. Drake<br />

describes the founders as “old-line Quaker abolitionists, Orthodox Friends, and members <strong>of</strong> the evangelical<br />

or ‘Gurneyite’ wing <strong>of</strong> their Yearly Meeting. . . . [<strong>The</strong>se] Friends . . . felt sure th<strong>at</strong> Christ had called them to<br />

support missionary societies, abolition and temperance organiz<strong>at</strong>ions, soup kitchens, relief societies, and a<br />

host <strong>of</strong> other reforms.” Orthodox Friends in this particular group more closely resembled Methodists,<br />

Presbyterians, and other Protestansts r<strong>at</strong>her than the “older type <strong>of</strong> quiet Friends.”<br />

206

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