UTOPIAN PROMISE - Annenberg Media

[2793] The Quaker Meeting, courtesy
of George Fox University. Quaker
churches like this one are “plain-style”
buildings defined by their linear design,
exposed structural supports, and open
lighting. These unpretentious interiors
have no altars or pulpits, creating
unadorned spaces that allow congregants
to concentrate on their individual
relationships with God. Illustration from
Sydney George Fisher, The True William
Penn (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott,
1899).
[2909] Thomas Fairland, George Fox
(1914), courtesy of the Library of
Congress [LC-USZ62-49456]. Facsimile
of portrait drawn on stone. George Fox
(1624–1691) founded the Society of
Friends, or Quakers, based on the principle
of the direct guidance of the Holy
Spirit. In the portrait Fox wears what
would become known as a “Quaker
hat.”
[6746] Nathaniel Delivan, Bill of Sale
for Slaves, New York (1700), courtesy of
the Library of Congress, Rare Books and
Special Collections, Printed Ephemera.
Early opponents of slavery like John
Woolman addressed the institution’s
existence in all of the British colonies.
Hudson Valley wheat plantations used
slaves, while merchants and ships from
ports like Boston, New York, and
Philadelphia brought slaves to those
towns along with southern and
Caribbean colonies.
28 UNIT 3, UTOPIAN PROMISE
leaf Whittier, Henry David Thoreau, and Theodore Dreiser. Woolman’s
commitment to social justice and his concern with issues that continue
to haunt American culture—problems such as bigotry, violence, materialism,
and poverty—have given his work a lasting relevance.
TEACHING TIPS
■ Woolman participates in a long tradition of Quaker journal-keeping
begun by George Fox, the founder of the sect. Pious Quakers routinely
composed spiritual autobiographies to be published after their
deaths as examples and guides for those who read them. It seems clear,
then, that Woolman carefully crafted and revised his Journal in anticipation
of its eventual publication. Given this information, ask students
to consider how Woolman’s sense of audience and literary conventions
might have influenced the composition and shaped the meaning of the
Journal.
■ Woolman frequently explains his religious motivations in terms
of “openings,” or “drawings” sent to him by God. Ask students what
they think he means by these terms. What rhetorical purpose do they
serve? How do they work to justify Woolman’s actions? Ask students
to reflect on the potential problems this passive ideal of acting only
when moved by God might pose for someone like Woolman. In explicating
the tensions between activity and passivity in the Journal, you
might point out Woolman’s consistent use of the passive voice in his
description of religious experiences.
QUESTIONS
Comprehension: What rhetorical strategies and appeals does
Woolman use to argue against slavery in Some Considerations on
the Keeping of Negroes? Which are most persuasive? Which do you
think would have been most effective in persuading other eighteenth-century
Americans to abolish slavery?
Context: Woolman’s Journal has been celebrated as a particularly
beautiful and effective example of “plain style.” How does his use of
this style compare to that of other plain stylists discussed in this
unit (Bradford, Bradstreet, and Penn, for example)? What kinds of
values and beliefs might Woolman’s style reflect? Are they the same
or different from the values held by Puritan plain stylists?
Exploration: How do Woolman’s concerns prefigure later social
movements in America (abolitionism, civil rights issues, the development
of welfare programs, for example)? Can you trace his influence
in any contemporary discussions of social justice issues? What
might Woolman think of contemporary American society? How
would he feel about the ongoing problems of racism, bigotry, poverty,
violence, and materialism?