Constitution and Discipline for the American Yearly Meetings of Friends (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901. Excerpt: ... branches, might be properly represented during the recess of the Meeting, a Meeting was instituted in the year 1778 under the name of the "Meeting for Sufferings." By subsequent action the name was changed (1876) to "Representative Meeting," and later still (1901) to "The Permanent Board." Very early in the history of The Friends-individuals among them saw that the holding of slaves was inconsistent with the common brotherhood of man as set forth in the Gospel. So far as is known, the earliest formal protest against slavery in any Christian denomination was made by German Friends living in Germantown, Pa., in 1688. From this time the conscience of Friends became increasingly sensitive on this subject, and before the close of the eighteenth century the holding of slaves was contrary to the Discipline of every Yearly Meeting. Friends continued to bear a testimony against slavery until the era of Emancipation. In common with all the Southern Yearly Meetings, Baltimore Yearly Meeting lost great numbers by emigration to the West to escape the influence of slavery. Ohio Yearly Meeting was set off from Baltimore Yearly Meeting in 1812. By the separation of 1828 Baltimore Yearly Meeting lost about four-fifths of its membership at that date. When Virginia Yearly Meeting was suspended in 1844 its members were attached to Baltimore Yearly Meeting. The emigration to the West continued until the close of the Civil War, greatly reducing the total membership. Statistics collected in 1878 for the use of a committee place the membership in that year at 550. Since that date there has been a steady increase to more than double that number (1214) in 1900. CONSTITUTION AND DISCIPLINE American Yearly Meetings of Friends PREFACE. The Society of Friends, generally called Quakers...