To Be Silent... Would be Criminal: The Antislavery Influence and Writings of Anthony Benezet

by Irv A. Brendlinger

Overview

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

To Be Silent... Would Be Criminal introduces the development of antislavery activity in America and then traces the life of Benezet, examining both his work and influence on individuals, including Wesley, Sharp, Clarkson, and Franklin. Benezet's correspondence with these and other contemporaries is reproduced here, giving insight into his relationships and his desire to build a viable network to oppose slavery. It's from a letter Benezet wrote to Lady Huntingdon, the chief administer behind the Calvinistic wing of Methodism, that the title of this book is derived: "...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." With one exception, all of Benezet's antislavery tracts, which are otherwise available only in special archives, are replicated in full within the book, further demonstrating Benezet's uniquely significant role in the eventual victory over slavery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810857650
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/28/2006
Series:	Pietist and Wesleyan Studies , #20
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Irv A. Brendlinger is Professor of Church History and Theology at George Fox University, Newberg, Oregon.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Acknowledgments Part 2 Editor's Foreword Part 3 Foreword Part 4 Chronology Part 5 Introduction Part 6 Chapter 1—Benjamin Lay and Early Protesters Part 7 Chapter 2—Benezet's Life, An Overview Part 8 Chapter 3—Benezet's Antislavery Writing Part 9 Chapter 4—Benezet's Most Explicit Influence Part 10 Chapter 5—Others Influenced by Benezet Part 11 Chapter 6—In Response to the Closing of the Life... Part 12 Letters Part 13 Tracts Part 14 Afterword Part 15 Bibliography Part 16 Index Part 17 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

In tracing the life of Anthony Benezet, an 18th-century opponent to slavery and the African slave trade, Brendlinger (church history and theology, George Fox U.) follows the evolution of antislavery activity in America. In addition to Benezet's antislavery tracts, Brendlinger includes Benezet's correspondence with his contemporaries, which provides insights into his relationships and his desire to build a viable network to oppose slavery.

Reference and Research Book News

The reader who understands the purpose and scope of the book will be fascinated....Brendlinger does us all a valuable service.

Barclay Press

The reader who understands the purpose and scope of the book will be fascinated....Brendlinger does us all a valuable service.--Barclay Press

In tracing the life of Anthony Benezet, an 18th-century opponent to slavery and the African slave trade, Brendlinger (church history and theology, George Fox U.) follows the evolution of antislavery activity in America. In addition to Benezet's antislavery tracts, Brendlinger includes Benezet's correspondence with his contemporaries, which provides insights into his relationships and his desire to build a viable network to oppose slavery.--Reference and Research Book News

From the Publisher