The Roots of our Peace Witness

The classic oft quoted statement of the Quaker Peace Testimony is the Declaration to King Charles II of 1660 signed by twelve Friends including George Fox, one of the founders of the Religious Society of Friends. The Declaration is about 4-1/2 pages long and only part of it is quoted here as is the custom. This was sent to reassure the King that Quakers were a peaceful people and should not be grouped with those trying to overthrow the King. The Declaration starts with: “A Declaration from the harmless and innocent people of God, called Quakers…”

“Our principle is, and our practices have always been, to seek peace and ensue it and to follow after righteousness and the knowledge of God, seeking the good and welfare, and doing that which tends to the peace of all… All bloody principles and practices, we, as to our own particulars, do utterly deny, with all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretence whatsoever. And this is our testimony to the whole world…

That the spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world…

And as for the kingdoms of the world, we cannot covet them, much less can we fight for them… and that they may all come to witness the prophet’s words, who said, ‘Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ (Isa. ii. 4; Mic. iv. 3 )” (1)

George Fox was imprisoned in 1651 for blasphemy. He was offered a commission in the militia, which if accepted would have freed him. He refused. Another frequently quoted statement is his refusal, as recorded in his journal:

“But I told them [the Commonwealth Commissioners] I lived in the virtue of that life and power that took away the occasion of all wars, and I knew from whence all wars did rise, from the lust according to James’s doctrine…I told them I was come into the covenant of peace which was before wars and strife were.” (2)

A less well known statement and less often quoted is that of Margaret Fell, delivered to King Charles II in June of 1660, and intended for the King and both houses of Parliament:

“We are a people that follow after those things that make for peace, love and unity; it is our desire that others’ feet may walk in the same, and do deny and bear our testimony against all strife, and wars, and contentions that come from the lusts that war in the members, that war in the soul… and [we] love and desire the good of all.” (3)

John Woolman, best known for his work against slavery in this country in the mid to late 18th Century, raises in his “A Plea for the Poor” another aspect of war:

“May we look upon our treasures, the furniture of our houses, and the garments in which we array ourselves, and try whether the seeds of war have any nourishment in these our possessions or not.” (4)

A Brief History

Although Quakers are known for our peace testimony, it has not been an easy witness to adhere to. Individual Quakers throughout our history have displayed a wide range of responses to armed struggle.

• Fox was clear that for him personally he could not participate in war. However, in some of his other writings he accepted the authority of the state to use the sword. (5)
• With war pending, in 1675, five Quakers in Rhode Island courageously approached the Wampanoag Indian tribal chief, unarmed, attempting to mediate a peace agreement to prevent what became known as King Phillip’s war. They failed. When war broke out the death toll was frightful. The Quaker dominated administration and legislature in Rhode Island joined the war. Those who refused to fight were accused of complicity in the death of white settlers. (6)
• Based on the trust William Penn developed with the Delaware Lenape Indians and the treaty, apparently oral, early Pennsylvania Quakers lived in peace with the Lenape for 70-75 years while war raged around them. The trust was gradually broken by the taking of Indian land by white settlers culminating with the “Walking Purchase” of 1737 that violated the spirit of agreement Penn had made. The peace completely ended with the outbreak of the French and Indian war in 1756. (7)
• Many Quakers declared that they would not participate in the rebellion against King George (the Revolutionary War) and as a result had to find a replacement to fight for them. Otherwise they were fined, or had property and goods confiscated. A few went to prison. (8) Those that supported the war formed a separate group called the Free Quakers.
• In the Civil War, Quakers both fought in the war and were conscientious objectors vigorously opposing the war. (9)
• In WWII an estimated 90% of eligible Quaker males in the U.S. joined the military on active duty as both combatants and noncombatants. Under the Selective Service Act of 1940 conscientious objection was an option and an estimated 12,000 men opted for this and served in Civilian Public Service Camps. (10) About 6000 men went to prison for refusing to cooperate at all with the system. Both of the latter groups included Quakers.
• In the Vietnam War, some joined the military but there was widespread protest by Quakers including draft resistance and civil disobedience. Others went to Canada or to prison, and one Friend set himself on fire in front of the Pentagon to call attention to the injustice of that war.

Despite the range of individual response to war, the peace testimony remained a major public Friends testimony. Since 1774, London (now Britain) Yearly Meeting, minuted its public testimony against war during both popular and unpopular wars. (11)

In 1987, Aotearoa/New Zealand Yearly Meeting made a strong public statement of the Quaker Peace Testimony to a committee of its government which reads in part:

We totally oppose all wars, all preparation for war, all use of weapons and coercion by force, and all military alliances; no end could justify such means.

We equally and actively oppose all that leads to violence among people and nations, and violence to other species and to our planet.

Refusal to fight with weapons is not surrender. We are not passive when threatened by the greedy, the cruel, the tyrant, the unjust.

We will struggle to remove the causes of impasse and confrontation by every means of nonviolent resistance available.

We must start with our own hearts and minds…

The places to begin acquiring the skills and maturity and generosity to avoid or to resolve conflicts are in our own homes, our personal relationships, our schools, our workplaces, and wherever decisions are made. (12)

In the United States, Quaker groups reaffirmed the peace testimony after the two major world wars, again in 1960 which was the 300th anniversary of the Declaration, and again after the attack on the United States on 9/11/01 and the subsequent U.S. wars. The most recent of these was a consultation sponsored by FWCC which met at Guillford College in January 2003. (13)

The history of Friends and their practice of the Peace Testimony has continually changed, as the situations in the world demand different responses. Twentieth century Quakers had very specific issue during World War I, II and the Cold War, because of the nationwide military draft, and the need for all Quaker communities to help their young people respond. National Quaker leaders, who were separate theologically, nevertheless came together to help organize a way for young men to offer service rather than carry guns. This organization became the American Friends Service Committee in June of 1917.

There was a similar service in Great Britain, the Friends Service Council. The world recognized the positive worth of these groups by awarding them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. The Nobel committee cited the role of all Quakers, the care of the nameless to the nameless in promoting the brotherhood among all nations, and used the AFSC and the Friends Service Council for this recognition. (Vining, Friend of Life, p. 306)

The history of our own yearly meeting began during World War II, when people who held peace concerns came together in a community. They were seeking spiritual nurture and support to sustain these peace concerns, and to support their difficult work as conscientious objectors. Many local meetings formed and grew again during the years of our presence in Vietnam. We carry a passion to embody this testimony in our work, in our play and in our care for the world. Northern Yearly Meeting supports our national Quaker leaders in AFSC, Friends Committee on National Legislation and the Friends World Committee for Consultation which sponsors our work at the United Nations. The primary evidence that the peace testimony is alive in Northern Yearly Meeting is the daily witness of ordinary people in all aspects of their careers and their connections in our communities.

Assembled in annual session May 28-31, 2004, Northern Yearly Meeting minuted the following:

“We strive to live in a manner to take away the occasion of all war. We reaffirm our traditional opposition to war and violence as instruments of national policy. We feel great sadness for the tragic, brutal events in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere being committed in our name. We especially grieve for the killing and torture, which we have inevitably brought on by the dehumanizing acts of war.

As Quakers from the United States, we acknowledge our complicity in, and seek forgiveness for, these acts of our government. We will continue to stand and work for peace and justice. We will continue to support those who for conscience sake refuse to participate in the military. We support those who, for conscience sake, refuse to pay taxes for war. We support those who are involved in non-violent peacemaking.”

References

1. Journal of George Fox. revised edition. Ed. Nickalls JL, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952 pp 398-403. (Issued in 11/1660 using the old calendar and in 1/1661 using the new calendar. Thus you see different dates attributed to this statement. )
2. Journal of George Fox. p 65
3. Quaker Faith and Practice, Britain Yearly Meeting. 1994. 19.46
4. Woolman J. “A Plea for the Poor” in The Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman. Ed. Moulton,PP, 1971, New York, Oxford University Press p 255
5. Ingle, HL. First Among Friends. Oxford University Press, New York, 1994. pp. 192-195, and endnote p. 329 #18. Ingle states on p. 194 “He [Fox] did not deny, and never did deny, the right of a nation’s rulers to wield weapons in the defense of a just cause. The problem was in defining such a cause.” Also see: Spears J. Friends Journal. “How would George Fox respond to terrorism?” January, 2005. p 5
6. Brock P. Pacifism in the United States. Princeton University Press, 1968, pp 40-42; also:
Jonas G. On Doing Good: The Quaker Experiment. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1971. pp 21-23
7. Jonas. pp 26-55
8. Brock. pp 183 on
9. Brock pp 713 on
10. Smith A. “The Renewal Movement: The Peace Testimony and Modern Quakerism” from Quaker History 1996:85 (Fall issue)
11. Quaker Faith and Practice. 24.05 through 24.09
12. Quaker Faith and Practice. 24.10
13. Friends’ Peace Witness in a Time of War. The publication of the major addresses at this consultation by Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas, 2005