Three hundred and thirty-six years ago this month, in 1688, Quaker Francis Daniel Pastorius, and three other Friends published the Germantown Friends Petition Against Slavery on behalf of the Germantown (Pennsylvania) Meeting.
The Petition is considered to be the first protest against African American slavery made by a religious body in the English colonies.
It objected to slavery on moral and practical grounds at a time when the practice was almost universally accepted, including by most Quakers.
The argument presented in the petition was based upon the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It said:
“There is a saying, that we shall doe to all men like as we will be done ourselves; making no difference of what generation, descent or colour they are.”
At the time of its writing, the Petition got passed around in the Germantown meeting chain – monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings – without any official approval or rejection.
It disappeared for 150 years into the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s archives, when it was discovered in 1844. Quaker abolitionists republished it that year in “The Friend” in support of their antislavery work.
About 100 years later, it was misplaced again, only to be rediscovered in 2005 in the Arch Street Meetinghouse. It was in very bad physical condition by then, but was repaired and restored at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia.
Although it didn’t provoke changes immediately, the Petition is still considered a significant document in the fight against slavery.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture says this on their website:
“Sadly, ‘The Germantown Protest’ did not spark a significant change in the Americas against slavery. Even within Quaker communities the declaration was ignored, at least initially. But a seed had been planted. A belief shared silently by many was given voice.”
Peachtree Friends Meeting 