Meeting House and Counting House: The Quaker Merchants of Colonial Philadelphia 1682-1763

by Frederick Barnes Tolles

The "holy experiment" of the Quakers involved political hegemony and economic wealth. Gradually the Quakers realized that they had become involved in the compromises fatal to the spiritual integrity of the Society of Friends itself. The political crisis of 1756 hastened this realization, and the Quaker merchants abandoned the outward plantations and turned again to the plantations within.

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Genres: History, American History

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Frederick Barnes Tolles was Director of Friends Historical Library from 1951-1970, and a member of the Department of History at Swarthmore College. He graduated from Harvard in 1936, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and took Honors in English with his thesis on Emerson and Quakerism. He received his Masters degree from Harvard in 1937 and taught in the English Department at Harvard University until 1941. He came to Swarthmore College as Librarian of Friends Historical Library in 1941 and was named Director of the Library in 1951. He earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1947.

Reviews

[Phyllis Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart as it lags in places and the sheer volume of information is overwhelming. The organization is different than what many readers might be used to, but for details about the lives and personalities of the earliest Pennsylvania Quakers, nothing comes close to this monumental review of what looks like thousands of original documents. Serious researchers, even if they are not greatly taken with this time and place, can't avoid being hugely impressed by the undertaking and fantastic organization of sources after the main body of the book. It was as interesting to read as the story itself!
If your thing is research, the time to get through this great accomplishment is well worthwhile.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting case study on both class conflict among settlers in the American colonies, the contradictions between early bourgeois consumption and idealist philosophy, the progressive role of certain sections of the bourgeoisie prior to the American revolution, and a good primer into studying the history of Quakers in the United States.