In 1775, a young Philadelphia Quaker was sent by his father to gather detailed information on business conditions in the British Isles. Fisher's travels took him throughout Britain and Ireland, even across the English Channel, and the journals that record his observations provide a fascinating and very distinctive commentary on the economic and social life of the time. Detailed and astute descriptions of British manufacturing and trade are balanced by lively comments on landscape gardening and country houses, and there is much material on the transatlantic connections of the Society of Friends during the American Revolution. The travel journals are supplemented by Fisher's cameos of merchants in the major trading centers, with lists of all the goods handled.
Examines the two largest Quaker communities in the early modern British Atlantic World, and scrutinizes the role of Quaker merchants and the business ethics they followed.
This book examines a hitherto neglected aspect of the War of American Independence, providing the first wide-ranging account of the impact of this eighteenth-century conflict upon the politics, economy, society and culture of the British Isles. The author examines the level of military participation - which was much greater than is usually appreciated - and explores the war's effects on subjects as varied as parliamentary reform, religious toleration and attitudes to empire. The books casts new light upon recent debate about the war-waging efficiency of the British state, and on the role of war in the creation of a sense of 'Britishness'. The thematic chapters are supplemented by local case studies of six very different communities the length and breadth of the British Isles.
Professor Kennedy's book chronicles the metamorphosis of the British Society of Friends from a tiny, self-isolated body of peculiar people into a theologically liberal, spiritually vital association of activists. Defined by a strong social commitment and enduring pacifist ethic British Quakersassumed an importance in society out of all proportion to their minuscule numbers. This transformation was, first and foremost, the product of a spiritual and intellectual struggle among Quaker factions-evangelical, conservative, and liberal-seeking to delineate the future path of their religiousSociety. Inspired by the leadership of a remarkable band of intellectually acute, theologically progressive, and spiritually committed men and women, London Yearly Meeting was both reformed and revitalised during the so-called Quaker Renaissance. Simultaneously embracing advanced modern ideas andreiterating their attachment to traditional Quaker principles, especially the egalitarian concept of the Inner Light of Christ and a revived peace testimony, liberal Quakers prepared the ground for their Society's dramatic confrontation with the Warrior State after 1914. Official Quaker resistance to the Great War not only fixed the image of the Society of Friends as Britain's most authentic and significant peace church, it also brought a group of talented and determined Quaker women into the front lines of the Society's struggle against war and conscription, aposition from which twentieth-century female Friends have never retreated. Quakerism emerged from the war as the religious body least tainted by spiritual compromise. Thus, when British Quakers hosted the first World Conference of All Friends in 1920, they could take satisfaction in their struggle to keep alive the voce of pacifist conscience and express renewed hope intheir enduring mission to create the Kingdom of God on earth.
This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.
An illuminating collection of work by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Covering nearly three centuries of religious development, this comprehensive anthology brings together writings from prominent Friends that illustrate the development of Quakerism, show the nature of Quaker spiritual life, discuss Quaker contributions to European and American civilization, and introduce the diverse community of Friends, some of whom are little remembered even among Quakers today. It gives a balanced overview of Quaker history, spanning the globe from its origins to missionary work, and explores daily life, beliefs, perspectives, movements within the community, and activism throughout the world. It is an exceptional contribution to contemporary understanding of religious thought. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
First Published in 2001. Charting the history and geographic development of American religions, The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America displays in vibrant visual and textual detail the intimate relationship between American spiritual belief and the events that formed the nation. Mirroring the variety found in America's religious past and present, coverage focuses on such diverse topics as: Indigenous American Religions, Russian Orthodoxy, French Catholicism, The Puritans, Judaism in the Colonies, The Great Awakening, American Metaphysical Movements, African American Churches, The Mormons, Islam, Buddhism and German Sects in Colonial America. Loaded with more than 50 full-color maps, charts, and illustrations, The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America is an indispensable reference for those interested in the American religious experience.
This award-winning book, now available in paperback, is the first solid appraisal of the legendary career of the eminent Hungarian-born conductor Fritz Reiner (1888-1963). Personally enigmatic and often described as difficult to work with, he was nevertheless renowned for the dynamic galvanization of the orchestras he led, a nearly unrivaled technical ability, and high professional standards. Reiner's influence in the United States began in the early 1920s and lasted until his death. Reiner was also deeply committed to serious music in American life, especially through the promotion of new scores. In Fritz Reiner, Maestro and Martinet, Kenneth Morgan paints a very real portrait of a man who was both his own worst enemy and one of the true titans of his profession.
