Literature on Humanity Campaign: Facts from Quaker Writers in the United States

Abstract

This article discusses some facts about Quaker writers who used literature as a tool to advocate for the human values of minorities in the United States. Along with the objective, this article puts forward some Quaker writers in the United States, especially in the pre-twentieth era. Those writers are John Woolman, John Whittier, Elizabeth Chandler, Angelina Grimke, and Sarah Grimke. This is a qualitative writing using an interdisciplinary approach through which it presents literary works and the contexts experienced by Quaker writers. It is found that those writers consistently published essays, pamphlets, letters, and poetry. Along with their writings, the Quakers promoted humane values as expressions of their opposition to social injustice. In this regard, there are two main issues the Quakers consistently dealt with, i.e., the abolition of slavery faced by African Americans and the need for emancipation for women from the patriarchal system. This consistent attempt was made because of the beliefs of Quakerism, which acknowledge the presence of the Inner Light (Jesus Christ) in all human beings regardless of racial and gender differences. As a consequence, this fact serves as proof from the Quakers for all people that religious belief can be a trigger to persistently campaign for humanity's values and goodness for minorities. Besides, this facts proves that literature can be a tool in campaigning human values and fighting against inhumanity.