Jonathan Wright Plummer

Book excerpt: The book about Jonathan Plummer comes out of my association with the Religious Society of Friends. This group attracted me because of their practice of silent group worship and a simple lifestyle. In this time of great national stress, the Quaker devotion to peace and their quiet service to mankind satisfies my sense that theirs is an appropriate response to the needs of our times. Jonathan Plummer was praised as one of the pioneers of the renaissance of the Society of Friends at the end of the 19th Century. He urged people to act on their faith, a venerated Quaker principle. He brought together seven Yearly Meetings from Illinois to New York and Philadelphia to devise ways to carry out Quaker testimonies. These included urging peaceful relations among men, giving aid and strength to those in prison, and helping working women, children and those needing education. The long-established Quaker opposition to the death penalty for convicted criminals was also on the agenda of the organization he founded, the Friends' Union for Philanthropic Labor. The Union evolved into the Friends General Conference whose work continues today. Jonathan Plummer is an example of 19th Century Quaker devotion and service to his fellow man at a time of great social change in America.