| The Quakers are famous for the persecution they faced in England, as well as their eventual establishment of Pennsylvania as a Quaker state under William Penn, the sole proprietor of Pennsylvania. see pg. 10 of Fisher. For a discussion of William Penn the proprietor. However, of more interest to this discussion is the Quaker response and reaction to their persecution, which founds the basis for the shaping of the American Legal System by the Quakers.
One of the main reasons for the Quakers' substantial influence on future legal proceedings was the sheer quantity of times Quakers faced the legal system. In a country with an established church concerned with stemming dissenters, as England was with Anglican church and the Conventicle Acts, any group threatening such an establishment or disobeying the established rules is bound to face some resistance. The Quakers bore a significant brunt of the enforcement because they openly defied the rules, and were easy targets because of their pacifist ways. see Horle pp.126-127.
The Conventicle Act of 1664, was part of a program by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, to discourage participation in any church but that of England. For a free book about Edward Hyde. The Conventicle Act outlawed all religious meetings of more than 5 people outside the Church of England, and some of the corresponding acts within Hyde's program made it illegal to miss Sunday church and forced individuals to swear an oath to the King of England. All of these policies were strictly against the Quakers' belief system, and their devout observance of their beliefs led to their many transgressions of the law. |