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less preoccupied with human sinfulness
and child depravity. Rather than break
the child’s will or annihilate a child’s
sense of self, these colonists preferred to
mold or shape the wills and consciences
of their children by pious, moral
example.
The Quakers and Noncoerciveness.
Quakerfamilies in the Pennsylvania,
Delaware,and New Jersey colonies were
less patriarchal.They placed more
importance on the value of women in the
home and on maternal nurturance of
children.They stressed affection,
friendship,and hospitality.Children grew
up in an environment which valued self-
disciplined,non-coercive childrearing.
Children were encouraged to become self-
sufficient early,and parents often
provided an early dowry of land for
daughters and sons so they could become
independent.
The Role of Quaker Women.In marked
contrast to the Puritans,who forbade
women to preach before men,Quakers
elevated women to a complete equality
with men,even to preaching in meetings.
Centuries ahead of general thinking on
equality of the sexes,both parents were
head of the Quaker family,and the young
spoke of“my father and mother’s house”
(Fischer,1989).
Quaker Religious and Communal Life.
The early Quakers gathered for worship in
silence,without liturgy,or any appointed
preacher.However,since the earliest times,

Quakers have recorded (but not ordained)

ministers to act as spiritual leaders.Their

belief was that every person has an inner

capacity to understand theWord of God

and to offer an opinion.

The Quakers were strong believers in

action by committees, which were

appointed for everything imaginable,

including attendance at weddings and

funerals, as witnesses. In contrast to the

Puritans, Quakers were the first to plead

for religious tolerance and the first to

befriend the Native-Americans and the

African slaves. Later, the Quakers were

instrumental in helping to abolish slavery

and often provided freedom through the

Underground Railroad for runaway

slaves.

The Growing Nation:

Life in the Eighteenth Century

A Shift in Perspective

By the late 1600s,the view of childhood

began to change.It was seen as a period of

preparation for life rather than a period of

vulnerability.This allowed parents to take

greater delight in their children’s

“childishness.”The assumptions about a

child’s needs changed significantly.A new

interest in child development allowed

considerable freedom for children,in

comparison to the earlier part of the

century.

Chapter 2