Anthony Benezet
Anthony Benezet moved to Philadelphia at age
17 in 1731 after living in France, Holland, and
England. He became a Quaker and a teacher in
America. In 1750, he taught African-American
children, both free and enslaved, at night in his
own home. Four years later, he began the first
public school for girls in America and even created
a special program for a deaf and mute student.
Benezet believed in universal equality and was
a prominent abolitionist. He is considered the
father of the American anti-slavery movement and
created the first abolition society in Philadelphia
in 1776. He also studied African literature and
respected African culture in general.
The Quaker Meeting, Cox-Parrish-Wharton family
papers [0154]
Who was Anthony Benezet? What opinions did he have and why?
Braithwaite, William Charles. The Message and Mission of Quakerism. Philadelphia:
J.C. Winston, 1912. [E .46994]
Tomek, Beverly C. Colonization and its Discontents: emancipation, emigration,
and antislavery in antebellum Pennsylvania. New York: New York University Press,
2011. [E 449 .T66 2011]
On what issues did Benezet take a stand? How and why did he take them?
Thompson Family papers [0654]
Report of the committee of ways and means, to whom was referred on the
sixteenth of December 1806, the petition of Anthony Benezet and others,
December 31, 1806: read, and referred to a committee of the whole... [Td*1807]
Anthony Benezet and the natural rights of the Negro [Va .6 v.96]
Elizabeth Drinker diary [1760]
Questions to consider: How did Anthony Benezet’s views and
actions differ from those of others during his time? What motivated
Benezet? Did he motivate anyone else to take a stand?