Geoffrey Plank , University of Cincinnati
Barra Postdoctoral Fellow
plankg@email.uc.edu
"Peace in the British Empire: John Woolman, Imperialism, and the Peaceable Kingdom"
With a focus on the New Jersey abolitionist John Woolman (1720-1772), Peace in the British Empire examines how consumer culture and household decision-making in colonial America became politically charged, at least among a circle of Quakers and other opponents of slavery, in the 1740s and 1750s. Disillusioned with formal politics as a consequence of the imperial wars against France and Spain, Woolman and his supporters adopted an alternative approach to politics that emphasized the political significance of personal behavior and material things. While adopting a new approach to political action, the Quaker reformers developed a critique of the imperial economy, emphasizing that the slave trade, military action and territorial expansion lay at the foundation of Britain’s imperial wealth.
Barra Postdoctoral Fellow
plankg@email.uc.edu
"Peace in the British Empire: John Woolman, Imperialism, and the Peaceable Kingdom"
With a focus on the New Jersey abolitionist John Woolman (1720-1772), Peace in the British Empire examines how consumer culture and household decision-making in colonial America became politically charged, at least among a circle of Quakers and other opponents of slavery, in the 1740s and 1750s. Disillusioned with formal politics as a consequence of the imperial wars against France and Spain, Woolman and his supporters adopted an alternative approach to politics that emphasized the political significance of personal behavior and material things. While adopting a new approach to political action, the Quaker reformers developed a critique of the imperial economy, emphasizing that the slave trade, military action and territorial expansion lay at the foundation of Britain’s imperial wealth.