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Quaker Pacifism and the Image of Isaac Norris, Ii

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Quaker Pacifism and the Image of Isaac Norris, Ii QUAKER PACIFISM AND THE IMAGE OF ISAAC NORRIS, II By JOHN D. WINDHAUSEN* I N NOVEMBER of 1755, when a group of twenty-three Quakers petitioned the Pennsylvania Assembly to stop passage of a bill requiring tax revenue to be used for defense, Speaker Isaac Norris wrote the following to thne colony's agent in London. Richard Partridge: "it is as certain that laws of the same kind expressed in much stronger terms have past here in which not only ye Meeting was consulted but almost every friend of Reputa- tion in this Province concerned."' The Speaker of the Assembly specifically referred to the year 1711, when the elder Isaac Norris had led the Quaker-dominated legislature wAhich voted "200 pounds for the Queen's use," implying that the way it was spent was her concern, not theirs. This obvious piece of legislative casuistry set a precedent enabling the colony to fulfill its duty whenever the Crown requested defense funds. When, however, the 1750's brought warfare to the colony itself, the traditional mnethod of meeting defense needs was no longer adequate. Pressures for a militia and other stronger means of military protection coming from the Proprietors, the Governor, the generals, the London officials, and finally from the frontiersmen proved to be too strong for the Quaker politicians to withstand. Rather than surrender principles, many resigned their positions of political responsibility. Thus ended the Quaker monopoly of power in the colonial Assembly of Pennsylvania. There has always been drama connected with such human situa- tions where conscience and the world conflict. The continued fascination of historians with this episode has resulted in a number of widely divergent opinions. While many have accepted the story related above, others have denied that the issue of pacifism was at all vital to the disputes about defense bills. And yet a recent *Dr. Windhausen is assistant professor of history at St. Anselm's College. MNranchester, New Hampshire. November 16, 1755, Isaac Norris Letter Book, 1735-1755, Logan Collec- tion, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 346 QUAKER PACIFISM3 347 Writer states that Quaker pacifism continued to be a strong in- iluence in the Assembly throughout the course of the French and fndian War, despite the publicized resignations of the strict Quakers in 1756. At least one historian looks upon the resignations ,,s confirming the inevitable victory of the pragmatic over the doctrinaire in the American political experience.2 Despite the debate over interpretation, it has always been easy to pick out the heroes and the villains. There was Israel Pember- ton, who urged his colleagues to surrender power for the sake of principle. There was Benjamin Franklin, a non-Quaker and hence untroubled by pacifist scruples, who upheld the political liberties of the colony. And there was Thoomas Penn, son of William Penn, who turned his back on his father's religion, and who, as a proprietor, was accused by Pemberton and Franklin of causing the Indian war and of usurping the political privileges of the Assembly. Historians appear to have a penchant for den- igrating the heroes and rehabilitating the villains. 3 Less attention is frequently paid to those whose image is less than heroic and yet not really villainous. Such is the case with Isaac Norris, the younger, Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly from 1750 to 1764. With Pernberton and later with Franklin, Norris was leader of the Quaker party for more than two decades. In 1756 when the strict pacifists resigned from the Assembly, Norris, although a Quaker, retained his seat and guided the colony in meeting the needs of defense. Many prominent Quakers were not only dis- 2For a fine, short review of the literature on this question, see Ralph L. Ketcham, "Conscience, War and Politics in Pennsylvania, 1755-1757," Wil- liahn and lIary Quarterly, Third Series, XX (1963), 416-417. In addition to the authors discussed by Ketcham the following might also be included: Charles Stille, "The Attitude of the Quakers in the Provincial Wars," Pennsylvania ll4agaaine of History and Biography (hereafter cited PiVHB), X (1886), 283-315; Guy F. Hershberger, "Pacifism and the State in Colonial Pennsylvania," Church History, VIII (1939), 54-74. While StillF denied that pacifism was significant in the disputes over defense bills, Hershberger saw an ideological division between the Quakers out of the Assembly and those within the Assembly. The latter were more interested in political and economic aspects than religious concerns. Ketcham, "Conscience, War and Politics," p. 436, finds that pacifism exerted an important influence on the Assembly even after 1756. For an illustration of the pragmatic approach (also listed by Ketcham), see Daniel J. Boorstin, The Americans: the Colonial Experience (New York: Random House, 1958), pp. 48-69. 3 See, for example, a recent study somewhat sympathetic to Thomas Penn and somewhat unsympathetic to Benjamin Franklin: William S. Hanna, Benjamnin Franklin and Pennsylvania Politics (Stanford: Stanford Univer- sity Press. 1964). 348 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY appointed, but considered Norris disloyal to the Friends.' Prin- ciple, it seemed, had been sacrificed for power. Indeed, Quakers and non-Ouakers began to accuse Norris of merely seeking polit- ical power. In 1758 the author of "The Chronicle of Nathan ben Saddi" satirized the Speaker's authority in the colonial Assembly in this way: And Isaac the judge did according to the sayings of Adonis the Scribe [Franklin], and he mouldeth the Councillors in his hands even as a potter mouldeth clay. And he became haughty and his mind swelled within himl and he went from the Ways of David his father.5 One-time colleagues like the Pemberton Quakers and political opponents like those of the proprietary faction might be expected to use charges of political ambition as a way to parry the thrusts of the Speaker. An indication that the accusations may have been more than mere political infighting is that William Franklin, writing privately to Joseph Galloway in 1759, spoke of Norris's senility and cautioned Galloway to be patient with the Speaker who might "take Umbrage at anyone whom he thought likely to interfere with his Power. I have myself seen several Instances where he has given such an Opposition to some Measures pro- posed by my Father as could not he accounted for but from Motives of Jealousy."6 A few years earlier Richard Peters, an Anglican clergyman and an ardent spokesman for the Proprietor, suggested that Norris's jealousy of Franklin might serve to keep the latter from em- barking for England as the colony's added agent.1 Although this did not happen, Norris, who was originally selected to go along with Franklin, declined for reasons of health. Franklin himself be- 'On Quaker resentment of Norris on this score, see Ketcham, "Conscicnce, War and Politics," p. 437. ' Printed in Isaac Sharpless, Political Leaders in Provincial Pennsylvania (New York: Macmnillan, 1919), p. 195. "David," in the last line, is most likely a reference to Isaac Norris the elder. 'After the original had come into his hands it was transcribed by Norris in a letter to Benjamin Franklin, August 30, 1760, Isaac Norris Copy Book of Letters, June 16, 1756 to 1766, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Phila- delphia (hereafter cited as Norris Copy Book). 'Hubertis M. Cummings, Richard Peters, Provincial Sccretary and Cleric, T704-1766 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1944), p. 217. QUAKER PACIFISMT 349 lieved that one more agent was enough, since Richard Partridge and Robert Charles were already representing the colony at London; so he waited for the Speaker's decision before accepting the post. Isaac Norris's refusal may be accepted at face value inasmuch as ill health was known to obstruct his work dnring the next several years. On the other hand, if Peters was correct about his jealousy of Ben Franklin, perhaps Norris was weighing the loss of his leadership at home should lie accept the London assignment with the added prestige that his rival would accrue if he, Norris, stayed homrie. At any rate, abundant evidence shows that many contemporaries of Isaac Norris, the younger, suspected that he was excessively motivated by political ambition. The fact that he was a Quaker who remained in power when his strict colleagues resigned has heightened this suspicion both for his contemporaries and some historical observers since his time. One recent writer has simply pictured Pemberton and Norris as having represented the interests respectively of "principle and power"; while another has said that Norris "preferred political strength to religious consistency."s Human motivation surely is the most elusive enigma to unravel, not only because true motives are often disguised, but also be- cause humans are often inconsistent. Nevertheless, what follows is an attempt to show that the image often presented of Isaac Norris, the Speaker, is largely a caricature. Part of the trouble stems from a long-standing confusion about Norris's position on Quaker pacifism. For example, his close collaboration with Israel Pemberton both before and during his speakership has given rise to the idea that Norris had once been a strict pacifist. The association between the two men was ap- parently initiated in the early 1740's when the Assembly and Governor James Hamilton had reached an impasse over a number of war bills. John Kinsey was then Speaker, and, although a Quaker, he tried to work out a compromise between the more radical assemblymen and the Governor. Norris, however, felt that there was "a great probability of his inclination to fall in on the side of the Governor," but still hoped to "make John sensible that if he goes too far he may meet with unexpected disappoint- 'Hanna, Benjamin Franklin, p.
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