Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson

This book traces the theory of Quaker constitutionalism from the early Quakers through Founding Father John Dickinson to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jane E. Calvert (Author)

9781107404359, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 May 2012

398 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.58 kg

“Jane E. Calvert’s study is narrow and deep, showing the relationship between religion and politics within an examination of Pennsylvania Quakers and their intellectual influence on Founder John Dickinson.” —Ellen Holmes Pearson, William and Mary Quarterly

In the late-seventeenth century, Quakers originated a unique strain of constitutionalism, based on their theology and ecclesiology, which emphasized constitutional perpetuity and radical change through popular peaceful protest. While Whigs could imagine no other means of drastic constitutional reform except revolution, Quakers denied this as a legitimate option to governmental abuse of authority and advocated instead civil disobedience. This theory of a perpetual yet amendable constitution and its concomitant idea of popular sovereignty are things that most scholars believe did not exist until the American Founding. The most notable advocate of this theory was Founding Father John Dickinson, champion of American rights, but not revolution. His thought and action have been misunderstood until now, when they are placed within the Quaker tradition. This theory of Quaker constitutionalism can be traced in a clear and direct line from early Quakers through Dickinson to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I. Quaker Constitutionalism in Theory and Practice, c.1652–1763: 1. Bureaucratic libertines: the origins of Quaker constitutionalism and civil dissent
2. A sacred institution: the Quaker theory of a civil constitution
3. 'Dissenters in our own country': constituting a Quaker government in Pennsylvania
4. Civil unity and 'seeds of dissention' in the golden age of Quaker theocracy
5. The fruits of Quaker dissent: political schism and the rise of John Dickinson
Part II. The Political Quakerism of John Dickinson, 1763–89: 6. Turbulent but pacific: 'Dickinsonian politics' in the American revolution
7. 'The worthy against the licentious': the critical period in Pennsylvania
8. 'The political rock of our salvation': The US Constitution according to John Dickinson
Epilogue: the persistence of Quaker constitutionalism, 1789–1963
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], History of ideas [JFCX], Religion: general [HRA], History of the Americas [HBJK]