The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition

Thomas Slaughter talked about his book ,The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition (Hill and Wang, September 16, 2008). The book recounts the life of John Woolman (1720-1772), a Quaker whose writings on the destructiveness of slavery were integral to the beginning of the abolition movement. Mr. Slaughter relays that John Woolman walked throughout the Atlantic Coast giving addresses denouncing slavery as well as the ills of consumerism and war taxes. Woolman’s essays collected in the 1774 publication, Journal, have never been out of print. Among other topics in his remarks at the Library Company of Philadelpha, Mr. Slaughter talked about the character of John Woolman, the process of trying to understand him, and read an excerpt from Woolman’s journal. Mr. Slaughter responded to questions from audience members.

Thomas Slaughter is the author of numerous books, including Exploring Lewis and Clark and The Whiskey Rebellion. He is currently a history professor at th close