ed the policy of the Quakers during
that century were William Burling[22] of Long Island, Ralph Sandiford
of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Lay of Abington, John Woolman of New Jersey
and Anthony Benezet of Philadelphia. Early conceiving an abhorrence to
slavery, Burling denounced it by writing anti-slavery tracts and
portraying its unlawfulness at the yearly meetings of the Quakers.
Ralph Sandiford followed the same methods and in his "_Mystery of
Iniquity_" published in 1729, forcefully exposed the iniquitous
practice in a stirring appeal in behalf of the Africans.[23] Benjamin
Lay, not contented with the mere writing of tracts, availed himself of
the opportunity afforded by frequent contact with those in power to
interview administrative officials of the slave colonies, undauntedly
demanding that they bestir themselves to abolish the evil system.[24]
Struck by the wickedness of the institution while traveling through
the South prior to the Revolution, John Woolman spent his remaining
years as an itinerant preacher, urging the members of his society
everywhere to eradicate the evil.[25] Anthony Benezet, going a step
further, rendered greater service than any of these as an anti-slavery
publicist and at the same time persistently toiled as a worker among
the Negroes.

Benezet was born in St. Quentin in Picardy in France in 1713. He was a
descendant of a family of Huguenots who after all but establishing
their faith in France saw themselves denounced and persecuted as
heretics and finally driven from the country by the edict of Nantes.
One of the reformer's family, Francois Benezet, perished on the
scaffold at Montpelier in 1755, fearlessly proclaiming to the
multitude of spectators the doctrines for which he had been condemned
to die.[26] Unwilling to withstand the imminent persecution, however,
John Stephen Benezet, Anthony's father, fled from France to Holland
but after a brief stay in that country moved to London in 1715.

After being liberally educated by his father, Benezet served an
apprenticeship in one of the leading establishments of London to
prepare himself for a career in the commercial world. He had some
difficulty, however, in coming to the conclusion that he would be very
useful in this field. He, therefore, soon abandoned this idea and
followed mechanical pursuits until he moved with his family to
Philadelphia in 1731. There his brothers easily established themselves
in a successful business and endeavored to