The Journal of John Woolman

Name: The Journal of John Woolman
Author: John Woolman

John Woolman (1720–1772) was an American Quaker tailor, preacher, and writer from Mount Holly, New Jersey. Travelling through the colonies on foot, he gently persuaded slaveholders to free the people they held and modelled a life of simplicity and conscience. Our library holds his Journal, published after his death — a quiet classic of American spiritual writing and an early witness against slavery.

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First published: 1774
Category: Biography
Length: 72k words · about 5 hours
Chapters: 16

About this book

John Woolman's Journal, published after his death in 1774, records the spiritual life of the Quaker minister and tailor who became a gentle witness against slavery. It traces his inward exercises, travels in ministry, and visits to slaveholders, all in prose of unusual purity and restraint. Few American spiritual autobiographies join tenderness of conscience so closely to moral courage.