Did you know… The Germantown Quaker Petition against slavery of 1688 was the first protest against African American slavery made by a religious body in the English colonies?

Drafted by Francis Pastorius and three other Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania on behalf of the Germantown Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the petition raised the issue of slavery with the Quaker Meeting which they attended.

The petition was based upon the Bible’s Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” urging the Meeting to abolish slavery.

It argued that every human, regardless of belief, color, or ethnicity, has rights that should not be violated.

Throughout the petition the reference to the Golden Rule was used to argue against slavery and for universal human rights.