The little-known story of an eighteenth-century Quaker dwarf who fiercely attacked slavery and imagined a new, more humane way of life
In The Fearless Benjamin Lay, renowned historian Marcus Rediker chronicles the transatlantic life and times of a singular man—a Quaker dwarf who demanded the total, unconditional emancipation of all enslaved Africans around the world. Mocked and scorned by his contemporaries, Lay was unflinching in his opposition to slavery, often performing colorful guerrilla theater to shame slave masters, insisting that human bondage violated the fundamental principles of Christianity. He drew on his ideals to create a revolutionary way of life, one that embodied the proclamation “no justice, no peace.”
Lay was born in 1682 in Essex, England. His philosophies, employments, and places of residence—spanning England, Barbados, Philadelphia, and the open seas—were markedly diverse over the course of his life. He worked as a shepherd, glove maker, sailor, and bookseller. His worldview was an astonishing combination of Quakerism, vegetarianism, animal rights, opposition to the death penalty, and abolitionism.
While in Abington, Philadelphia, Lay lived in a cave-like dwelling surrounded by a library of two hundred books, and it was in this unconventional abode where he penned a fiery and controversial book against bondage, which Benjamin Franklin published in 1738. Always in motion and ever confrontational, Lay maintained throughout his life a steadfast opposition to slavery and a fierce determination to make his fellow Quakers denounce it, which they finally began to do toward the end of his life.
With passion and historical rigor, Rediker situates Lay as a man who fervently embodied the ideals of democracy and equality as he practiced a unique concoction of radicalism nearly three hundred years ago. Rediker resurrects this forceful and prescient visionary, who speaks to us across the ages and whose innovative approach to activism is a gift, transforming how we consider the past and how we might imagine the future.
“Rediker provides a valuable addition to abolitionist historiography. . . . A concise, solid biography of ‘the first revolutionary abolitionist,’ a diminutive man who was decades ahead of his time.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Rediker adroitly describes nuances of the Quaker faith’s evolution. . . . Lay’s farsightedness and extensive advocacy deserves to be remembered.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Highly recommended, especially for public and college library biography collections.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Lay, a lover of books, would have appreciated this one, less for the praise lavished on him than the attention given his message. As Mr. Rediker says, ‘Benjamin’s prophecy speaks to our time.’”
—The Pittsburgh Post–Gazette
“Admirers of Marcus Rediker’s splendid The Slave Ship will be delighted by this historian’s new book. Sailor, pioneer of guerilla theater, and a man who would stop at nothing to make his fellow human beings share his passionate outrage against slavery, Benjamin Lay has long needed a modern biographer worthy of him, and now he has one.”
—Adam Hochschild
“A modern biography of the radical abolitionist Benjamin Lay has long been overdue. With the sure hand of an eminent historian of the disfranchised, Marcus Rediker has brought to life the wide-ranging activism of this extraordinary Quaker, vegetarian dwarf in a richly crafted book. In fully recovering Lay’s revolutionary abolitionist vision, Rediker reveals its ongoing significance for our world.”
—Manisha Sinha, author of The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition
“The unswerving eighteenth-century abolitionist Benjamin Lay, maligned when not ignored for many generations, has at last found his sympathetic biographer. In this captivating, must-read book, Marcus Rediker shows that Lay’s disfigured body contained a mind of steel and a heart overflowing with compassion for victims of the Atlantic slave trade. Lay’s place in the annals of American reform is now secure. If you’re ready to have your mind changed about received wisdom on the eccentric, lonely early abolitionist who blazed the way for later antislavery stalwarts, read this brilliantly researched and passionately written book.”
—Gary Nash, author of Warner Mifflin, Unflinching Quaker Abolitionist
INTRODUCTION
Prophet Against Slavery
CHAPTER ONE
Early Life
CHAPTER TWO
“A Man of Strife & Contention”
CHAPTER THREE
Philadelphia’s “Men of Renown”
CHAPTER FOUR
How Slave Keepers Became Apostates
CHAPTER FIVE
Books and a New Life
CHAPTER SIX
Death, Memory, Impact
CONCLUSION
The Giant Oak
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
A Note on Dates
Notes
Index
Illustration Sources and Credits
- “Disability Is a Thread in the Fabric of Life: A Reading Guide for Disability Pride, ” Beacon Broadside, blog
- “Anti-slavery campaigner Benjamin Lay re-embraced by Quakers,” BBC News, piece on Benjamin Lay, book and author mentioned
- “‘In the belly of hell’: The Quaker abolitionist disowned by his faith for condemning slave owners,” Washington Post, story about Benjamin Lay
- “Cast out by the Quakers, Abington’s abolitionist dwarf finally has his day,” Philadelphia Inquirer, piece hooked to new head stone being dedicated at Abington Meeting
- CHOICE, review, March 2018
- The Guardian, Verso Books edition of book listed in Best Biography of 2017 roundup, 11/29/2017
- Pittwire (University of Pittsburgh), feature, 11/7/2017
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, review, 11/5/2017
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, review, 10/22/2017
- Pittsburgh City Paper, feature interview, 10/4/2017
- Midwest Book Review, review, October 2017
- The American Prospect, Q&A, 9/27/2017
- Literary Hub, adapted excerpt, 9/26/2017
- The Spectator (UK), review, 9/16/2017
- Salon.com, excerpt, 9/11/2017
- Atlas Obscura, profile piece, 9/11/2017
- The Ride Home with John and Kathy/WORD FM (Pittsburgh), podcast interview, 9/6/2017
- Friends Journal, review, 9/1/2017
- Harper’s Magazine, review, September 2017
- Smithsonian Magazine, excerpt, September 2017
- Friends Journal, review, September 2017 (print issue)
- Pacific Standard, profile piece, 8/17/2017
- The New York Times, op-ed, 8/12/2017