Anthony Benezet

·      French Born

·      Abolitionist

·      Tried several different jobs, eventually becoming a teacher

o   Began teaching in Germantown

·      Wrote several books stressing the importance of education

·      Is best known for educating students with no access to traditional schools

·      In 1713 he helped refugees from Nova Scotia find jobs and get educated, despite criticism from other quakers

·      Moved to Philadelphia in 1731 and became a schoolmaster

o   Taught Quaker children

·      Did not believe in black inferiority unlike many white men at the time

·      Taught slaves and free blacks the same lessons at night in his home

·      In 1754 he left his job at Friends English School of Philadelphia to open the first public girls school in America

o   Benezet devised a special plan for a blind girl who attended the school, so that she could have a typical schooling experience

·      Because of Benezet, the Quakers opened a school for free blacks in 1773

o   Negro School at Philadelphia

§  Accepted slave children when there were not enough free blacks to fill the classrooms

·      In 1767, wrote that, through his time working with blacks, he found them to be just as capable as whites, which was an uncommon belief in society at the time

Works Cited

Anthony Benezet. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p248.html

Quakers in the World. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/60