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A Quaker-Calvinist Connection: A Case Study in Eighteenth-Century Anglo-American Politics Michael C. Batinski* In 1737 and again in 1739, the London Meeting for Sufferings called upon English Quakers throughout the realm to exert their influence against a campaign to dismiss Massachusetts's governor, Jonathan Belcher.1 Both the governor's friends and his enemies agreed that the Quaker connection was a major explanation for his remarkable endurance. Indeed, his eleven years' tenure was more than twice the average term of a royal governor. Belcherwas dismissed in 1741. Five years later, he applied forappointment to New Jersey and again he enjoyed effective support from England's Friends. Observers noted that without the Society ofFriends Belcher's bid for office would have failed. No doubt the governor's political career testifies to the weight and influence ofthe Quaker lobby. But what makes this connection doubly interesting is that Quakers on both sides of the Atlantic joined to use their organizational influence in favor of a zealous Calvinist. Indeed, that they often worked in tandem with Calvinists to support this governor reflects the evolving complexity of Quaker politics in the eighteenth century. Background This Quaker-Calvinist connection was rooted in kinship. Belcher had married the sister of Richard Partridge, a wealthy London merchant and a prominent member of the city's Quaker community. Belcher, himself an astute studentofLondonpolitics andthe talents necessary for survival, took note of Partridge's rise, especially his appointment as agent representing several colonial governments in London. Belcher was in London in 1729, when news came that the governor ofMassachusetts had died. He quickly moved to secure the vacancy for himselfand relied on Partridge's influence in the government to secure the post. Impressed by the "great Freedom of Access to the King's ministers, all the Publick offices" which Partridge enjoyed, Belcher made his brother-in-law his chief advocate before the royal government.2 The relationship endured sometimes in spite ofreligious differences and suspicions. Belcher professed to be an advocate ofreligious toleration. His frequent trips to England and the continent had moved him to shed provincial bigotry. Too often, he wrote, "We are Apt to fancy one of *Michael Batinski, associate professor ofhistory at Southern Illinois University, has written two books on eighteenth-century American politics and is currently working on a study of historical consciousness in small communities. QuakerHistory AnotherReligion, thatwe areprjudic'd at, has something in himthatmakes him Monstrous or odious." But he had learned to lay aside his "prejudices Against Countries and Religions" andto understandthat "Mankind is much the Same" throughout the world (Belcher, "Journal," 118-21). When governor, he condemned his Puritan ancestors fortheirpersecutions ofboth the Salem witches and the Quakers. "It would well become the Legislature ," he addressed the assembled lawmakers in Boston, "to make good Protestants ofall Denominations easy in their Way and Manner ofworshipping God."3 But his words were not always convincing. Belcher was a zealous Puritan, who pledged his government to the protection of the Congregational establishment, the covenant ofthe fathers, and the institutions, such as Harvard College, that perpetuated the "Errand of our Fathers." He refused to consent to his daughter's marriage to an Anglican until the prospective son-in-law had renounced his church. Thus, Partridge remained skepticalregarding Belcher'sprofessions. And in response Belcher felt it necessary to write periodically to allay those suspicions. "I am not Conscious," he protested, "of Any Evil I Ever did you in my Life Either personally or to you or your Brethren as Quakers but I have Always indeavrd to Serve 'Em [through] making matters Easy As far As I had any interest in the government here And [I] shall Still Continue So to do."4 Governor of Massachusetts Indeed, the Quakers discovered that no matter the prejudices that the governor might have harbored in his mind, his administration proved friendly to their interests. For generations Quakers in Massachusetts had been protesting laws that recognized the Congregational church as the religious establishment in the province and required members of other denominations, including Quakers, to pay taxes for the support of its ministers (McLoughlin, 1: 165-243; Worrall, 97-165). Some die-hard Quakers had refused to pay...

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