John Woolman and the Government of Christ: A Colonial Quaker's Vision for the British Atlantic World

John Woolman, a tailor, was a lay Quaker leader in religiously charged 18th century colonial America. Woolman attempted to shape the rapidly changing culture and economy of the midcentury according to his radical apocalyptic theology. Woolman's theological vision stemmed from his idealization of the Hebrew prophets, which led him to encourage social reforms and to critique the burgeoning trans-Atlantic economy, slavery, and British imperial conflicts. He advocated a vision of the future that rejected many of the economic developments that other colonists welcomed.

John Woolman and the Government of Christ fundamentally reinterprets 18th century Quakerism by demonstrating the continuing influence of early Quaker apocalypticism. Kershner argues that instead of the militant apocalypticism commonly associated with radical Christian groups, Woolman utilized Quaker and mystical sources to craft a spiritualized "apocalypse of the heart." This book describes Woolman's alternative vision for colonial society, and reveals the sources and social consequences of radical colonial theologies.