Western Immigration & Quakers

Quakers crossing the Ohio River

Indiana Territory becomes a State

- Quakers move in...

Click for background information specific to the development of Indiana Territory.

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the northwest is a “country rich in natural resources with no grave obstacles in the way of its peaceful conquest save Indians and distance”

The first recorded American Quakers were in Boston 1656 led by William Penn who broke away from the Puritans to later establish Pennsylvania. As Quakers established themselves in other colonies and later states, a distinction arose for southern Quaker communities due to their open abolitionist’s beliefs compared to other southern religions. Quakers saw the northwest as a “country rich in natural resources with no grave obstacles in the way of its peaceful conquest save Indians and distance”.[1]

[1] Stephen Beauregard Weeks, Southern Quakers and Slavery: A Study in Institutional History (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1896), 245.

American Population Density animation

1800-10% of all Americans resided west of the Appalachian Mountains, primarily in Tennessee, Kentucky and the area of West Virginia

1824-30% of all Americans resided in the region between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River with increased movement further west

1830 Census Data for Indiana

Total population for Indiana was 343,031 with the population number for representation being 343,030 due to 3/5ths rule. This is the first record for the census with data for Indiana even though Indiana was added as a state in 1816.

Early population numbers for the Northwest Territories

The years listed territories entered the Union:

Ohio 1803

Indiana 1816

Illinois 1818

Michigan 1837

Quaker Meeting Statistics

Decline of Southern Quakerism

Southern Quakers emigrated westward to locations such as the Northwest Territory due to spirit of adventure, economic opportunity, and no slavery.

Honorable George W. Julian wrote “Quakers in Richmond (Indiana) not only have a good anti-slavery record, but a record for patriotism…it is conceded that in proportion to their number they had more soldiers in the war for the Union than any other religious denomination”.

The Northwest Territory Creating Indiana