This brilliant study shows the pivotal role the Quakers played in the origins and development of America's family ideology. Levy argues that the Quakers brought a new vision of family and social life to America-one that contrasted sharply with the harsh, formal world of the New EnglandPuritans. The Quakers stressed affection, friendship and hospitality, the importance of women in the home, and the value of self-disciplined, non-coercive childrearing. This book explains how and why the Quakers have had such a profound cultural impact on America and what the Quakers' experiencewith their own radical family system tells us about American families. | Quakers and the American Family by Barry Levy, Paperback | Indigo Chapters