The Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, was started by a man called George Fox. He was born in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire in 1624 to a puritan family. It was in 1647 that Fox began to preach and attracted many converts. In 1669 he married Margaret Fell who helped him in his work.
In 1650 Fox was convicted of blasphemy. At the sentencing Fox told the judge to tremble at the word of the Lord. The judge then called Fox and his follwers "quakers"-thus, the name Quakers that they are called today. Fox was imprisoned no less than five times and spent his last years in England.
When Fox was nineteen years old he believed he had received a revelation from God. He understood this revelation to be a sign that everyone should be guided by his or her "Inner Light," a concept earlier known as "Christ within." Fox did not intend to start a new religion, but his followers soon began to group together into the appearance of an organization, with such names as Children of Light, Friends of Truth, and later, Society of Friends.
The Society of Friends was formed by men and women who were dissatisfied with the religious life of the various Reformed Churches. They emphasised an individual approach to religion, strict discipline, and the rejection of authoritarianism.
It was in 1652 that the first Quaker community was formed in northern England. The Quakers were persecuted becuase they would not attend the established worship, hold office, pay tithes, or bear arms. Due to these and other reasons they were fined, jailed, or even banished by English authorities. Four of them were executed in Boston, Mass. Because of the persecution in England, Quakers migrated to America with the help of William Penn in the 1660's, particularly in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, where there were about seven thousand people by the year 1684.