The Contributions of the Quakers

by Elizabeth Gray Vining

What are the contributions of the people called Quakers to the United States of America? Here we shall be dealing with what cannot be measured, physically; with things that cannot, like a nugget of gold, be weighed in the palm of one's hand and appraised. We shall not have things we can see and touch, great buildings, vast railroads, monuments. We shall find things of which we cannot even say definitely: "This we owe to the Quakers." We shall only be able to say: "The Quakers saw this first." Often we shall say: "The Quakers started this, and others have carried it on."

A great country such as the United States is made up of gifts from many people. Each group that has come to us is a single thread in the fabric of our country. As we trace one thread after another through the great weaving, we must remember that the beauty of the pattern and the strength of the fabric depend not on each separate, bright, strong, thread, but upon the mingling of them all together and the support that they bring to each other.

60 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Elizabeth Gray Vining began her distinguished writing career with children's books because she said "they enjoy their books so much, read and re-read them—which is satisfying to a hard-working author." Later she began to write for adults as well, and they, too, read and re-read her books. among the most popular of these books are Windows for the Crown Prince, The Virginia Exiles, Friend of Life, Take Heed of Loving Me, and Flora.
—From the back of "Return To Japan"
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Elizabeth Janet Gray, also known as Elizabeth Gray Vining, was a prominent Quaker, known for having gone to Japan after World War II to tutor Emperor Akihito of Japan in English while he was the Crown Prince. She was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, and a noted author of children's and adult literature. She won the Newbery Award for Adam of the Road, published in 1942.