Some Quakers originally came to North America to spread their beliefs to the British colonists there, while others came to escape the persecution they experienced in Europe.
They traveled from England to Barbados in 1655 and then went on to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to spread the beliefs of the Friends among the colonists.
In 1681, King Charles II allowed William Penn, a Quaker, a charter for the area that was to become Pennsylvania.
In the antebellum period, "Quaker meeting houses [in Philadelphia] ...had sheltered abolitionists for generations.
Conservative Friends are a small group that emphasize both the Inward Light and the Bible as sources of inspiration and guidance.
They conduct both service projects and evangelism, and are found primarily in Indiana, North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio.
Evangelical Friends strongly emphasize the Bible as a source of inspiration and guidance, considering it the ultimate authority for faith and practice.
They are found throughout the United States and Latin America but are concentrated in Guatemala, Panama, Ohio, California, Oregon, and Kansas.