Prisoners of Congress: Philadelphia's Quakers in Exile, 1777-1778

Prisoners of Congress uncovers a forgotten Revolutionary War story with startling resonance today. In 1777, the Continental Congress condemned Quakers as an internal threat to the new republic and recommended the preventive detention of them, revealing how quickly fear and wartime urgency could turn neighbors into suspects.

This compelling narrative follows four Philadelphia-area families as they are swept into political crisis. Drawing on letters, diaries, and official records, Norman E. Do...