Book Reviews

Book Reviews Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume Two: 1710-1756. Edited by Craig W. Horle, Joseph S. Foster, and Jeffrey L. Scheib. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1997. xx plus 1,210 pages, appendixes, index, tables, graphs, maps, cloth. $185.00 plus $4.00 shipping. The editors and authors of this second volume of Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania are to be congratulated for the immense work they have produced in chronicling the trials and tribulations of an elected Assembly in a Proprietary colony. In the interests of uniformity, this second volume follows the general pattern of the initial volume, which was publish¬ ed by the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. The volume examines the history of the Pennsylvania legislature from the election of 1710, when Quaker allies of William Penn deposed an anti-proprietary Assembly of the previous three years, to 1756 when four Quaker representatives resigned from the body and reduced the Quaker representation in the legislature from the overwhelming majority it had enjoyed virtually from the founding of the colony to a mere one-third of the representatives. The book is divided into four sections entitled “Lawmaking in Pennsylvania, Themes and Issues,” “Legislators of Pennsylvania,” “Biographical Essays,” and “Appen¬ dixes.” The various essays comprising the first section reveal much about the political climate of Pennsylvania during these middle years of the colonial period. They successfully attempt to explain to the reader how the Assembly functioned, the issues that it confronted and the interrelationship between the Assembly, the Proprietors, and the Proprietary government led by the Governor. As the Assembly is the representative of the people, valuable work has been accomplished in explaining the election process, Quaker influence on the elections, and the growth of political organizations, among other issues. Finally, the authors reveal how the Quaker pacifism and opposition to warfare hobbled Pennsylvania from enacting any major defense measures on behalf of the colony either in the various European conflicts which spread to America or in defense of the frontiersmen from the Indians. It was the issue of defense funding during the opening years of the French 168