Emphasis Preaching Journal

In July of 1656 Quakers began to arrive in Boston. The first who came were Ann Austin and Mary Fisher. They were seized and thrown into prison and later were banished from the colony. A law was passed imposing a fine on anyone who would show hospitality to a Quaker and that "a Quaker, after the first conviction, was to lose one ear; after the second, another; after the third, to have the tongue bored with a hot iron." The punishment was to be meted out, not for any violation of the laws, but for being a member of the sect. An effort was made to make it legal to put Quakers to death.