Margaret Hope Bacon ( Borchardt; April 7, 1921 – February 24, 2011) was an American Quaker historian, author and lecturer. She is primarily known for her biographies and works involving Quaker women’s history and the abolitionist movement. Her most famous book is her biography of Lucretia Mott, Valiant Friend, published in 1980.

Biography Bacon spent her early childhood in New York City and moved to Florida as an adolescent.Bacon (1999). Love is the hardest lesson. Pendle Hill Publications, p. 20 She went to Antioch College, where she met her husband, Allen Bacon.Bacon (1999). Love is the Hardest Lesson, Pendle Hill Publications, p. 29 During World War II, she accompanied her husband to work at Springfield Hospital in Sykesville, Maryland as his assignment for conscientious objector status.Bacon (1999). Love is the hardest lesson. Pendle Hill Publications, pp. 1–2

She worked at the American Friends Service Committee for many years and was the inspiration for the rehabilitation of the Fair Hill Burial Ground, a historic Quaker cemetery in North Philadelphia and the final resting place of abolitionists Lucretia Mott and Robert Purvis. Bacon authored biographies of both Mott and Purvis. A longtime trustee and Vice President of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, she wrote a feature article titled "The Pennsylvania Abolition Society's Mission for Black Education" for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's November 2005 newsletter.Bacon, M.H. (November 2005). The Pennsylvania Abolition Society's Mission for Black Education. Pennsylvania Legacies, pg. 21. Retrieved May 17, 2010 from http://www.hsp.org/files/baconlegaciesarticle.pdf

She was a founding board member of Women's Way, the country’s oldest and largest funding federation for women’s organizations.Conti, A. (n.d.) Quaker historian, journalist, and activist: an interview with Margaret Hope Bacon. Quaker Books webpage. Bacon died at her home at Crosslands in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania on February 24, 2011, aged 79.

Awards City of Philadelphia Human Rights award, 1976 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Swarthmore College, 1981 City of Philadelphia Citation for Contributions to Women’s History, 1987

Works Non-fiction The Quiet Rebels: The Story of Quakers in America (1969). Lamb’s warrior: The life of Isaac T. Hopper (1970)Bacon, M.H. (1970). Lamb’s warrior: The life of Isaac T. Hopper. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. I speak for my Slave Sister; the life of Abby Kelly Foster (1974)Bacon, M.H. (1974). I speak for my slave sister; the life of Abby Kelly Foster. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. Rebellion at Christiana (1975)Bacon, M.H. (1975). Rebellion at Christiana. Crown Publishers. Valiant Friend: The life of Lucretia Mott (1980)Bacon, M.H. (1980). Valiant Friend: The life of Lucretia Mott, SUNY. As the way opens: the story of Quaker women in America (1980).Bacon, M.H. (1980). As the way opens: The story of Quaker women in America. Friends United Press. Mothers of feminism: The story of Quaker Women in America (1986).Bacon, M.H. (1986). Mothers of feminism: The story of Quaker women in America, Harper & Row. Let this life speak: The legacy of Henry Joel Cadbury (1987).Bacon, M.H. (1987). Let this life speak: The legacy of Henry Joel Cadbury. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press. One woman’s passion for peace and freedom: The life of Mildred Olmsted (1992).Bacon, M.H. (1992). One woman’s passion for peace and freedom: The life of Mildred Olmsted. Syracuse Univ. Press. Wilt thou go on my errand? The journals of three eighteenth century Quaker women (1994).Bacon, M.H. (1994). Wilt thou go on my errand? The journals of three eighteenth century Quaker women. Pendle Hill Publications. The quiet rebels: The story of Quakers in America (1999).Bacon, M.H. (1999). The quiet rebels: The story of Quakers in America. Pendle Hill Publications. Love is the hardest lesson (a memoir) (1999)Bacon (1999). Love is the hardest lesson. Pendle Hill Publications. Abby Hopper Gibbons: Prison reformer and social activist (2000).Bacon, M.H. (2000). Abby Hopper Gibbons: Prison reformer and social activist. SUNY. In the shadow of William Penn: Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (2001).Bacon, M.H. (2001). In the shadow of William Penn: Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends. Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Sarah Mapps Douglass: Faithful attender of Quaker Meeting (2003).Bacon, M.H. (2003). Sarah Mapps Douglass: Faithful attender of Quaker Meeting. Quaker Press of FGC. Back to Africa: Benjamin Coates and the colonization movement in America, 1848-1880. (2005), edited by Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner and Margaret Hope Bacon.Lapsansky-Werner, E.J., Bacon, M.H., eds. (2005). Back to Africa: Benjamin Coates and the colonization movement in America, 1848-1880. Penn State Press. But one race: the life of Robert Purvis (2007).Bacon, M.H. (2007). But one race: The life of Robert Purvis, SUNY

Fiction The night they burned Pennsylvania Hall: a chapter in the struggle for liberation of slaves and women. (1992) (a play for children)Bacon, M.H. (1992). The night they burned Pennsylvania Hall: A chapter in the struggle for liberation of slaves and women. Quaker Press of FGC. Year of grace (2002).Bacon, M.H. (2002). Year of grace: A novel. Quaker Press of FGC. The back bench (2007.Bacon, M.H. (2007). The back bench. Quaker Press of FGC.

References

External links https://web.archive.org/web/20110720233804/http://quakerbooks.org/MargaretHopeBacon?xfsid=csrs3boml1b8u1nlc1v1pltdp5 http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-02684-7.html https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/01/books/friends-indeed.html?pagewanted=1 https://web.archive.org/web/20091008175303/http://www.pym.org/philadelphia-qm/docs/HopeBacon_ButOne.pdf The Margaret Hope Bacon Research Papers held at Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College