Friendly Persuasion is the story of the Birdwells, a family of Quakers:

Members of the Quaker religion are often called "Friends."  Quakers, then, can be said to be of "the Friendly persuasion."

On Sunday mornings, what the Quakers call "First Day," when other Christian religions go to "church", Quakers go to "meeting," where men and women sit separately, across the room from each other:

Quakers follow strict religious beliefs, do not encourage dancing, fighting, or killing of any kind.  In wartime, Quakers are given Conscientious Objector status.

These are the characters in our story:

Jess Birdwell, a father who has a few honest issues.
Eliza Birdwell, his wife, Quaker Minister.
Josh Birdwell, their teenaged son.
Mattie, their daughter.
Little Jess, their youngest son.
Samantha, their pet goose.
Enoch, a hired man working on their farm.
Caleb, Josh's close friend.
Sam and his son, Gard, good friends of the family (not Quakers.)
Friend Purdy, an elder of the church.
Mrs. Hudspeth, a neighbor with three unmarried daughters.
 

The Birdwell family are devout
Quakers.  In this film, we will see
those values tested . . .

. . . as the family goes to
the County Fair . . .

. . . as they meet families with
different values . . .

 

. . . as the civil war threatens
their community . . .


 

. . . and their own existence . . .

 

 . . . and Jess Birdwell's values
are put to an ultimate test . . .