The Birth of Religious Liberty

Quaker Martyrs

In Puritan New England, to be a Quaker was a crime punishable by death. Mary Dyer, a Quaker, is shown here walking to her own execution, which took place on the Boston Common on June 1, 1660. Drummers played to drown out her words in case she tried to speak to the audience. A local minister urged her, "Repent, Mary Dyer...Repent!" Reportedly she responded, "Nay, man, I am not now to repent. I do only what the Lord God requires of me. Do not mourn of my passing, for I am filled with happiness."