Quakers played a major role in the abolition movement against slavery. The Quakers were the first whites to denounce slavery in the American colonies and Europe. Quakers began denouncing slavery as early as 1688, when four German Quakers started protesting near Pennsylvania. John Woolman and Anthony Benezet protested against slavery, and demanded that the Quaker society cut ties with the slave trade. These two individuals led the abolitionist movement in Pennsylvania. It was their belief that if the slave trade was stopped, then the institution of slavery would soon follow.