IOWA CITY, Iowa - Although Quakers in Iowa around the time of the Civil War were a small part of the state's total population, members tended to settle in large groups, giving rise to communities like those in southeast Iowa that were mostly Quaker.

Thomas Hamm explores the issues of Iowa Quakers in the 19^th century in the latest edition of The Annals of Iowa, the scholarly journal of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Hamm recounts the history of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in Iowa, focusing on the divisions that emerged after the Civil War. Some of those divisions mirrored what was happening elsewhere in the country, but in other ways, Iowa Friends took the lead in adopting innovations that would transform Quakerism nationally.

"Friends stood out from their neighbors because of the 'peculiarities' that they imposed on themselves," Hamm writes. "Such practices were designed very consciously to separate them from 'the world.'"

Hamm is an archivist and professor of history at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. He earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1985. He is the author of a number of works on Quaker history, including a current book on contemporary American Quakerism to be published by Columbia University Press.

James Quinten Cahill explores the issues surrounding Herbert Hoover's early schooling in Iowa, then traces how that story became distorted through journalistic carelessness, manipulation for political and public relations purposes, and Hoover's own psychological needs.

"The personal lives of political leaders have always been of interest, and politicians' early lives and the way they later describe them help us to understand their personality and character," Cahill writes. "Another reason for undertaking a new analysis of these details of Hoover's early schooling is the enduring goal of all historians: to increase the accuracy of our knowledge of history."

Cahill earned a B.A. in history and philosophy from St. Ambrose College and an M.A. in European History from Columbia University in New York. For 20 years, he taught in colleges and high schools in Canada and Iowa. Since retiring to West Branch, he has researched, lectured and written on local subjects such as churches, Irish immigration and schools.

Single issues of The Annals of Iowa cost $6 and can be purchased by contacting Publications, State Historical Society of Iowa, 402 Iowa Ave., Iowa City, IA 52240; or by calling 319-335-3916. Issues are also available at The Museum Store at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust, Des Moines.

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