The Quakers were a religious group that believed in nonviolence, gender equality, and resistance to military service. Many Quakers inhabited the Pennsylvania Colony. Past Quakers were known to use thee as an ordinary pronoun, refuse to participate in war, wear plain dress, refuse to swear oaths, oppose slavery, and practice teetotalism. Some Quakers founded banks and financial institutions, manufacturers, and philanthropic efforts: including abolition of slavery, prison reform, and social justice.