They were being persecuted in Europe. They rejected infant baptism, so they didn’t fit in with either Catholics or the Reformers. They refused to be sworn in when giving testimony in court. They refused to bear arms. It is felt the latter was “the principal cause of their persecutions in Switzerland. That country had gained its independence, adopted a constitution and established a republic in 1291, which had now been maintained for nearly 350 years against powerful surrounding monarchies on many a hard-fought battle field, and it was feared that the doctrine of non-resistance, if it became general, would endanger the government and the existence of the Republic. . . .The Swiss people had always been strongly attached to their country, and believing it jeopardized they relentlessly persecuted these defenseless people for several centuries.”
p. 17, Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler by Rev. Harvey Hostetler, D.D.
There is an interesting article on "The Impact of Persecution on Amish Culture" at
http://www.missouri.edu/~rsocjoel/rs150/papers/bahls.html
I would be interested to know if the Amish teach their children much about their history.
In all of the things I share with you, if you know more than I do, or if I've gotten something wrong, please let me know. I'm still doing research on my own, and I do realize that not everything written is true. Also, if you have personal stories about any of the people I mention, please let me know or post it as a comment.
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