Friendly Persuasion

The film is set in Jennings County, Indiana in 1862. Jess Birdwell is a farmer and patriarch of the Birdwell family whose Quaker religion conflicts with his love for the worldly enjoyments of music and horse racing. Jess's wife Eliza, a Quaker minister, is deeply religious and steadfast in her refusal to engage in violence. Jess's daughter Mattie wants to remain a Quaker but has fallen in love with dashing cavalry officer Gard Jordan, a love that is against her mother's wishes. Jess's youngest child "Little" Jess is a feisty child whose comical feud with his mother's pet goose causes her heartache. Jess's elder son Josh is torn between his hatred of violence and a conviction that to protect his family he must join the home guard and fight the invaders.