| | * The Shakers, whose formal name was the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, believed in communal living (people sharing each other's homes and property), productive labor, celibacy, pacifism, simplicity, and ritualistic dancing and shaking during services. It was founded by an Englishwoman in 1758, split off from the Quakers in 1772, and grew to 6,000 members in America before the Civil War. The Shakers rejected slavery and other American values, and had thriving communities in Enfield, Connecticut and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, stand as two noteworthy examples of Shaker communities. Other Shaker communities existed in Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (New Lebanon), and Maine (New Glochester), where Shakers survive to this day! | | * The Shakers, whose formal name was the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, believed in communal living (people sharing each other's homes and property), productive labor, celibacy, pacifism, simplicity, and ritualistic dancing and shaking during services. It was founded by an Englishwoman in 1758, split off from the Quakers in 1772, and grew to 6,000 members in America before the Civil War. The Shakers rejected slavery and other American values, and had thriving communities in Enfield, Connecticut and in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, stand as two noteworthy examples of Shaker communities. Other Shaker communities existed in Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (New Lebanon), and Maine (New Glochester), where Shakers survive to this day! |
| − | * Brook Farm was a Utopian community based on "transcendentalism", which was a philosophy started by Immanuel Kant in the late 1700s that emphasized man's ability to "transcend" experience and pursue a lifestyle of simple living, self-reliance, and rejection of industrialization. This movement took inspiration from Ralph Waldo Emerson, was the leading American proponent of this philosophy (without himself living in a Utopian community), and his friend Henry David Thoreau, who did spend some time living in simplicity on "Walden's Pond," except when he went over to Emerson's house to enjoy a good meal and better surroundings! Brook Farm itself was located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and was led by a former Unitarian minister. The community provided to all members, their children and family dependents, housing, fuel, wages, clothing and food, and had schools at all levels before college. The project ended in failure due to financial difficulties and even a bitter lawsuit by investors attempting to recover their money. The community never exceeded 120 persons, making it smaller than most homeschooling communities today. | + | * Brook Farm was a Utopian community based on "transcendentalism", which was a philosophy started by Immanuel Kant in the late 1700s that emphasized man's ability to "transcend" experience and pursue a lifestyle of simple living, self-reliance, and rejection of industrialization. This movement took inspiration from Ralph Waldo Emerson, was the leading American proponent of this philosophy (without himself living in a Utopian community), and his friend Henry David Thoreau, who did spend some time living in simplicity on "Walden's Pond," except when he went over to Emerson's house to enjoy a good meal and better surroundings! (Thoreau also became famous for his book advocating "civil disobedience" to laws and authority.) Brook Farm itself was located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and was led by a former Unitarian minister. The community provided to all members, their children and family dependents, housing, fuel, wages, clothing and food, and had schools at all levels before college. The project ended in failure due to financial difficulties and even a bitter lawsuit by investors attempting to recover their money. The community never exceeded 120 persons, making it smaller than most homeschooling communities today. |
| | * The Rappites, also known as The Harmony Society, were founded by Johann Georg Rapp and first consisted of immigrants from Germany seeking religious freedom in America. They settled in Butler County, Pennsylvania, called Harmony, and believed that Bible was humanity's sole authority. Similar to the Shakers, they required celibacy also led a communal life without individual possessions. Frederick Rapp, George Rapp's adopted son, transformed the economy of Harmony from subsistence agriculture to gradual diversified manufacturing, and by 1814 the Society was thriving with 700 members and a town of 130 homes and factories. The products they produced, ranging from textiles to woolens to wine and whiskey, were highly valued by other Americans for their quality. They continued to succeed economically, and repeatedly outgrew their towns, moving to Indiana (after selling their town for $100,000 to Mennonites) and later back to Pennsylvania. They peaked in 1866 and, after several schisms, disbanded in 1905. Their sturdy buildings remain to this day. | | * The Rappites, also known as The Harmony Society, were founded by Johann Georg Rapp and first consisted of immigrants from Germany seeking religious freedom in America. They settled in Butler County, Pennsylvania, called Harmony, and believed that Bible was humanity's sole authority. Similar to the Shakers, they required celibacy also led a communal life without individual possessions. Frederick Rapp, George Rapp's adopted son, transformed the economy of Harmony from subsistence agriculture to gradual diversified manufacturing, and by 1814 the Society was thriving with 700 members and a town of 130 homes and factories. The products they produced, ranging from textiles to woolens to wine and whiskey, were highly valued by other Americans for their quality. They continued to succeed economically, and repeatedly outgrew their towns, moving to Indiana (after selling their town for $100,000 to Mennonites) and later back to Pennsylvania. They peaked in 1866 and, after several schisms, disbanded in 1905. Their sturdy buildings remain to this day. |