Transcript Shakers
“The Pursuit of Perfection” In Antebellum America 1820 to 1860 The Mormons • During this time period, groups sought to remake society at large • Mormons – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints • Founded by Joseph Smith, a young farmer, in western NY • In 1827, Smith announced that he was given a set of golden tablets by an angel named Moroni •He wrote his revelations in the Book of Mormon • Proclaiming that he had a commission from God to reestablish the true church (New Jerusalem), Smith gathered a group of devoted followers Mormons • Mormon culture upheld the middle-class values of hard work & self-control • They moved to Kirkland, Ohio to await the second coming of Jesus. Belived only the Mormons would be saved • However, they to move because their popularity created antagonism • They then went to Independence, Missouri, but had to leave because Smith grew in political power. Governor of Missouri charged Smith with intent to overthrow the government Mormons • They then moved to Nauvoo, Illinois • They were able to set up a city charter that made them selfgoverning and authorized a militia • However, when Smith’s practice of polygamy was introduced, he drew strong opposition from other political members • Smith’s unorthodox teachings led to persecution and mob violence. • Smith was murdered in 1844 by an anti-Mormon mob in Carthage, Illinois. Brigham Young was Smith’s successor. He led the Mormons westward in 1846-1847 to Utah where they could live and worship without interference • There, they settled and transformed the area from desert into farmland through extensive irrigation - gave land according to family size • The Mormons’ success was largely attributable to the settlers’ strong sense of community • Through their united efforts, they came to dominate the Utah territory. Relgious convictions fortified the Latter-day Saints to withstand persecution • The Mormons offered success to anyone who would join • Many of the recruits were poor and uneducated • To those who rejected existing churches, the Mormons offered fellowship and religious certainty within a tight-knit society and cooperative economic system The Shakers • They were the largest of the communal utopian experiments, reaching their peak between 1820 and 1860. • Mother Ann Lee: Founder – The Shakers used dancing as a worship practice – Shakers practiced celibacy, separating the sexes as far as practical – Shakers worked hard, lived simply, and impressed outsiders with their cleanliness and order – 6,000 members lived in 20 settlements in 8 states The Shakers, a utopian group that splintered from the Quakers, believed that they and all other churches had grown too interested in this world and too neglectful of their afterlives. • The Shakers isolated themselves in communes where they shared work and its rewards Mother Ann Lee (1736-1784) The Shakers Emphasized agriculture and hand crafts; most managed to become self-sufficient and profitable enterprises Shaker furniture became famous for its simplicity, beauty of design, and excellent construction Many of their settlements became temporary refuges for orphans, runaways, abused wives, and unemployed workers during hard times They also granted near-equal rights to women, even allowing them to attain priesthood • Believing the end of the world was at hand & that sex was an instrument of evil, the Shakers practiced celibacy. • The Shaker revival ended during the 1840s and 1850s. Shaker Meeting Shaker Hymn 'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed, To turn, turn will be our delight, 'Till by turning, turning we come round right. Secular Utopian Communities Individual Freedom Demands of Community Life spontaneity discipline self-fulfillment organizational hierarchy George Ripley (1802-1880) Brook Farm West Roxbury, MA Basis of Brook Farm: Transcendentalism “Liberation from understanding and the cultivation of reasoning.” “Transcend” the limits of intellect and allow the emotions, the SOUL, to create an original relationship with the Universe. • People of Brook Farm rejected materialism • Their rural communalism combined spirituality, manual labor, intellectual life, and play. Transcendentalist Intellectuals/Writers Concord, MA Ralph Waldo Emerson Nature (1832) Self-Reliance (1841) “The American Scholar” (1837) Henry David Thoreau Walden (1854) Resistance to Civil Disobedience (1849)