The spirit of the Second Great Awakening inspired some people to form utopias, or ideal communities often isolated from the rest of society. Between 1800 and 1850 more than 90 such communities were founded in the United States. Most of the people who joined these communities were deeply committed to the goals of their group. Nevertheless, many utopian communities were mismanaged and short-lived.
New Harmony. In 1825 Scottish social reformer and industrialist Roger Owen designed a utopian community called New Harmony. Owen wanted to create a place where all people lived equally. The experimental community, located on the Wabash River in Indiana, lasted two years and attracted about 1,000 members. Although the community did not last, Owen’s vision inspired other Owenite communities in Indiana, New York, and Ohio.
Nashoba. In 1825 Frances Wright, influenced by Owen and others, established an interracial utopian community in Nashoba, Tennessee. The community’s purpose was to serve as a home for slaves whose freedom she had purchased. All residents, both white and black, lived together. Wright also encouraged interracial relationships in the community, which lasted until 1828.
The Shakers. The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, a religious sect, gained popularity in the United States during the 1820s and 1830s. The group—called Shakers because of a frenzied [wild] dance that they performed—founded utopian communities mostly in New England, New York, and Ohio, but some as far west as Indiana.
“Mother Ann” Lee, an Englishwoman, founded the U.S. Shaker sect in 1774. Lee claimed to be the messiah sent to create communities free from sin. Life in Shaker communities was regulated by strict rules. Members gave up tobacco, alcohol, and sex. They wore simple black clothes, and everyone was expected to work hard.
Lee claimed that God was both male and female. As a result, both men and women played important roles in governing Shaker communities. Although men and women were usually kept apart, their roles and tasks were fairly equal. Community members jointly owned all money and property. The Shakers did not have children because they believed that the millennium—a time when Christians believe that God will reign on Earth—was approaching.
At its peak, the Shaker movement claimed about 6,000 members, but after 1860, its membership declined. The Shakers are known for their beautiful music and furniture. Shaker furniture—popular for its functionality and simple design—is still highly prized today.
Brook Farm and the Transcendentalists. In 1841 Unitarian minister George Ripley founded Brook Farm, a 200-acre utopian community in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. Ripley’s inspiration was the philosophy of the transcendentalists, a small group of New England intellectuals.
The transcendentalists believed that people could transcend, or rise above, material concerns by getting in touch with nature and having faith in themselves. They believed that people knew right from wrong and would seek what was right if given the chance.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was the best known of the transcendentalists. A former Unitarian minister, he stressed self-reliance and individuality. He formed a discussion group called the Transcendental Club, which included such members as educator Bronson Alcott and writers Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller. The Dial (1840­44) was the group’s quarterly journal, and both Emerson and Fuller separately served as editor.
Brook Farm attracted many transcendentalists and intellectuals, including Emerson and Fuller. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about his experiences at Brook Farm in The Blithedale Romance, published in 1852. The experimental community ended abruptly in 1846, however, when one of its main buildings burned down.
Fourierism. Brook Farm gained its greatest number of members after it adopted the ideas of Charles Fourier, a French socialist and utopianist. Fourier, who came to the United States in 1840, believed that people could attain harmony if they lived closely with nature. Cooperative communities based on his ideas gained popularity during the 1840s and 1850s. Each member in a Fourier community, known as a phalanx, had to work, and men and women received the same pay for equal work. The North American Phalanx at Red Bank, New Jersey, which lasted from 1843 until 1854, was the best-known Fourier community. The movement declined after 1850.
