Monday, May 2, 2016

Utopian Societies: The Shakers

During this era of 19th century reform, a popular movement was the operation of utopian societies. Essentially, leaders of utopian societies would claim that seclusion from the world was the only way to purely live. These communities often included the ideas of communal property and sometimes even shared/open marriages. Some societies even had communal children!

A very interesting example of a 19th century utopian movement were the Shakers. Read this article, which describes the movement and gives a first-hand account of this group.

For the comments...
1-List five facts from the article.
2-Would you have wanted to join the Shakers? Why or why not?

29 comments:

  1. The concept of the Quakers was brought from England by a woman named Ann Leigh in 1774.
    Ann disrupted Anglican services, she was very rude and was arrested.
    Ann Leigh had visions that a sexual relation between a male and a female was the source of Mankinds woes.
    After the Civil War the number of Quakers dropped suddenly and rapidly.
    There are ten Quaker survivors to this day up north in Maine.


    Would I want to become a Quaker? Heck to the no! One, how could you reproduce? You would run out of people? Waking up at five in the morning, everyday? These people must has been crazy!

    WC- 108

    ReplyDelete
  2. the Shaker concept was brought to America from England in 1774 by Ann Lee. Shaker life was based on a reputation of the outside world. Following the Civil War, the number of Shakers steadily decreased. Anne lee converted to the Shaker. It started in the 19th century.
    I would not want to be a Shaker because I never heard of it and it would not be interesting to me if I was a shaker. The second reason why I would not be a shaker is because it doesn't sound like a religion to me and I probably wouldn't believe the same things they believe in 105 words

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1. Brought from England
    2. Ann Lee is the creator of this group
    3. They came in 1774
    4. She was a part of the Anglican Church
    5. They danced when something good happened

    i would not like to be a Quaker because of all the strict rules. They were up early in the morning, before the sun would even rise. They also have a different religion from mine so I would have to learn how to adapt to a new group of people and a new religion. The food would be another issue. They ate different food from us now and back then.



    WORD COUNT-104

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1) brought from England
    2) Anna lee started it
    3) started in Albany, NY
    4)all ate breakfast at 7:00 am
    5)they danced a lot.

    I would not have want to been a shaker because they were all on the same schedule. None of them were free will. Also because I would feel like I was just another person and not my own person. I also would not have want to been one because they got up so early. I mean who wants to get up at five o'clock. I also think that I would get tired of doing the same exact thing every day in the same exact order.
    Wc-109

    ReplyDelete
  5. This practice comes from England
    Despite the leader dieing, the practice continued
    Brought to America by Ann Lee
    Ann Lee died in 1784
    A community of 10 members presently exists in Maine

    I would definitely not join this society if I was given the decision. The purpose of a utopia is to essentially eliminate all aspects of decision making. A supreme modern-day example of this is North Korea. There are very strict and absurd policies that the people follow, and they make virtually no decisions. Utopias in a sense defeat the purpose of humanity. If everything is premeditated for us, then what is the purpose of life?

    108 words

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This weeks blog is about Utopian Societies and The Shakers.

      1. A Utopian Society is basically a "perfect society."
      2. Utopian Societies are impossible to achieve because of our sin nature as humans.
      3. Many leaders tried to make secluded living areas, because they thought this was the only way to live purely.
      4. Weirdly enough, some of these communities shared marriages and even children.
      5. Shakers were an offshoot of the Quakers, and inspired by the Anglican Church.

      If I had the choice, I would not be a shaker. There are many reasons behind this, but I mainly wouldn't because the idea makes no sense. We have a sin nature, so a sinless society isn't possible.
      Word Count: 120

      Delete
  6. 1. The Shakers tried to make a Utopian Society, which was what everyone was attempting to do during the early 19th century.
    2.The Shakers were brought to America from England.
    3. This religion was started by Ann Lee.
    4. During her jail time, Ann Lee claimed to have many visions.
    5. The Shakers didn't have children.

    In my opinion, utopian societies are pointless. There is no way to create perfect society. Also, being a Shaker doesn't really make sense to me. Why would you expect to have a group thrive when they can't even have children?

    Word count: 100

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1- They had a strict separation between men and woman
    2- They stressed hard work and an elegant lifestyle
    3- The Shakers would dance a lot
    4- The brothers and sisters sat at different tables across the room
    5- They would worship God whenever they would dance

    I would not wanted to join the Shakers group because it would be too tiring. Also because what if you have a job that is supper hard it would just kill you. Then they have certain times they eat, what about snacks can you not eat those? It would be tiring to dance for a long time and not really talk to anyone. That is why I wouldn't want to join the Shakers.
    Word Count- 120

    ReplyDelete
  8. Five facts from the article
    1. Shakers Brought to America from Ann Lee
    2. Shakers had been brought to America from England in 1774
    3. Ann Lee claimed to have visions while serving time in jail
    4. Ann Lee created this group known as "shakers"
    5. the group liked to dance

    Would I want to become part of this group?
    I definitely would not like to join this group. I wouldn't join because they wake up at 5 a.m. every single morning and I would not like getting up early. Also, because of the strict rules the shakers had. No one likes rules because they just want to do everything on their own.

    (113 words)

    ReplyDelete
  9. 1. The shakers were an Off-shoot of the Quakers.
    2. The concept was brought to America in 1744.
    3. It was one of the most successful utopian experiment.
    4. Ann Lee died in 1784.
    5. One community of less than 10 members still survives today, in Maine.

    I personally would never want to do this, like ever. This seems like a lot of work and it was really weird. They didn't even Get breaks. It was also really terrible because there was no associating with the opposite gender and they never spoke. Dancing when something good happened is really unnecessary and is really weird.

    Word Count: 100

    ReplyDelete
  10. 1.) came from England
    2.) Ann Lee helped create this group
    3.) Shakers couldn't have children
    4.) The shakers liked to dance
    5.) While Ann Lee was in jail, she claimed to have visions

    I wouldn't want to be part of this group. They woke up very early every morning. They couldn't associate with the opposite gender. They had very strict rules, which would have been hard to follow. They also did the same exact thing every day. Which can get very boring after a while. I wouldn't want to do the same thing every day. They believed in a utopian society, which can never happen. No one will ever be perfect. They didn't realize that, but we do. And we know how difficult it is just going through one class hour, and not messing up. I would have not wanted to be a shaker, for varies of reasons.

    WC: 149

    ReplyDelete
  11. 1. Offshoot of Quakers
    2. Created by Ann Lee
    3. Ann Lee was originally part of the Angelican Church
    4. Shakers settled by Albany, NY
    5. Anne thought she was in charge of Christ second coming

    No I will never want to join this. It kinda sounds like a called. Plus, who would want to do random weird dances to please the beyond? You'd have no contact with any males, which later led to the Shaker extinction because they could not reproduce so they relied on people to convert to their utopia. During the Civil War most known Shaker communities died, yet there is a small Shaker society with about ten people in Main. 121

    ReplyDelete
  12. 1. They wanted to be around plentiful mother nature.
    2. Was copied on of the shakers.
    3. Ann Lee brought it with her from England.
    4. Ann Lee got arrested and thought that she was the embodiment of the second Christ coming.
    5. Liked to dance thought that it communed with the spirits from beyond.

    I would not want to be a shaker that lifestyle seemed like it was very strict and also very odd. Plus they died off by the time the civil war erupted and that would led me to believe that they did not have a good society during their time as a society. (Word count 107)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Shakers were a group made off of the Quakers.
    This was brought from England.
    It was brought from Ann Lee.
    Ann Lee was originally of the Anglican Church.
    Even though she had died in 1784, the Shakers thrived.

    No, although they were popular, their goals were set up for failure. They wanted the perfect society, and has specific times to get up and specific things about men and women. However, this caused the shakers to slowly become less popular and die off. They had a specific order for how people came to the table, brothers first.
    The specific time of getting up changed in the summer and winter. I would not want to be a part of a group that was only aiming to strictly follow there orders .There wasn't a need for a perfect society, because the only way anything can be perfect is by following the bible, and God, and never sinning. So I wouldn't want to try and make a perfect society, when I know that with sin, and without God it would be impossible. They believed they could change people and England all together, but by the time of the civil war they had almost nobody left to thrive throughout America. I wouldn't want to waste my time on something that couldn't happen. (217)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Big in dancing
    Came from England
    Early breakfast
    Um shared ,artiste and children
    Elegant style


    I don't think I could handle it seems like too much work. They have rules that are pathetic I don't see the point or what makes them think they matter. Or also getting up so early like no just no. Also dancing isn't a type of thing you just do out of happiness um hoe about no. Because all of these things they do just would not be my cup of tea at all. So I wouldn't be happy about any of it All. (100)

    ReplyDelete
  15. 1) the shakers separated boys and girls.
    2) these people where brought from England
    3) they had a dance when good things happened.
    4) these people where not really aloud to say much-ex: didn't talk at the dinner table.
    5) the shakers had an organized and specific way of doing things. They had to wait till everyone was there for breakfast then bend down and pray for two minuets

    No, I would not want to join the Shaker group! One of the several reasons is because I'm a very talkative person. I would probably get kicked out the very first day. Another reason is because I don't believe in the separation of men and women. I don't believe in inequality because God created us equal. I also would not want to be a part of the Shakers because they are very closed off to the rest of the world and their ceremonies seemed sketchy.
    Another reason I would not enjoy this is becaus nothing is spontaneous everything is planned out and I can't live like that.

    ReplyDelete
  16. 1.brought to America from England in 1774 by Ann Lee.
    2.Upon her release from prison, "Mother Ann" (as she was later referred to) and eight fellow Shakers sailed to America and established a Shaker community near Albany, NY.
    3.Ann died in 1784 but the Shakers thrived. Numerous communities were established throughout New England, the Midwest and as far south as Florida.
    4.the Shaker experience was the dance - as it liberated the soul and invited the temporary possession of the individual by spirits from the Beyond.
    5.Their rejection of sexual relations between men and women necessarily forced the Shakers to rely on converts to perpetuate their movement. This eventually led them down the road to extinction.

    Absolutely not, Ann lee sounds like the worst leader in the world. For one, she doesn't think ahead of her actions. And an example of that would be No connections with males. That's why it went extinct, because they couldn't reproduce. Two, she's making people dance to the beyonds, which don't even exist. Three, there's No way I'm doing that crappy daily routine. I'm not waking up at six to get ready to eat at seven everyday. Plus, the entire thing sounds stupid to me. Plus, she's not God so it's not going to be a real Utopia. You can't count her's as being an utopia either, her's was just pathetic.

    Words counted: 230

    ReplyDelete
  17. 1- America witnessed a number of utopian experiments
    2- The Shakers were the most successful of the attempts of a utopian society
    3- Shakers were brought to America for England in 1744 by Ann Lee
    4- Ann Lee was a member of the Anglican Church, but she converted to the Shakers
    5- The Shakers rejected sexual relations between men and women.
    I wouldn't have wanted to join the Shakers for many reasons. Reason one being that the whole idea of this group got started in prison. Reason two is that this group rejected sexual relations between men and women. Like how was this group going to last if there wasn't any sexual relation between men and women. Like the whole idea of this group just sounds crazy to me so I wouldn't join it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's an offshoot of the Quakers

    They were against sexual relations

    Ann Lee brought the concept to America

    They had to relay on converts to keep them in existence

    Ann Lee died in 1784


    I would not join the Shakers.Being a part of society like this one limits your ability to be an individual person.It takes away the ability to make personal decisions about how you want to live.The utopia was destined to die out,as they couldn't have children.Most utopias end up in a bad place,seculding a group of people from the world is dangerous. (101 words)

    ReplyDelete
  19. 1. Mother Ann and eight other Shakers sailed to America after she was released from prison.
    2. The Shakers built a community near Albany, NY after Mother Ann was released from prison.
    3. Mother Ann died in 1784.
    4. After her death, the shaker community grew from New England all the way to Florida.
    5. There people did not talk at the dinner table.

    No, never, absolutely not. The first thing that that I know that I will not be able to put up with is their leaders personality. She seems like a terrible person to be around. I don't like being around mean and grouchy people, it kills my vibe EVERY time. Secondly, she separated women from men, no, that would not go to well for me. I get along better with boys than i do with girls. It's kinda like an old timing GPS. Lastly, they had ridiculous rules that they could have gone with out. So, with that being said, I would NEVER have the erg to join the shakers.

    WC- 170

    ReplyDelete
  20. utopian society:
    1. The Shakers were one of the most successful of these attempts.
    2. Ann Lee was arrested and during her imprisonment experienced a number of visions that revealed to her that sexual intercourse was the source of mankind's woes.
    3. Shaker life was based on a repudiation of the outside world, self-sufficiency, communal ownership of all possessions and the strict separation of the sexes.
    4. Following the Civil War, the number of Shakers steadily dwindled.
    5. After breakfast all proceeded immediately to their respective employments, and continued industriously occupied until ten minutes to twelve o'clock, when the bell announced dinner.

    i personally wouldnt want to be a shaker. to me, it honestly sounds awful. theres bells that tell you when to go some where and it sounds kinda controlling. like your still a little kid being bossed around.

    wc- 141.

    ReplyDelete
  21. - it was an offshoot of the Quakers
    - The shaker concept was brought to America in 1774
    - It was brought to America by ann lee
    - Mother Ann died in 1784
    - They were against sexual relations


    I would not have become a shaker if I was given the opportunity.
    This religion was based off of creating the perfect society or utopia.
    The problem with this is that for one there will always be sin so no madder what they do so no one can't make the perfect society. Them for two they made it so men and women could not have a sexual relationship so they could not have kids if they couldn't have kids then how would this society last it would eventually die out. Not only this butt restricts you so that you would not be able to have an individual personality. So no matter what they would say I would never want to be a shaker.

    Word Count 157

    ReplyDelete
  22. 1) Concept brought to America by Anne Lee in 1774
    2) In 1784, Mother Anne died but the shakers thrived
    3) They rejected a sexual relationship between a man and woman which almost made them extinct
    4) They didn't have any time off from work or a little break between dinner and supper
    5) When they danced the guys and girls were separated, it was for excursive, and no one talked the entire time
    6) No, there is no way I would have joined the shakers. I feel like you are just handing them your free will and freedom. Also, I like dancing but not the way they do it. I like talking and singing and what they do just doesn't seem like any fun.
    7) Word don't- 1230

    ReplyDelete
  23. 1. Numerous communities were established throughout New England.

    2. An important part of the Shaker experience was the dance - as it liberated the soul and invited the temporary possession of the individual by spirits from the Beyond.

    3. Their rejection of sexual relations between men and women necessarily forced the Shakers to rely on converts to perpetuate their movement.

    4. They eventually went down the road of extinction.

    5. During the dance the sisters kept on one side, and the brothers on the other, and not a word was spoken by any of them.


    I wouldn't have liked to be a shaker. The shakers are way to organized for me. This paragraph makes it seem like they have a time for everything and not s lot of time to be with their families unless they're at one of the parties. They really have no way of ever having a completely perfect society. There is way to much sin in the world to try to make everything perfect. The on,y thing that is perfect is God. So,I couldn't live with that unless I was born into it, but if I had a choice I would rather not be a shaker.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sike- typo- actually word Clint now would be, including this,

    ReplyDelete
  25. Would be 130 I guess

    ReplyDelete
  26. Word count- 195

    ReplyDelete
  27. 1. The Shaker concept was brought from England to the United States by Ann Lee in 1774.
    2. Ann Lee and eight other Shakers established a Shaker community by Albany, New York.
    3. Many communities were established all around New England and as far south as Florida.
    4. The Shakers stressed hard work with a life of elegant simplicity.
    5. The number of Shakers dwindled after the civil war.

    I would not become a Shaker. They had too many strict rules. They were too controlling. They controlled your life. They made you do a certain thing at a certain time every day and made your life boring and predictable. Why would anyone want that?

    109 Words

    ReplyDelete