The Oneida Community
Throughout the early years of the United States, Utopian communities seemed to be quite prevalent. Though most did not last long, their ideas of perfection have long outlasted the settlements themselves. Of the many trial settlements one of the most noted was that of the Oneida community that was founded in the late 1840’s by John Humphrey Noyes. Noyes’ society of self-proclaimed perfectionists was started after he lost his preaching license in an attempt to spread his new ideas of communal living. 1 The Oneida society, like many societies of this era, was based on seemingly radical religious as well as societal ideas. In the early years, the community thrived partially because there was no conflict between its scientific and religious ideas. As the society grew and progressed toward it’s downfall, a significant separation of science and religion was becoming evident. Many believe that it was this growing conflict between science and religion that was ultimately the deteriorating element of communal living among the members of the Oneida experiment.
John Humphrey Noyes, son of John Noyes and Polly Hayes Noyes, was born on September 3, 1811 in Brattleboro, Vermont. As the son of a well-educated businessman and an inquisitive mother, the young John was encouraged to love learning. After attending many schools in Vermont and Massachusetts John entered Dartmouth in hopes of completing his education. After his graduation from college in 1830 with a degree in law, Noyes moved to Chesterfield, New Hampshire.2
Around this time there was a large revivalist movement taking place. John Noyes’ parents were to hold a meeting of this group at their home in Putney, Vermont. Upon the request of his mother, John, a...
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1. Peyton Richter edt., Utopias Social Ideas about Communal Living, (Boston: Holbrok
Press, 1971) 137.
2. Constance Noyes Robertson, Onedia Community, (New York: Syracuse University Press,
1970) 2.
3. Robertson, 3.
4. Robertson, 3.
5. Robertson, 4.
6. Robertson, 5.
7. Robertson, 5.
8. Robertson, 8.
9. Randall Hillebrand, The Shakers/Oneida Community
(http://www.nyhistory.com/central/oneida.htm) 2.
10. Ira Mandelker, Religion, Society, and Utopia in Nineteenth-Century America (
Amherst, MA: The Universtiy of Massachusetts Press, 1984) 117.
11. Mandelker, 118.
12. Mandelker, 113.
13. Hillebrand, 3.
14. Robertson, 14.
15. Robertson, 20.
16. Robertson, 21.
17. Mandelker, 119.
18. Mandelker, 119.
19. Mandelker, 132.
20. Mandelker, 92.
21. Mandelker, 147.
Johnson, through the revival, shows a growing Protestant influence within Rochester, New York. Charles Finney came, Bible in hand, proclaiming that the Millennium was in reach, but only through the efforts of the willing: this was a revival for social ch...
John Adams was born in Braintree, what is now Quincy, Massachusetts, on October 30, 1735. His father was a farmer, a deacon of the First Parish of Braintree, and a militia officer. John's mother came from a leading family of Brookline and Boston merchants and physicians. John studied hard in the village school. He was twenty three years old when he graduated from Harvard in the class of 1755. He began to practice law in Braintree in 1758. John and Abigail first met in 1759.
“Religion is the backbone of evolution.” Without the cultural differences and belief systems we would not have a regulated religious base. It is evident some religions can be both alike but yet still very different. The historical William Bradford and Jonathan Edwards demonstrate this theory. William Bradford portrays more leniencies while allowing for more religious tolerance within the puritan community. With some contrasting beliefs but familiar goals, Jonathan Edwards, pursued a stricter religious background. Both of these author’s play an important role in sculpting the puritan way of life.
He was a man whose very words struck fear into the hearts of his listeners. Acknowledged as one of the most powerful religious speakers of the era, he spearheaded the Great Awakening. “This was a time when the intense fervor of the first Puritans had subsided somewhat” (Heyrmen 1) due to a resurgence of religious zeal (Stein 1) in colonists through faith rather than predestination. Jonathan Edwards however sought to arouse the religious intensity of the colonists (Edwards 1) through his preaching. But how and why was Edwards so successful? What influenced him? How did he use diction and symbolism to persuade his listener, and what was the reaction to his teachings? In order to understand these questions one must look at his life and works to understand how he was successful. In his most influential sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards’ persuasive language awakened the religious fervor that lay dormant in colonial Americans and made him the most famous puritan minister of the Great Awakening in North America.
Mankind can be conceived in interesting ways by analyzing the writings of John Smith and John Winthrop. As I read through John Smith‘s “A Description of New England” and John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity,” it became evident to me that the two readings had similar and different viewpoints of the essential nature of man. Throughout my paper, I will compare their similar beliefs of community and diversity of people and completely contrast their ideas of emphasis on religion and relationships with enemies.
The Second Great Awakening swept through the United States during the end of the 18th Century. Charles Grandson Finney was one of the major reasons the Second Great Awakening was such a success. Finney and his contemporaries rejected the Calvinistic belief that one was predetermined by go God to go to heaven or hell, and rather preached to people that they need to seek salvation from God themselves, which will eventually improve society has a whole. Finney would preach at Revivals, which were emotional religious meetings constructed to awaken the religious faith of people. These meetings were very emotional and lasted upwards of five days. Revivalism had swept through most of the United States by the beginning of the 19th Century. One of the most profound revivals took place in New York. After the great revival in New York Charles Finney was known ...
John Hancock was a very influential man for our independence during the War for Independence. He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, which is now known as Quincy, Massachusetts.1 Different sources had a different birthday listed for him. One source said that it depends on the calendar that was in use at the time, therefore, his birthday is either January 12 or 23, 1737.2 His parents were Mary Hawke Hancock and the senior John Hancock.3 The name “John Hancock” was handed down for three generations making the John Hancock that was influential during the War for Independence the third. John’s father died in 1744, when he was only seven years old.4 Mary Hawke Hancock felt that she was too poor to raise her children on her own5, therefore, she
Watching the Amish riding their horse drawn carriages through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you catch a glimpse of how life would have been 150 years ago. The Amish, without their electricity, cars, and television appear to be a static culture, never changing. This, however, is just an illusion. In fact, the Amish are a dynamic culture which is, through market forces and other means, continually interacting with the enormously tempting culture of America. So, one might be led to wonder how a culture like the Amish, one that seems so anachronistic, has not only survived but has grown and flourished while surrounded by a culture that would seem to be so detrimental to its basic ideals. The Amish, through biological reproduction, resistance to outside culture, compromise, and a strong ethnic symbolism have managed to stave off a culture that waits to engulf them. Why study the Amish? One answer would be, of course, to learn about their seemingly pure cooperative society and value system (called Ordung). From this, one may hope to learn how to better America's problem of individualism and lack of moral or ethical beliefs. However, there is another reason to study the Amish. Because the Amish have remained such a large and distinct culture from our own, they provide an opportunity to study the effects of cultural transmission, resistance, and change, as well as the results of strong symbolism in maintaining ethnic and cultural isolation.
To begin with, John Tyler was born in Charles City, Virginia on March 29, 1790. His particular birthplace was on a big plantation called Greenway where he spent his first years. As a child, John was gentle and polite, but could be strong and stubborn when he desired to. His parents, John Tyler Sr. and Mary Marot Armistead Tyler both took care of John and his siblings until they were old enough to care for themselves. As a child, John enjoyed writing poetry and playing the violin in his spare time in order to keep himself occupied.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
In the North we saw a different religious awakening. Reform was popping up all over the Northeast. This reform came in different faces, depending on which state it wa...
In 1948, John Humphrey founded another utopian experiment in Oneida, New York. This was another important utopian society experiment in the 1800’s. In this society, children were raised by the whole community, and businesses were run by the whole community. In other words, everyone who lived there was part of one big family. The Oneida experiment grew fairly large over 30 years, including over 200 peopl...
In the 1700’s the Puritans left England for the fear of being persecuted. They moved to America for religious freedom. The Puritans lived from God’s laws. They did not depend as much on material things, and they had a simpler and conservative life. More than a hundred years later, the Puritan’s belief toward their church started to fade away. Some Puritans were not able to recognize their religion any longer, they felt that their congregations had grown too self-satisfied. They left their congregations, and their devotion to God gradually faded away. To rekindle the fervor that the early Puritans had, Jonathan Edwards and other Puritan ministers led a religious revival through New England. Edwards preached intense sermons that awakened his congregation to an awareness of their sins. With Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he persuades the Puritans to convert back to Puritanism, by utilizing rhetorical strategies such as, imagery, loaded diction, and a threatening and fearful tone.
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. “Thomas Morton, Historian”. The New England Quarterly, Vol. 50, No.4 (Dec., 1977), pp. 660-664. The New England Quarterly, Inc. .
The laws of the government and regulations of the state should be followed accordingly. There will be equal opportunities for everyone throughout their lifetime as long as they meet the requirements for those opportunities. People who qualify and will do the best for the community will head the community. The society is based on free will as long as the rules are followed and no one is harmed. The rules and regulations set are to protect the people of the society in order for a safe and harmonious community.