The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers
The Shakers, once a radical religious sect whose members were despised and harassed by their fellow Americans, have in recent years become celebrated--and sentimentalized--for their communal way of life, the simplicity of their worship, their belief in celibacy, pacifism, and equality of the sexes, and not least their superb furniture and handicrafts. This monumental book is the first general history of the Shakers from their origins in eighteenth-century England to the present day. Drawing...
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The Shakers, once a radical religious sect whose members were despised and harassed by their fellow Americans, have in recent years become celebrated--and sentimentalized--for their communal way of life, the simplicity of their worship, their belief in celibacy, pacifism, and equality of the sexes, and not least their superb furniture and handicrafts. This monumental book is the first general history of the Shakers from their origins in eighteenth-century England to the present day. Drawing on written and oral testimony by Shakers over the past two centuries, Stephen J. Stein offers a full and often revisionist account of the movement: their charismatic leaders, the early years in revolutionary New York and New England, the expansion into the West, the maturation and growth of the sect before the Civil War, the decline in their fortunes after the war, the painful adjustments to society Shakers had to make during the first half of the twentieth century, the renaissance of interest after 1950, and the "forbidden topic" within contemporary Shakerism--the conflict between the two remaining villages at Canterbury, New Hampshire, and Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Stein provides many new interpretations of the Shaker experience. He reassesses the role of founder Ann Lee, emphasizes the impact of the western Shaker settlements on the course of the society's history, and describes the variety of cultural enterprises that have obscured the religious and historical dimensions of the Shakers. Throughout Stein places the Shaker experience within the wider context of American life and shows how the movement has evolved to deal with changing times. Shattering the romantic myth that has been perpetuated about the quaint and peaceful Shakers, Stein portrays a group that is factious, practical, and fully human.
List of FiguresList of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPt. 1A New and Strange Religion: The Age of the Founders, 1747-17871Background3Beginnings in America10An Apostate's View15Ann Lee's Public Ministry: An Insider's View18The Teachings of the First Witnesses25The Close of the Age of the Founders32Pt. 2The Gathering and Building of the Church: The Establishment of the United Society, 1787-182639The Beginnings of Communitarianism41The Ministration of Lucy Wright49Expansion into the West57The Origins of Shaker Theology66The Creation of a History76The Consolidation of the Millennial Church87The Close of the Formative Period106Pt. 3Too Much of the Wind, Fire, and Earthquake: The Maturation and Revitalization of the Society, 1827-1875119A New Generation of Leaders122The Economics of Community133The Social Situation148The Spiritualistic Revivals165The Legacy of the Manifestations184The Changing Situation200The View from the Outside215The Closing of the Middle Period222Pt. 4In the Van of an Advancing Host: The Transformation of the Society, 1876-1947239Declining Membership and Geographical Retreat242The Feminization of the Society256The World of Finance Capitalism272The Impact of Modern Thought and Life286Reconciliation with the World304Varieties of Religious Experience320The Issue of Decline337Pt. 5I Almost Expect to Be Remembered as a Chair: The Rebirth of Shakerism, 1948 to the Present355Waiting for the End358The Beginnings of a Shaker Revival370Controversy among the Believers384The Selling of the Shakers394The Ecumenical Shakers409The Shaker Myth: A National Treasure422Looking to the Future432Abbreviations443Notes445Suggestions for Further Reading521Index525
