The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers

Description

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. Contents List of Figures List of Tables Preface Acknowledgments Part 1: A New and Strange Religion: The Age of the Founders, 1747-1787 1. Background 2. Beginnings in America 3. An Apostate's View 4. Ann Lee's Public Ministry: An Insider's View 5. The Teachings of the First Witnesses 6. The Close of the Age of the Founders Part 2: The Gathering and Building of the Church: The Establishment Of The United Society, 1787-1826 7. The Beginnings Of Communitarianism 8. The Ministration of Lucy Wright 9. Expansion Into the West 10. The Origins of Shaker Theology 11. The Creation of a History 12. The Consolidation of the Millennial Church 13. The Close of the Formative Period Part III: Too Much of the Wind, Fire, and Earthquake: The Maturation and Revitalization of the Society, 1827-1875 14. A New Generation of Leaders 15. The Economics of Community 16. The Social Situation 17. The Spiritualistic Revivals 18. The Legacy of the Manifestations 19. The Changing Situation 20. The View From the Outside 21. The Closing of the Middle Period Part IV: In The Van of an Advancing Host: The Transformation of the Society, 1876-1947 22. Declining Membership and Geographical Retreat 23. The Feminization of the Society 24. The World of Finance Capitalism 25. Reconciliation With the World 26. Varieties of Religious Experience 27. The Issue of Decline Part V: I Almost Expect to be Remembered as a Chair: The Rebirth of Shakerism, 1948 to the Present 28. Waiting for the End 29. The Beginnings of a Shaker Revival 30. Controversy Among the Believers 31. The Selling of the Shakers 32. The Ecumenical Shakers 33. The Shaker Myth: A National Treasure 34. Looking to the Future Abbreviations Notes Suggestions for Further Reading Index