The Top 6 American Utopian Experiments

Leader: John Humphrey Noyes

His intention: Despite his mother’s religious devotion, Noyes found his own faith called Perfectionism, which was denied at Yale Divinity School. He was open-minded about it rather than repressive because he believed Jesus had already made his return and thus, people were sinless. This is the kind of rationale that gives birth to polygamy, which is exactly what happened in Noyes’ community. Needless to say, the group was persecuted and their "Moses" led them to Oneida.

Rules:
- "Complex Marriage" was one of Noyes’ teachings, which meant that every man was married to every woman in the commune. Any two people could have sexual relations, as long as it was consensual and, get this, nonexclusive... because that would be selfish and idolatrous. If an attachment began forming, they would be separated for a length of time.

- Another teaching was "Male Continence," a form of birth control in which the male was not allowed ejaculate during sex. If any members wanted to have children, they had to come before a committee who matched the parents based on their spiritual and moral traits.

- "Ascending Fellowship" meant older members, called Central Members, got first pick on virgins and would initiate virgins of both genders so they could not fall in love with each other or the younger members.

- Mutual Criticism subjected all members to criticism of their bad traits from the community, which could be a humiliating experience but was supposed to ensure morality. Noyes himself rarely volunteered for this activity, because he felt a community should not criticize its leader. Figures.

Leader: Robert Owen

His Intention: Owen’s philosophy was that a person’s character is formed by his environment. He witnessed the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and disliked the living conditions of the working class, which was usually subjected to poverty, drunkenness, and little education. Owen constructed a moral environment in his experiment by making education central and labor equal to all members. His experiment in the New Lanark mill in Scotland reformed workers’ lives. He later headed to America.

Rules:

- A group of renowned scientists and teachers were assembled from the U.S. and Europe

- Comprehensive education system for children, who could not work under the age of 10

- Equal rights for women

- No private property was held. Instead, Owen instituted a system in which the amount of time a member had labored could be traded for commodities at a store that held that same amount of worth.

Leader: Mother Ann Lee

Her Intention: Raised as a Quaker, Lee immigrated to America from England to escape persecution. She suffered four stillbirths, and her four living children all died before the age of 6. Her already self-conscious attitude toward sexuality turned to a strong dislike. Lee boldly preached as a woman, though many called her whore or witch, had prophetic visions, and claimed to be Christ’s spirit incarnate.

Rules:

- Celibacy to prepare for God’s kingdom, which meant members were acquired through conversion and orphaned children

- No marriage

- Gender equality – They believed in a God made up of male and female elements. Traditional roles still implemented. Women cooked and wove, men worked in the farms

- Did not vote and were pacifists

- All private property owned by recent converts became communal, which later sparked lawsuits from heirs of deceased members

- Convulsions during ritual prayer dances gave them their name, "Shakers" or "Quaker Shakers"

Leader: George Ripley

His intention: Ripley, a former Unitarian minister, was inspired by the transcendentalist movement and believed that if labor was shared amongst all the residents, they could have leisure time for scientific and literary pursuits in order to cultivate both their bodies and minds. The farm in Massachusetts was purchased through Ripley’s joint stock company, which promised a 5% profit return to each investor.

Rules:

- Members were given the choice of the type of labor they wanted to do

- They received equal compensation no matter their age or class standing

- There was something close to gender equality, but mostly because there were very few couples. Most members were young and single

- The boarding school at Brook Farm became an important source of income and gained a good reputation

Leader: Frances Wright

Her intention: Wright was inspired by Owen’s communitarian ideas while she lived in New Harmony. She came up with her own idea for a community, which would help slaves learn to be self-sufficient, educated, and trained in an industry. She bought a plot of land in Tennessee and brought fifteen slaves whose freedom she had bought, along with a group of young, idealist, white people. The catch: "emancipated" slaves had to work to earn enough for a passage back to Africa, completely defeating the purpose of her abolitionist movement.

Rules:

- Only white people could be trustees and oversaw administration

- Property and labor were communal

- Interracial relationships were allowed

- Women were equal to men

Leader: Named for Jakob Ammann, their first leader

His Intention: Known as the successors of the Anabaptists, the Amish, led by Jakob Amman, broke from the Mennonites, an Anabaptist faction, because of their lack of discipline. The Swiss and German-descended Amish wanted to preserve seventeenth-century European rural culture when they immigrated to Pennsylvania, where William Penn was experimenting with religious freedom.

Rules:

- Their language is known as Pennsylvania Dutch

- Members cannot be photographed because it shows vanity

- They also do not use the conveniences of modern technology, which means their horse-drawn buggies, which can only go at an average of five to eight miles per hour, sometimes get totaled by cars on the freeway.

- Converts from outside of the Amish community are very rare

- Formal education is discontinued after the eighth grade

- The Ordnung is a set of rules all Amish members must follow, which include day to day instructions, and members can be permanently shunned for not following