The Communistic Societies of the United States

The Communistic Societies of the
United States (From Personal
Visit and Observation) [with
accents]

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Title: The Communistic Societies of the United States
Author: Charles Nordhoff
Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8116] [This file was first posted on
June 15, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE
COMMUNISTIC SOCIETIES OF THE UNITED STATES ***

E-text prepared by Eric Eldred, Marvin A. Hodges, Charles Franks, and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

THE COMMUNISTIC SOCIETIES OF THE UNITED STATES
FROM PERSONAL VISIT AND OBSERVATION BY CHARLES
NORDHOFF

TO MY FRIENDS, DOCTOR AND MRS. JOHN DAVIS, OF
CINCINNATI.
[Illustration: VIEWS IN ZOAR.]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS OF THE INQUIRY THE CONDITION AND
NECESSITIES OF LABOR MISTAKE OF THE TRADES-UNIONS
REASONS FOR IT LABOR SOCIETIES, AS AT PRESENT
MANAGED, MISCHIEVOUS
THE AMANA SOCIETY
ITS HISTORY AND ORIGIN AMANA IN 1874 SOCIAL HABITS
AND CUSTOMS RELIGION AND LITERATURE

THE HARMONISTS AT ECONOMY
ECONOMY IN 1874 HISTORY OF THE HARMONY SOCIETY ITS
RELIGIOUS CREED PRACTICAL LIFE SOME PARTICULARS OF
"FATHER RAPP"
THE SEPARATISTS OF ZOAR
ORIGIN AND HISTORY THEIR RELIGIOUS FAITH PRACTICAL
LIFE AND PRESENT CONDITION
THE SHAKERS
"MOTHER ANN" THE ORDER OF LIFE AMONG THE SHAKERS
A VISIT TO MOUNT LEBANON DETAILS OF ALL THE SHAKER
SOCIETIES SHAKER LITERATURE "SPIRITUAL
MANIFESTATIONS"
THE ONEIDA AND WALLINGFORD PERFECTIONISTS
ORIGIN AND HISTORY THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEF DAILY LIFE
AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUNDAY AT ONEIDA
"CRITICISM" AND "PRAYER-CURES"
THE AURORA AND BETHEL COMMUNES
AURORA IN OREGON BETHEL IN MISSOURI THEIR HISTORY
AND RELIGIOUS FAITH
THE ICARIANS
THE BISHOP HILL COLONY
ITS ORIGIN AND HISTORY CAUSES OF ITS FAILURE
THE CEDAR VALE COMMUNE
THE SOCIAL FREEDOM COMMUNITY
THREE COLONIES--NOT COMMUNISTIC
ANAHEIM, IN CALIFORNIA VINELAND, IN NEW JERSEY
SILKVILLE PRAIRIE HOME, IN KANSAS
COMPARATIVE VIEW AND REVIEW
STATISTICAL COMMUNAL POLITICS AND POLITICAL
ECONOMY CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE INFLUENCES OF
COMMUNISTIC LIFE CONDITIONS AND POSSIBILITIES OF
COMMUNISTIC LIVING
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VIEWS IN ZOAR MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF
COMMUNISTIC SOCIETIES GRACE BEFORE MEAT--AMANA

SCHOOL-HOUSE--AMANA AMANA, A GENERAL VIEW
CHURCH AT AMANA INTERIOR VIEW OF CHURCH PLAN OF
THE INSPIRATIONIST VILLAGES ASSEMBLY
HALL--ECONOMY CHURCH AT ECONOMY A STREET VIEW IN
ECONOMY FATHER RAPP'S HOUSE--ECONOMY CHURCH AT
ZOAR SCHOOL-HOUSE AT ZOAR A GROUP OF SHAKERS THE
FIRST SHAKER CHURCH, AT MOUNT LEBANON SHAKER
ARCHITECTURE--MOUNT LEBANON SHAKER
ARCHITECTURE--ENFIELD, N. H. SHAKER WOMEN AT WORK
SHAKER COSTUMES SHAKER WORSHIP.--THE DANCE
SISTERS IN EVERY-DAY COSTUME ELDER FREDERICK W.
EVANS VIEW OF A SHAKER VILLAGE THE
HERB-HOUSE--MOUNT LEBANON MEETING-HOUSE AT
MOUNT LEBANON INTERIOR OF MEETING-HOUSE AT
MOUNT LEBANON SHAKER TANNERY--MOUNT LEBANON
SHAKER OFFICE AND STORE AT MOUNT LEBANON A
SHAKER ELDER A GROUP OF SHAKER CHILDREN SHAKER
DINING-HALL A SHAKER SCHOOL SHAKER MUSIC-HALL J. H.
NOYES, FOUNDER OF THE PERFECTIONISTS COSTUMES AT
ONEIDA THE BETHEL COMMUNE, MISSOURI CHURCH AT
BETHEL, MISSOURI

[Illustration: MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF COMMUNISTIC
SOCIETIES.]

INTRODUCTION
Though it is probable that for a long time to come the mass of mankind
in civilized countries will find it both necessary and advantageous to
labor for wages, and to accept the condition of hired laborers (or, as it
has absurdly become the fashion to say, employees), every thoughtful
and kind-hearted person must regard with interest any device or plan
which promises to enable at least the more intelligent, enterprising, and
determined part of those who are not capitalists to become such, and to
cease to labor for hire.
Nor can any one doubt the great importance, both to the security of the
capitalists, and to the intelligence and happiness of the non-capitalists
(if I may use so awkward a word), of increasing the number of avenues

to independence for the latter. For the character and conduct of our own
population in the United States show conclusively that nothing so
stimulates intelligence in the poor, and at the same time nothing so well
enables them to bear