Description
This newspaper article recounted the utopian society knowns as the Shakers. The Shakers were one of a number of utopian communities that formed throughout the country. They practiced communal living, where all property was shared. Shakers were pacifists who had advanced notions of gender and racial equality. The Shakers believed in opportunities for intellectual and artistic development within the Society. Simplicity in dress, speech and manner were encouraged, as was living in rural colonies away from the corrupting influences of the cities in order to form a more perfect society upon earth. In order to sustain their communities, these groups had to recruit members and convince them to buy into the philosophy of living promoted by the utopia.
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Source-Dependent Questions
- Summarize the ways the Shakers recruited members from their surrounding communities.
- Based on your reading of this article, what was the goal of the Shakers? How did they define "utopia?"
- Based on the information in this article, what conclusion can you draw about the effectiveness of the methods used by the Shakers? Cite evidence from the text.
Citation Information
"Lest We Forget - The Quaker Seedsmen of Long Ago," The Citizen, 21 April 1909. Courtesy of Library of Congress