volume of Joseph Baumeler's discourses, were evidently framed in
Germany. They consist of twelve articles:
"I. We believe and confess the Trinity of God: Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.
"II. The fall of Adam, and of all mankind, with the loss thereby of the
likeness of God in them.
"III. The return through Christ to God, our proper Father.
"IV. The Holy Scriptures as the measure and guide of our lives, and the
touchstone of truth and falsehood.
"All our other principles arise out of these, and rule our conduct in
the religious, spiritual, and natural life.
"V. All ceremonies are banished from among us, and we declare them
useless and injurious; and this is the chief cause of our Separation.
"VI. We render to no mortal honors due only to God, as to uncover the
head, or to bend the knee. Also we address every one as 'thou'--
_du_.
"VII. We separate ourselves from all ecclesiastical connections and
constitutions, because true Christian life requires no sectarianism,
while set forms and ceremonies cause sectarian divisions.
"VIII. Our marriages are contracted by mutual consent, and before
witnesses. They are then notified to the political authority; and we
reject all intervention of priests or preachers.
"IX. All intercourse of the sexes, except what is necessary to the
perpetuation of the species, we hold to be sinful and contrary to the
order and command of God. Complete virginity or entire cessation of
sexual commerce is more commendable than marriage.
"X. We cannot send our children into the schools of Babylon [meaning the
clerical schools of Germany], where other principles contrary to these
are taught.
"XI. We cannot serve the state as soldiers, because a Christian cannot
murder his enemy, much less his friend.
"XII. We regard the political government as absolutely necessary to
maintain order, and to protect the good and honest and punish the
wrong-doers; and no one can prove us to be untrue to the constituted
authorities."
For adhering to these tolerably harmless articles of faith, they
suffered bitter persecution in Germany in the beginning of this century.
Subject to the above declaration they have a formal constitution, which
divides the members into two classes, the novitiates and the full
associates. The former are required to serve at least one year before
admission to the second class, and this is exacted even of their own
children, if on attaining majority they wish to enter the society.
The members of the first or probationary class do not give up their
property. They sign an agreement, "for the furtherance of their
spiritual and temporal welfare and happiness," in which they "bind
themselves to labor, obey, and execute all the orders of the trustees
and their successors," and to "use all their industry and skill in
behalf of the exclusive benefit of the said Separatist Society of Zoar;"
and to put their minor children under the exclusive guardianship and
care of the trustees.
The trustees on their part, and for the society, agree to secure to the
signers of these articles "board and clothing free of cost, the clothing
to consist of at any time no less than two suits, including the clothes
brought by the said party of the first part to this society." Also
medical attendance and nursing in case of sickness. "Good moral conduct,
such as is enjoined by the strict observance of the principles of Holy
Writ," is also promised by both parties; and it is stipulated that "no
extra supplies shall be asked or allowed, neither in meat, drink,
clothing, nor dwelling (cases of sickness excepted); but such, if any
can be allowed to exist, may and shall be obtained [by the neophytes]
through means of their own, and never out of the common fund."
All money in possession of the probationer must be deposited with the
society when he signs the agreement; for it a receipt is given, making
the deposit payable to him on his demand, without interest.
Finally, it is agreed that all disputes shall be settled by arbitration
alone, and within the society.
When a member of the first or probationary class desires to be received
into full membership, he applies to the trustees, who formally hear his
demand, inquire into the reasons he can give for it, and if they know no
good cause why he should not be admitted, they thereupon give thirty
days' notice to the society of the time and place at which he is to sign
the covenant. If during that interval no member makes charges against
him, and if he has no debts, and is ready to make over any property he
may have, he is allowed to sign the following COVENANT:
"We, the subscribers, members of the Society of Separatists of the
second class, declare hereby that we give all our property, of every
kind, not only what we already possess, but what we may hereafter come
into possession of by inheritance, gift, or otherwise, real and
personal, and all rights, titles, and expectations whatever, both for
ourselves and our heirs, to the said society forever, to be and remain,
not only during our lives, but after our deaths, the exclusive property
of the society. Also we promise and bind ourselves to obey all the
commands and orders of the trustees and their subordinates, with the
utmost zeal and diligence, without opposition or grumbling; and to
devote all our strength, good-will, diligence, and skill, during our
whole lives, to the common service of the society and for the
satisfaction of its trustees. Also we consign in a similar manner our
children, so long as they are minors, to the charge of the trustees,
giving these the same rights and powers over them as though they had
been formally indentured to them under the laws of the state."
Finally, there is a formal CONSTITUTION, which prescribes the order of
administration; and which also is signed by all the members. According
to this instrument, all officers are to be elected by the whole society,
the women voting as well as the men. All elections are to be by ballot,
and by the majority vote; and they are to be held on the second Tuesday
in May. The society is to elect annually one trustee and one member of
the standing committee or council, once in four years a cashier, and an
agent whenever a vacancy occurs or is made. The time and place of the
election are to be made public twenty days beforehand by the trustees,
and four members are to be chosen at each election to be managers and
judges at the next.
The trustees, three in number, are to serve three years, but may be
indefinitely re-elected. They have unlimited power over all the
temporalities of the society, but are bound to provide board, clothing,
and dwelling for each member, "without respect of persons;" and to use
all confided to their charge for the best interests of the society. They
are to manage all its industries and affairs, and to prescribe to each
member his work; "but in all they do they are to have the general
consent of the society." They are to appoint subordinates and
superintendents of the different industries; are to consult in difficult
cases with the Standing Committee of Five, and are with its help to keep
the peace among the members.
The agent is the trader of the society, who is to be its intermediate
with the outside world, to buy and sell. This office is now held by the
leading trustee.
The standing committee is a high court of appeals in cases of
disagreement, and a general council for the agent and trustees.
The cashier is to have the sole and exclusive control of all the moneys
of the society, the trustees and agent being obliged to hand over to his
custody all they receive. He is also the book-keeper, and is required to
give an annual account to the trustees.
The constitution is to be read in a public and general meeting of the
society at least once in every year.
The system of administration thus prescribed appears to have worked
satisfactorily for more than forty years.
"Do you favor marriage?" I asked some of the older members, trustees,
and managers. They answered "No;" but they exact no penalty nor inflict
any disability upon those who choose to marry. "Marriage," I was told,
"is on the whole unfavorable to community life. It is better to observe
the celibate life. But it is not, in our experience, fatally adverse. It
only makes more trouble; and in either case, whether a community permit
or forbid marriage, it may lose members."
About half of their young people, who have grown up in the society,
become permanent members, and as many young men as girls. They do not
permit members to marry outside of the society; and require those who do
to leave the place. "Men and women need to be trained to live peaceably
and contentedly in a community. Those who have been brought up outside
do not find matters to their taste here."
Baumeler taught that God did not look with pleasure on marriage, but
that he only tolerated it; that in the kingdom of heaven "husband, wife,
and children will not know each other;" "there will be no distinction of
sex there." Nevertheless he married, and had a family of children.
When a young couple wish to marry, they consult the trustees, whose
consent is required in this as in the other emergencies of the community
life; and the more so as they must provide lodgings or a dwelling for
the newly married, and furniture for their housekeeping. Weddings,
however, are economically managed, and the parents of the parties
usually contribute of their superfluities for the young couple's
accommodation.
When marriages began among them, a rule was adopted that the children
should remain in the care of their parents until they were three years
old; at which time they were placed in large houses, the girls in one,
boys in another, where they were brought up under the care of persons
especially appointed for that purpose; nor did they ever again come
under the exclusive control of their parents. This singular custom,
which is practiced also by the Oneida communists, lasted at Zoar until
the year 1845, when it was found inconvenient.
[Illustration: CHURCH AT ZOAR]
[Illustration: SCHOOL HOUSE AT ZOAR]
The sixty or seventy young persons under twenty-one now in the community
live with their parents. Until the age of fifteen they are sent to
school, and a school is maintained all the year round. Usually the
instruction has been in German; but when I visited Zoar they had an
American teacher.
On the blackboard, when I visited the school, a pupil had just completed
an example in proportion, concerning the division of property among
heirs; and I thought how remarkable it is that the community life ever
lasts, in any experiment, beyond the first generation, when even the
examples by which children of a community are taught arithmetic refer to
division of property and individual ownership, and every piece of
literature they read tends to inculcate the love of "me" and "mine." I
do not wonder that general literary studies are not encouraged in many
communities. As for the Zoar people, they are not great readers, except
of the Bible and the few pious books which they brought over from
Germany, or have imported since.
The Zoar communists belong to the peasant class of Southern Germany.
They are therefore unintellectual; and they have not risen in culture
beyond their original condition. Nor were their leaders men above the
general level of the rank and file; for Baumeler has left upon the
society no marks to show that he strove for or desired a higher life
here, or that he in the least valued beauty, or even what we Americans
call comfort. The little town of Zoar, though founded fifty-six years
ago, has yet no foot pavements; it remains without regularity of design;
the houses are for the most part in need of paint; and there is about
the place a general air of neglect and lack of order, a shabbiness,
which I noticed also in the Aurora community in Oregon, and which shocks
one who has but lately visited the Shakers and the Rappists.
The Zoarites have achieved comfort--according to the German peasant's
notion--and wealth. They are relieved from severe toil, and have driven
the wolf permanently from their doors. Much more they might have
accomplished; but they have not been taught the need of more. They are
sober, quiet, and orderly, very industrious, economical, and the amount
of ingenuity and business skill which they have developed is quite
remarkable.
Comparing Zoar and Aurora with Economy, I saw the extreme importance and
value in such an experiment of leaders with ideas at least a step higher
than those of their people. There is about Economy a tasteful finish
which shows a desire for something higher than mere bread and butter, a
neatness and striving for a higher kind of comfort, which makes Economy
a model town, while the other two, though formed by people generally of
the same social plane, are far below in the scale.
Yet, when I had left Zoar, and was compelled to wait for an hour at the
railroad station, listening to men cursing in the presence of women and
children; when I saw how much roughness there is in the life of the
country people, I concluded that, rude and uninviting as the life in
Zoar seemed to me, it was perhaps still a step higher, more decent, more
free from disagreeables, and upon a higher moral scale, than the average
life of the surrounding country. And if this is true, the community life
has even here achieved moral results, as it certainly has material,
worthy of the effort.
Moreover, considering the dull and lethargic appearance of the people, I
was struck with surprise that they have been able to manage successfully
complicated machinery, and to carry on several branches of manufacture
profitably. Their machine shop makes and repairs all their own
machinery; their gristmills have to compete with those of the
surrounding country; their cattle, horses, and sheep--of the latter they
keep no less than 1400 head--are known as the best in the county; their
hotel is a favorite summer resort; their store supplies the
neighborhood; and they have found among themselves ability enough to
conduct successfully all these and several other callings, all of which
require both working skill and business acuteness.
They rise at six, or in summer at daylight, breakfast at seven, dine at
twelve, and sup at six. During the long summer days they have two
"bites" between meals. They do not eat pork, and a few refrain entirely
from meat. They use both tea and coffee, and drink also cider and beer.
Tobacco is forbidden, but it is used by some of the younger people. In
the winter they labor in their shops after supper until eight o'clock.
Each family cooks for itself; but they have a general bakehouse, and
make excellent bread. They have no general laundry. They have led water
into the village from a reservoir on a hill beyond. Most of the houses
accommodate several families, but each manages its own affairs. Tea,
coffee, sugar, and other "groceries," are served out to all householders
once a week. The young girls are taught to sew, knit, and spin, and to
do the work of the household. The boys, when they leave school, are
taught trades or put on the farm.
In their religious observances they studiously avoid forms. On Sunday
they have three meetings. In the morning there is singing, after which
the leading trustee reads one of Baumeler's discourses, which they are
careful not to call sermons. In the afternoon there is a children's
meeting, where there is singing, and reading in the Bible. In the
evening they meet to sing and hear reading from some work which
interests them. They do not practice audible or public prayer. There are
no religious meetings during the week; but the boys meet occasionally to
practice music, as they have a band. The church has an organ, and
several of the houses have pianos. They do not allow dancing. There is
no "preacher," or clergyman. They have printed a hymn-book, which is
used in their worship.
Baumeler had some knowledge of homoeopathy, and was during his life the
physician of the community, and they still use the system of medicine
which he introduced among them. Like all the communists I have known,
they are long-lived. A number of members have lived to past eighty--the
oldest now is ninety-one; and he, strangely enough, is an American, a
native of New Hampshire, who, after a roving life in the West, at last,
when past fifty, became a Shaker, and after eleven years among that
people, came to Zoar twenty-eight years ago, and has lived here ever
since. The old fellow showed the shrewd intelligence of the Yankee,
asking me whether we New-Yorkers were likely after all to beat the
Tammany Ring; and declaring his belief that the Roman Catholics were the
worst enemies of the United States. He appeared to be, what a person of
his age usually is if he retain his faculties, a sort of
adviser-general; he sat in the common room of the hotel, and when any
one came in he asked him about his business, and gave him advice what to
do.
The oldest German member is now eighty-six; and there are still between
thirty and forty people who came over from Germany with Baumeler. The
latter died in 1853, at the age of seventy-five.
Most of the members now are middle-aged people, and the society is
prosperous. Thirty-five years ago, however, it had double the number it
now counts. Occasionally members leave; and in the society's early days
it had much trouble and suffered some losses from suits for wages
brought against it by dissatisfied persons. Hence the stringent terms of
the covenant.
They use neither Baptism nor the Lord's Supper.
In summer the women labor in the fields, to get in hay, potatoes, and in
harvesting the grain.
They address each other only by the first name, use no title of any
kind, and say thou (_du_) to all. Also they keep their hats on in a
public room. The church has two doors, one for the women, the other for
the men, and the sexes sit on different sides of the house.
The hotel contains a queer, old-fashioned bar, at which the general
public may drink beer, cider, or California wine. In the evening the
sitting-room is filled with the hired laborers of the society, and with
the smoke of their pipes.
Such is Zoar. Its people would not attract attention any where; they
dress and look like common laborers; their leading trustee, Jacob
Ackermann, who has carried on the affairs of the society for thirty
years and more, might easily be taken for a German farm-hand. It is the
more wonderful to compare the people with what they have achieved. Their
leader and founder taught them self-sacrifice, a desire for heavenly
things, temperance, or moderation in all things, preference of others to
themselves, contentment--and these virtues, together with a prudence in
the management of their affairs which has kept them out of debt since
they paid for their land, and uprightness in their agents which has
protected them against defalcations, have wrought, with very humble
intelligence, and very narrow means at the beginning, the result one now
sees at Zoar.
THE SHAKERS.
I.
The Shakers have the oldest existing communistic societies on this
continent. They are also the most thoroughly organized, and in some
respects the most successful and flourishing.
Mount Lebanon, the parent society, and still the thriftiest, was
established in 1792, eighty-two years ago.
The Shakers have eighteen societies, scattered over seven states; but
each of these societies contains several families; and as each "family"
is practically, and for all pecuniary and property ends, a distinct
commune, there are in fact fifty-eight Shaker communities, which I have
found to be in a more or less prosperous condition. These fifty-eight
families contain an aggregate population of 2415 souls, and own real
estate amounting to about one hundred thousand acres, of which nearly
fifty thousand are in their own home farms.
Moreover, the Shakers have, as will be seen further on, a pretty
thoroughly developed and elaborate system of theology; and a
considerable literature of their own, to which they attach great
importance.
The Shakers are a celibate order, composed of men and women living
together in what they call "families," and having agriculture as the
base of their industry, though most of them unite with this one or more
other avocations. They have a uniform style of dress; call each other by
their first names; say yea and nay, but not thee or thou; and their
social habits have led them to a generally similar style of house
architecture, whose peculiarity is that it seeks only the useful, and
cares nothing for grace or beauty, and carefully avoids ornament.
They are pronounced Spiritualists, and hold that "there is the most
intimate connection and the most constant communion between themselves
and the inhabitants of the world of spirits."
They assert that the second appearance of Christ upon earth has been;
and that they are the only true Church, "in which revelation,
spiritualism, celibacy, oral confession, community, non-resistance,
peace, the gift of healing, miracles, physical health, and separation
from the world are the foundations of the new heavens." [Footnote:
"Autobiography of a Shaker," etc., by Elder Frederick W. Evans.]
In practical life they are industrious, peaceful, honest, highly
ingenious, patient of toil, and extraordinarily cleanly.
Finally, they are to a large extent of American birth, and English is,
of course, their language.
II.--"MOTHER ANN."
The "Millennial Church, or United Society of Believers, commonly called
Shakers," was formally organized at New Lebanon, a village in Columbia
County, New York, in September, 1787, three years after the death of Ann
Lee, whose followers they profess themselves, and whom they revere as
the second appearance of Christ upon this earth, holding that Christ
appeared first in the body of Jesus.
Ann Lee, according to the account of her accepted among and published by
the Shakers, was an English woman, born of humble parents in Manchester,
February 29th, 1736. Her father was a blacksmith; she was one of eight
children; in her childhood she was employed in a cotton factory, and
later as a cutter of hatters' fur. She was also at one time cook in a
Manchester infirmary; and to the day of her death she could neither read
nor write.
[Illustration: A GROUP OF SHAKERS]
About the year 1747, some members of the Society of Quakers, under the
influence of a religious revival, formed themselves into a society, at
the head of which was a pious couple, Jane and James Wardley. To these
people Ann Lee and her parents joined themselves in 1758, Ann being then
twenty-three years of age and unmarried. These people suffered
persecution from the ungodly, and some of them were even cast into
prison, on account of certain unusual and violent manifestations of
religious fervor, which caused them to receive the name of "Shaking
Quakers;" and it was while Ann Lee thus lay in jail, in the summer of
1770, that "by a special manifestation of divine light the present
testimony of salvation and eternal life was fully revealed to her," and
by her to the society, "by whom she from that time was acknowledged as
_mother_ in Christ, and by them was called _Mother Ann_."
[Footnote: "Shakers' Compendium of the Origin, History, etc., with
Biographies of Ann Lee," etc. By F. W. Evans, 1859.]
She saw the Lord Jesus Christ in his glory, who revealed to her the
great object of her prayers, and fully satisfied all the desires of her
soul. The most astonishing visions and divine manifestations were
presented to her view in so clear and striking a manner that the whole
spiritual world seemed displayed before her. In these extraordinary
manifestations she had a full and clear view of the mystery of iniquity,
of the root and foundation of human depravity, and of the very act of
transgression committed by the first man and woman in the garden of
Eden. Here she saw whence and wherein all mankind were lost from God,
and clearly realized the only possible way of recovery. [Footnote: "A
Summary View of the Millennial Church," etc. Albany, 1848.]