members as shall be adapted to their capacities, habits, and
tastes; and each member shall select and perform such operations of
labor, whether corporal or mental, as shall be deemed best suited
to his own endowments and the benefit of the Association.
SEC. 2. The Association guarantees to all its members, their
children and family dependents, house-rent, fuel, food, and
clothing, and the other necessaries of life, without charge, not
exceeding a certain fixed amount to be decided annually by the
Association; no charge shall ever be made for support during
inability to labor from sickness or old age, or for medical or
nursing attendance, except in case of shareholders, who shall be
charged therefor, and also for the food and clothing of children,
to an amount not exceeding the interest due to them on settlement;
but no charge shall be made to any members for education or the use
of library and public rooms.
SEC. 3. Members may withdraw from labor, under the direction of the
Association, and in that case, they shall not be entitled to the
benefit of the above guaranties.
SEC. 4. Children over ten years of age shall be provided with
employment in suitable branches of industry; they shall be credited
for such portions of each annual dividend, as shall be decided by
the Association, and on the completion of their education in the
Association at the age of twenty, shall be entitled to a
certificate of stock to the amount of credits in their favor, and
may be admitted as members of the Association.
ARTICLE IV.
DISTRIBUTION OF PROFITS.
SEC. 1. The net profits of the Association, after the payment of
all expenses, shall be divided into a number of shares
corresponding to the number of days' labor; and every member shall
be entitled to one share of every day's labor performed by him.
SEC. 2. A full settlement shall be made with every member once a
year, and certificates of stock given for all balances due; but in
case of need, to be decided by himself, every member may be
permitted to draw on the funds in the Treasury to an amount not
exceeding the credits in his favor for labor performed.
ARTICLE V.
GOVERNMENT.
SEC. 1. The government of the Association shall be vested in a
board of Directors, divided into four departments, as follows; 1st,
General Direction; 2d, Direction of Education; 3d, Direction of
Industry; 4th, Direction of Finance; consisting of three persons
each, provided that the same person may be elected member of each
Direction.
SEC. 2. The General Direction and Direction of Education shall be
chosen annually, by the vote of a majority of the members of the
Association. The Direction of Finance shall be chosen annually, by
the vote of a majority of the share-holders and members of the
Association. The direction of Industry shall consist of the chiefs
of the three primary series.
SEC. 3. The chairman of the General Direction shall be the
President of the Association, and together with the Direction of
Finance, shall constitute a board of Trustees, by whom the property
of the Association shall be held and managed.
SEC. 4. The General Direction shall oversee and manage the affairs
of the Association, so that every department shall be carried on in
an orderly and efficient manner.
SEC. 5. The departments of Education and Finance shall be under the
control each of its own Direction, which shall select, and in
concurrence with the General Direction, shall appoint such
teachers, officers, and agents, as shall be necessary to the
complete and systematic organization of the department. No
Directors or other officers shall be deemed to possess any rank
superior to the other members of the Association, nor shall they
receive any extra remuneration for their official services.
SEC. 6. The department of industry shall be arranged in groups and
series, as far as practicable, and shall consist of three primary
series; to wit, Agricultural, Mechanical, and Domestic Industry.
The chief of each series shall be elected every two months by the
members thereof, subject to the approval of the general Direction.
The chief of each group shall be chosen weekly by its members.
ARTICLE VI.
MISCELLANEOUS.
SEC. 1. The Association may from time to time adopt such by-laws,
not inconsistent with the spirit and purpose of these articles, as
shall be found expedient or necessary.
SEC. 2. In order to secure to the Association the benefits of the
highest discoveries in social science, and to preserve its fidelity
to the principles of progress and reform, on which it is founded,
any amendment may be proposed to this Constitution at a meeting
called for the purpose; and if approved by two-thirds of the
members at a subsequent meeting, at least one month after the date
of the first, shall be adopted.
From this it appears that the association was simply an attempt to
return to first principles, to plant the seeds of a new social order,
founded on respect for the dignity, and sympathy with the aspirations of
man. It was open to all sects; it admitted, welcomed, nay, demanded all
kinds and degrees of intellectual culture. The most profound regard for
individual opinion, feeling and inclination, was professed and
exhibited. Confidence that surrender to the spontaneous principle, with
no more restriction than might be necessary to secure its development,
was wisest, lay at the bottom of the scheme.
It was felt at this time, 1842, that, in order to live a religious and
moral life in sincerity, it was necessary to leave the world of
institutions, and to reconstruct the social order from new beginnings. A
farm was bought in close vicinity to Boston; agriculture was made the
basis of the life, as bringing man into direct and simple relations with
nature, and restoring labor to honest conditions. To a certain extent,
it will be seen, the principle of community in property was recognized,
community of interest and cooperation requiring it; but to satisfy the
claims and insure the rights of the individual, members were not
required to impoverish themselves, or to resign the fruit of their
earnings.
Provisions were either raised on the farm or purchased at wholesale.
Meals were eaten in "commons." It was the rule that all should
labor--choosing their occupations, and the number of hours, and
receiving wages according to the hours. No labor was hired that could be
supplied within the community; and all labor was rewarded alike, on the
principle that physical labor is more irksome than mental, more
absorbing and exacting, less improving and delightful. Moreover, to
recognize practically the nobility of labor in and of itself, none were
appointed to special kinds of work. All took their turn at the several
branches of employment. None were drudges or menials. The intellectual
gave a portion of their time to tasks such as servants and handmaidens
usually discharge. The unintellectual were allowed a portion of their
time for mental cultivation. The benefits of social intercourse were
thrown open to all. The aim was to secure as many hours as practicable
from the necessary toil of providing for the wants of the body, that
there might be more leisure to provide for the deeper wants of the soul.
The acquisition of wealth was no object. No more thought was given to
this than the exigencies of existence demanded. To live, expand, enjoy
as rational beings, was the never-forgotten aim.
The community trafficked by way of exchange and barter with the outside
world; sold its surplus produce; sold its culture to as many as came or
sent children to be taught. It was hoped that from the accumulated
results of all this labor, the appliances for intellectual and spiritual
health might be obtained; that books might be bought, works of art,
scientific collections and apparatus, means of decoration and
refinement, all of which should be open on the same terms to every
member of the association. The principle of cooperation was substituted
for the principle of competition; self development for selfishness. The
faith was avowed in every arrangement that the soul of humanity was in
each man and woman.
The reputation for genius, accomplishment and wit, which the founders of
the Brook Farm enterprise enjoyed in society, attracted towards it the
attention of the public, and awakened expectation of something much more
than ordinary in the way of literary advantages. The settlement became a
resort for cultivated men and women who had experience as teachers and
wished to employ their talent to the best effect; and for others who
were tired of the conventionalities, and sighed for honest relations
with their fellow-beings. Some took advantage of the easy hospitality of
the association, and came there to live mainly at its expense--their
unskilled and incidental labor being no compensation for their
entertainment. The most successful department was the school. Pupils
came thither in considerable numbers and from considerable distances.
Distinguished visitors gave charm and reputation to the place.
The members were never numerous; the number varied considerably from
year to year. Seventy was a fair average; of these, fewer than half were
young persons sent thither to be educated. Several adults came for
intellectual assistance. Of married people there were, in 1844, but four
pairs. A great deal was taught and learned at Brook Farm. Classics,
mathematics, general literature, aesthetics, occupied the busy hours. The
most productive work was done in these ideal fields, and the best
result of it was a harvest in the ideal world, a new sense of life's
elasticity and joy, the delight of freedom, the innocent satisfaction of
spontaneous relations.
The details above given convey no adequate idea of the Brook Farm
fraternity. In one sense it was much less than they imply; in another
sense it was much more. It was less, because its plan was not materially
successful; the intention was defeated by circumstances; the hope turned
out to be a dream. Yet, from another aspect, the experiment fully
justified itself. Its moral tone was high; its moral influence sweet and
sunny. Had Brook Farm been a community in the accepted sense, had it
insisted on absolute community of goods, the resignation of opinions, of
personal aims interests or sympathies; had the principle of
renunciation, sacrifice of the individual to the common weal, been
accepted and maintained, its existence might have been continued and its
pecuniary basis made sure. But asceticism was no feature of the original
scheme. On the contrary, the projectors of it were believers in the
capacities of the soul, in the safety, wisdom and imperative necessity
of developing those capacities, and in the benign effect of liberty. Had
the spirit of rivalry and antagonism been called in, the sectarian or
party spirit, however generously interpreted, the result would probably
have been different. But the law of sympathy being accepted as the law
of life, exclusion was out of the question; inquisition into beliefs was
inadmissible; motives even could not be closely scanned; so while some
were enthusiastic friends of the principle of association, and some
were ardent devotees to liberty, others thought chiefly of their private
education and development; and others still were attracted by a desire
of improving their social condition, or attaining comfort on easy terms.
The idea, however noble, true, and lovely, was unable to grapple with
elements so discordant. Yet the fact that these discordant elements did
not, even in the brief period of the fraternity's existence, utterly
rend and abolish the idea; that to the last, no principle was
compromised, no rule broken, no aspiration bedraggled, is a confession
of the purity and vitality of the creative thought. That a mere
aggregation of persons, without written compact, formal understanding,
or unity of purpose, men, women and children, should have lived
together, four or five years, without scandal or reproach from
dissension or evil whisper, should have separated without rancor or
bitterness, and should have left none but the pleasantest savor behind
them--is a tribute to the Transcendental Faith.
In 1844, the Directors of the Association, George Ripley, Minot Pratt,
and Charles Anderson Dana, published a statement, declaring: that every
step had strengthened the faith with which they set out; that their
belief in a divine order of human society had in their minds become an
absolute certainty; that, in their judgment, considering the state of
humanity and of social science, the world was much nearer the attainment
of such a condition than was generally supposed. They here said
emphatically that Fourier's doctrine of universal unity commanded their
unqualified assent, and that their whole observation had satisfied them
of the practical arrangements which he deduced therefrom, of the
correspondence of the law of groups and series with the law of human
nature. At this time the farm contained two hundred and eight acres, and
could be enlarged to any extent necessary. The Association held property
worth nearly or quite thirty thousand dollars, of which about twenty-two
thousand was invested, either in the stock of the company or in
permanent loans to it at six per cent., which could remain as long as the
Association might wish. The organization was pronounced to be in a
satisfactory working condition; the Department of Education, on which
much thought had been bestowed, was flourishing. With a view to an
ultimate expansion into a perfect Phalanx, it was proposed to organize
the three primary departments of labor, namely, Agriculture, Domestic
Industry, and the Mechanical Arts. Public meetings had awakened an
interest in the community. Appeals for money had been generously
answered. The numbers had been increased by the accession of many
skilful and enthusiastic laborers in various departments. About ten
thousand dollars had been added by subscription to the capital. A
work-shop sixty feet by twenty-eight had been erected; a Phalanstery, or
unitary dwelling on a large scale, was in process of erection, to meet
the early needs of the preparatory period, until success should
authorize the building of a Phalanstery "with the magnificence and
permanence proper to such a structure." The prospect was, or looked,
encouraging. The experiment had been tested by the hard discipline of
more than two years; the severest difficulties had apparently been
conquered; the arrangements had attained systematic form, as far as the
limited numbers permitted; the idea was respectfully entertained;
socialism was spreading; it embraced persons of every station in life;
and in its extent, and influence on questions of importance, it seemed,
to enthusiastic believers, to be fast assuming in the United States a
national character. This was in October 1844. At this time the Brook
Farm Associationists connected themselves with the New York Socialists
who accepted the teachings of Fourier; and the efforts described were
put forth in aid of the new and more systematic plans that had been
adopted. But this coalition, which promised so much, proved disastrous
in its result. The Association was unable to sustain industrial
competition with established trades. The expenses were more than the
receipts. In the spring of 1847 the Phalanstery was burned down; the
summer was occupied in closing up the affairs; and in the autumn the
Association was broken up. The members betook themselves to the world
again, and engaged in the ordinary pursuits of life. The farm was bought
by the town of West Roxbury, and afterwards passed into private hands.
During the civil war the government used it for military purposes. The
main building has since been occupied as a hospital. The leaders of the
Association removed to New York, and for about a year, till February
1849, continued their labors of propagandism by means of the
"Harbinger," till that expired: then their dream faded away.
The full history of that movement can be written only by one who
belonged to it, and shared its secret: and it would doubtless have been
written before this, had the materials for a history been more solid.
Aspirations have no history. It is pleasant to hear the survivors of the
pastoral experiment talk over their experiences, merrily recall the
passages in work or play, revive the impressions of country rambles,
conversations, discussions, social festivities, recount the comical
mishaps, summon the shadows of friends dead, but unforgotten, and
describe the hours spent in study or recreation, unspoiled by
carefulness. But it is in private alone that these confidences are
imparted. To the public very little has been, or will be, or can be
told.
Mr. Hawthorne was one of the first to take up the scheme. He was there a
little while at the beginning in 1841, and his note-books contain
passages that are of interest. But Hawthorne's temperament was not
congenial with such an atmosphere, nor was his faith clear or steadfast
enough to rest contented on its idea. His, however, were observing eyes;
and his notes, being soliloquies, confessions made to himself, convey
his honest impressions:
BROOK FARM, April 13th, 1841. "I have not taken yet my first lesson
in agriculture, except that I went to see our cows foddered,
yesterday afternoon. We have eight of our own; and the number is
now increased by a Transcendental heifer belonging to Miss Margaret
Fuller. She is very fractious, I believe, and apt to kick over the
milk pail.... I intend to convert myself into a milk-maid this
evening, but I pray Heaven that Mr. Ripley may be moved to assign
me the kindliest cow in the herd, otherwise I shall perform my
duties with fear and trembling. I like my brethren in affliction
very well, and could you see us sitting round our table at meal
times, before the great kitchen fire, you would call it a cheerful
sight."
"April 14. I did not milk the cows last night, because Mr. R. was
afraid to trust them to my hands, or me to their horns, I know not
which. But this morning I have done wonders. Before breakfast I
went out to the barn and began to chop hay for the cattle, and with
such "righteous vehemence," as Mr. R. says, did I labor, that in
the space of ten minutes I broke the machine. Then I brought wood
and replenished the fires; and finally went down to breakfast, and
ate up a huge mound of buckwheat cakes. After breakfast Mr. R. put
a four-pronged instrument into my hands, which he gave me to
understand was called a pitchfork; and he and Mr. Farley being
armed with similar weapons, we all three commenced a gallant attack
on a heap of manure. This office being concluded, and I having
purified myself, I sit down to finish this letter. Miss Fuller's
cow hooks other cows, and has made herself ruler of the herd, and
behaves in a very tyrannical manner."
"April 16th. I have milked a cow!!! The herd has rebelled against
the usurpation of Miss Fuller's heifer; and whenever they are
turned out of the barn, she is compelled to take refuge under our
protection. So much did she impede my labors by keeping close to
me, that I found it necessary to give her two or three gentle pats
with a shovel. She is not an amiable cow; but she has a very
intelligent face, and seems to be of a reflective cast of
character.
I have not yet been twenty yards from our house and barn; but I
begin to perceive that this is a beautiful place. The scenery is of
a mild and placid character, with nothing bold in its aspect; but I
think its beauties will grow upon us, and make us love it the more
the longer we live here. There is a brook so near the house that we
shall be able to hear its ripple in the summer evenings,--but for
agricultural purposes it has been made to flow in a straight and
rectangular fashion which does it infinite damage as a picturesque
object. Mr. R. has bought four black pigs."
"April 22nd. What an abominable hand do I scribble; but I have been
chopping wood and turning a grind-stone all the forenoon; and such
occupations are apt to disturb the equilibrium of the muscles and
sinews. It is an endless surprise to me how much work there is to
be done in the world; but thank God I am able to do my share of it,
and my ability increases daily. What a great, broad-shouldered,
elephantine personage I shall become by and by!
I read no newspapers, and hardly remember who is President, and
feel as if I had no more concern with what other people trouble
themselves about, than if I dwelt in another planet."
"May 1st. All the morning I have been at work, under the clear blue
sky, on a hill side. Sometimes it almost seemed as if I were at
work in the sky itself, though the material in which I wrought was
the ore from our gold-mine. There is nothing so disagreeable or
unseemly in this sort of toil as you could think. It defiles the
hands indeed, but not the soul.
The farm is growing very beautiful now,--not that we yet see
anything of the peas and potatoes which we have planted, but the
grass blushes green on the slopes and hollows.
I do not believe that I should be so patient here if I were not
engaged in a righteous and heaven-blessed way of life. We had some
tableaux last evening. They went off very well."
"May 11th. This morning I arose at milking time, in good trim for
work; and we have been employed partly in an Augean labor of
clearing out a wood-shed, and partly in carting loads of oak. This
afternoon I hope to have something to do in the field, for these
jobs about the house are not at all suited to my taste."
"June 1st. I think this present life of mine gives me an antipathy
to pen and ink, even more than my Custom-house experience did. In
the midst of toil, or after a hard day's work, my soul obstinately
refuses to be poured out on paper. It is my opinion that a man's
soul may be buried and perish under a dung heap, just as well as
under a pile of money."
"August 15th. Even my Custom-house experience was not such a
thraldom and weariness as this. O, labor is the curse of the world,
and nobody can meddle with it, without becoming proportionably
brutified! Is it a praiseworthy matter that I have spent five
golden months in providing food for cows and horses? It is not so."
"Salem, Sept. 3d. Really I should judge it to be twenty years since
I left Brook Farm; and I take this to be one proof that my life
there was an unnatural and unsuitable, and therefore an unreal one.
It already looks like a dream behind me. The real Me was never an
associate of the community; there had been a spectral Appearance
there, sounding the horn at daybreak, and milking the cows, and
hoeing the potatoes, and raking hay, toiling in the sun, and doing
me the honor to assume my name. But this spectre was not myself."
Mr. Hawthorne was elected to high offices, to those of Trustee of the
Brook Farm estate, and Chairman of the Committee of Finance; but he told
Mr. Ripley that he could not spend another winter there. If we could
inspect all the note-books of the community, supposing all to be as
frank as Hawthorne, our picture of Brook Farm life would be fascinating.
But his was, perhaps, the only note-book kept in the busy brotherhood,
and his rather sombre view must be accepted as the impression of one
peculiar mind. In the "Blithedale Romance," Hawthorne disclaimed any
purpose to describe persons or events at Brook Farm, and expressed a
hope that some one might yet do justice to a movement so full of earnest
aspiration. But he, himself, declined the task. "The old and
affectionately remembered home at Brook Farm--certainly the most
romantic episode of his own life--essentially a day dream, and yet a
fact--thus offering an available foothold between fiction and reality,"
merely supplied the scenery for the romance. More than twenty years have
passed since Hawthorne's appeal to his associates, but it has not been
answered.