LITERATURE OF FOURIERISM.
The exposition of Fourierism in this country commenced with the
publication of the "_Social Destiny of Man_," by Albert Brisbane, in
1840. It is very probable that the excitement propagated by this book,
turned the thoughts of Dr. Channing and the Transcendentalists toward
Association, and led to the Massachusetts experiments which we have
reported. Other influences prepared the way. Religious Liberalism and
Anti-slavery were revolutionizing the world of thought, and
predisposing all lively minds to the boldest innovations. But it is
evident that the positive scheme of reconstructing society came from
France through Brisbane. Brook Farm, Hopedale, the Northampton
Community and the Skaneateles Community struck out, each on an
independent theory of social architecture; but they all obeyed a
common impulse; and that impulse, so far as it came by literature, is
traceable to Brisbane's importation and translation of the writings of
Charles Fourier.
The second notable movement, preparatory to the great Fourier revival
of 1843, was the opening of the _New York Tribune_ to the teachings of
Brisbane and the Socialists. That paper was in its first volume, but
already popular and ascending towards its zenith of rivalry with the
_Herald_, when one morning in the spring of 1842, it appeared with the
following caption at the top of one of its columns:
"ASSOCIATION; OR, PRINCIPLES OF A TRUE ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY.
"This column has been purchased by the Advocates of Association,
in order to lay their principles before the public. Its
editorship is entirely distinct from that of the _Tribune_."
By this contrivance, which might be called a paper within a paper,
Brisbane became the independent editor of a small daily, with all the
_Tribune's_ subscribers for his readers; and yet that journal could
not be held responsible for his inculcations. It was known, however,
that Horace Greeley, the editor-in-chief, was much in sympathy with
Fourierism; so that Brisbane had the help of his popularity; though
the stock-company of the _Tribune_ was not implicated. Whether the
_Tribune_ lifted Fourierism or Fourierism lifted the _Tribune_, may be
a matter of doubt; but we are inclined to think the paper had the best
of the bargain; as it grew steadily afterward to its present
dimensions, and all the more merrily for the _Herald's_ long
persistence in calling it "our Fourierite cotemporary;" while
Fourierism, after a year or two of glory, waned and disappeared.
Brisbane edited his column with ability for more than a year. Our file
(which is defective), extends from March 28, 1842, to May 28, 1843. At
first the socialistic articles appeared twice a week; after August
1842, three times a week; and during the latter part of the series,
every day.
This was Brisbane's great opportunity, and he improved it. All the
popularities of Fourierism--"Attractive Industry," "Compound
Economies," "Democracy of Association," "Equilibrium of the
Passions"--were set before the _Tribune's_ vast public from day to
day, with the art and zest of a young lawyer pleading before a court
already in his favor. Interspersed with these topics were notices of
socialistic meetings, reports of Fourier festivals, toasts and
speeches at celebrations of Fourier's birthday, and all the usual
stimulants of a growing popular cause. The rich were enticed; the poor
were encouraged; the laboring classes were aroused; objections were
answered; prejudices were annihilated; scoffing papers were silenced;
the religious foundations of Fourierism were triumphantly exhibited.
To show how gloriously things were going, it would be announced on one
day that "Mr. Bennett has promised us the insertion of an article in
this day's _Herald_, in vindication of our doctrines;" on the next,
that "_The Democratic_ and _Boston Quarterly Reviews_, are publishing
a series of articles on the system from the pen of A. Brisbane;" on
the next, that "we have obtained a large Hall, seventy-seven feet deep
by twenty-five feet wide, in Broadway, for the purpose of holding
meetings and delivering lectures."
Perhaps the reader would like to see a specimen of Brisbane's
expositions. The following is the substance of one of his articles in
the _Tribune_, dated March, 1842; subject--"Means of making a
Practical Trial:"
"Before answering the question, How can Association be realized?
we will remark that we do not propose any sudden transformation
of the present system of society, but only a regular and gradual
substitution of a new order by local changes or replacement.
One Association must be started, and others will follow, without
overthrowing any true institutions in state or church, such as
universal suffrage or religious worship.
"If a few rich could be interested in the subject, a stock
company could be formed among them with a capital of four or
five hundred thousand dollars, which would be sufficient. Their
money would be safe: for the lands, edifices, flocks, &c., of
the Association, would be mortgaged to secure it. The sum which
is required to build a small railroad, a steamship, to start an
insurance company or a bank, would establish an Association.
Could not such a sum be raised?
"A practical trial of Association might be made by appropriation
from a State Legislature. Millions are now spent in constructing
canals and railroads that scarcely pay for repairs. Would it
endanger the constitution, injure the cause of democracy, or
shock the consciences of politicians, if a Legislature were to
advance for an Association, half a million of dollars secured by
mortgage on its lands and personal estate? We fear very much
that it might, and therefore not much is to be hoped from that
source.
"The truth of Association and attractive industry could also be
proved by children. A little Association or an industrial or
agricultural institution might be established with four hundred
children from the ages of five to fifteen. Various lighter
branches of agriculture and the mechanical arts, with little
tools and implements adapted to different ages, which are the
delight of children, could be prosecuted. These useful
occupations could, if organized according to a system which we
shall later explain, be rendered more pleasing and attractive
than are their plays at present. Such an Association would prove
the possibility of attractive industry, and that children could
support themselves by their own labor, and obtain at the same
time a superior industrial and scientific education. The
Smithsonian bequest might be applied to such a purpose, as could
have been Girard's noble donation, which has been so shamefully
mismanaged.
"The most easy plan, perhaps, for starting an Association would
be to induce four hundred persons to unite, and take each $1,000
worth of stock, which would form a capital of $400,000. With
this sum, an Association could be established, which could be
made to guarantee to every person a comfortable room in it and
board for life, as interest upon the investment of $1,000; so
that whatever reverses might happen to those forming the
Association, they would always be certain of having two great
essentials of existence--a dwelling to cover them, and a table
at which to sit. Let us explain how this could be effected.
"The stockholders would receive one-quarter of the total product
or profits of the Association; or if they preferred, they would
receive a fixed interest of eight per cent. At the time of a
general division of profits at the end of the year, the
stockholders would first receive their interest, and the balance
would be paid over to those who performed the labor. A slight
deviation would in this respect take place from the general law
of Association, which is to give one-quarter of the profits to
capital, whatever they may be; but additional inducements of
security should be held out to those who organize the first
Association.
"The investment of $1,000 would yield $80 annual interest. With
this sum the Association must guarantee a person a dwelling and
living; and this could be done. The edifice could be built for
$150,000, the interest upon which, at 10 per cent., would be
$15,000. Divide this sum by 400, which is the number of persons,
and we have $37.50 per annum, for each person as rent. Some of
the apartments would consist of several rooms, and rent for
$100, others for $90, others for $80, and so on in a descending
ratio, so that about one-half of the rooms could be rented at
$20 per annum. A person wishing to live at the cheapest rates
would have, after paying his rent, $60 left. As the Association
would raise all its fruit, grain, vegetables, cattle, &c., and
as it would economize immensely in fuel, number of cooks, and
every thing else, it could furnish the cheapest priced board at
$60 per annum, the second at $100, and the third at $150. Thus a
person who invested $1,000 would be certain of a comfortable
room and board for his interest, if he lived economically, and
would have whatever he might produce by his labor in addition.
He would live, besides, in an elegant edifice surrounded by
beautiful fields and gardens.
"If one-half of the persons taking stock did not wish to enter
the Association at first, but to continue their business in the
world, reserving the chance of so doing later, they could do so.
Experienced and intelligent agriculturists and mechanics would
be found to take their places; the buildings would be gradually
enlarged, and those who remained out could enter later as they
wished. They would receive, however, in the mean time their
interest in cash upon their capital. A family with two or three
children could enter upon taking from $2,000 to $2,500 worth of
stock.
"We have not space to enter into full details, but we can say
that the advantages and economies of combination and Association
are so immense, that if four hundred persons would unite, with a
capital of $1,000 each, they could establish an Association in
which they could produce, by means of economical machinery and
other facilities, four times as much by their labor as people do
at present, and live far cheaper and better than they now can;
or which, in age or in case of misfortune, would always secure
them a comfortable home.
"There are multitudes of persons who could easily withdraw
$1,000 from their business and invest it in an establishment of
this kind, and secure themselves against any reverses which may
later overtake them. In our societies, with their constantly
recurring revulsions and ruin, would they not be wise in so
doing?"
With this specimen, we trust the imagination of the reader will be
able to make out an adequate picture of Brisbane's long work in the
_Tribune_. That work immediately preceded the rush of Young America
into the Fourier experiments. He was beating the drum from March 1842
till May 1843; and in the summer of '43, Phalanxes by the dozen were
on the march for the new world of wealth and harmony.
On the fifth of October 1843, Brisbane entered upon his third
advance-movement by establishing in New York City, an independent
paper called THE PHALANX, devoted to the doctrines of Fourier, and
edited by himself and Osborne Macdaniel. It professed to be a monthly,
but was published irregularly the latter part of its time. The volume
we have consists of twenty-three numbers, the first of which is dated
October 5, 1843, and the last May 28, 1845. In the first number
Brisbane gives the following condensed statement of practical
experiments then existing or contemplated, which may be considered the
results of his previous labors, and especially of his fourteen months
_reveille_ in the _Tribune_:
"In Massachusetts, already there are three small Associations,
viz., the Roxbury Community near Boston, founded by the Rev.
George Ripley; the Hopedale Community, founded by the Rev. Adin
Ballou; and the Northampton Community, founded by Prof. Adam and
others. These Associations, or Communities, as they are called,
differ in many respects from the system of Fourier, but they
accept some of his fundamental practical principles, such as
joint-stock property in real and movable estate, unity of
interests, and united domestic arrangements, instead of living
in separate houses with separate interests. None of them have
community of property. They have been founded within the last
three years, and two of them at least, under the inspiration of
Fourier's doctrine.
"In the state of New York, there are two established on a larger
scale than those in Massachusetts: the Jefferson County
Industrial Association, at Watertown, founded by A.M. Watson,
Esq.; and another in Herkimer and Hamilton Counties (on the
line), called the Moorhouse Union, and founded by Mr. Moorhouse.
A larger Association, to be called the Ontario Phalanx, is now
organizing at Rochester, Monroe County.
"In Pennsylvania there are several: the principal one is the
Sylvan in Pike County, which has been formed by warm friends of
the cause from the cities of New York and Albany; Thomas W.
Whitley, President, and Horace Greeley, Treasurer. In the same
county there is another small Association, called the Social
Unity, formed principally of mechanics from New York and
Brooklyn. There is a large Association of Germans in McKean
County, Pennsylvania, commenced by the Rev. George Ginal of
Philadelphia. They own a very extensive tract of land, over
30,000 acres we are informed, and are progressing prosperously:
the shares, which were originally $100, have been sold and are
now held at $200 or more. At Pittsburg steps are taking to
establish another.
"A small Association has been commenced in Bureau County,
Illinois, and preparations are making to establish another in
Lagrange County, Indiana, which will probably be done this fall,
upon quite an extensive scale, as many of the most influential
and worthy inhabitants of that section are deeply interested in
the cause.
"In Michigan the doctrine has spread quite widely. An excellent
little, paper called _The Future_, devoted exclusively to the
cause, published monthly, has been established at Ann Arbor,
where an Association is projected to be called the Washtenaw
Phalanx.
"In New Jersey an Association, projected upon a larger scale
than any yet started, has just been commenced in Monmouth
County: it is to be called the North American Phalanx, and has
been undertaken by a company of enterprising gentlemen of the
city of Albany.
"Quite a large number of practical trials are talked of in
various sections of the United States, and it is probable that
in the course of the next year, numbers will spring into
existence. These trials are upon so small a scale, and are
commenced with such limited means, that they exhibit but a few
of the features of the system. They are, however, very important
commencements, and are small beginnings of a reform in some of
the most important arrangements of the present social order;
particularly its system of isolated households or separate
families, its conflicts of interest, and its uncombined and
incoherent system of labor."
The most important result of Brisbane's eighteen month's labor in the
_Phalanx_ was the conversion of Brook Farm to Fourierism. William H.
Channing's magazine, the _Present_, which commenced nearly at the same
time with the _Phalanx_, closed its career at the end of seven months,
and its subscription list was transferred to Brisbane. In the course
of a year after this, Brook Farm confessed Fourierism, changed its
constitution, assumed the title of the _Brook Farm Phalanx_, and on
the 14th of June 1845 commenced publishing the _Harbinger_, as the
successor of the _Phalanx_ and the heir of its subscription list. So
that Brisbane's fourth advance was the transfer of the literary
responsibilities of his cause to Brook Farm. This was a great move. A
more brilliant attorney could not have been found. The concentrated
genius of Unitarianism and Transcendentalism was at Brook Farm. It was
the school that trained most of the writers who have created the
newspaper and magazine literature of the present time. Their work on
the _Harbinger_ was their first drill. Fourierism was their first case
in court. The _Harbinger_ was published weekly, and extended to seven
and a half semi-annual volumes, five of which were edited and printed
at Brook Farm, and the last two and a half at New York, but by Brook
Farm men. Its issues at Brook Farm extend from June 14, 1845 to
October 30, 1847; and at New York from November 6, 1847 to February
10, 1849. The _Phalanx_ and _Harbinger_ together cover a period of
more than five years.
Other periodicals of a more provincial character, and of course a
great variety of books and pamphlets, were among the issues of the
Fourier movement; but the main vertebrae of its literature were the
publications of which we have given account--Brisbane's _Social
Destiny of Man_, his daily column in the _Tribune_, the monthly
_Phalanx_, and the weekly _Harbinger_.