Utopian Communities

The term utopian communities, derived from the title of Thomas More's 16th-century novel, has been used to describe groups of people creating new social patterns from their vision of an ideal society. Many of these groups have decided to withdraw from the larger community in order live closer to their ideals; experiment with new social structures; escape the moral, economic, or religious confines of the prevailing society; or simply to live among people who share common beliefs and values.

Thomas More's book, De Optimo Reipublicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia (more commonly known as Utopia), explored a fictional island society built on the type of rational thought outlined in Plato's Republic. The title is a clever pun involving two Greek words: eutopia meaning “good place” and outopia meaning “no place.” This paradox underlies many of the utopias in fictional accounts. They are the “good place” because they cannot be any real place. Critics have derided real-life utopias as ultimately impossible and more likely to fall into their opposite, dystopias. This perspective had not hindered many from setting up communities that strive for the utopian ideal of their own vision.

The United States has a long tradition of hosting and supporting such utopian efforts. Many of the earliest European settlers were seeking new opportunities for religious freedom, economic prosperity, or an egalitarian society. One of the first such settlements was a group of Dutch Mennonites, who formed a community in Delaware in 1663. Although they did not last long, they are thought to be the first religiously motivated utopian community of white settlers in North America. Another early North American group was the Ephrata Community established in [Page 1428]Pennsylvania in 1732. This community was decimated by typhus in the late 18th century.

A much longer-lasting and better-known community was the Shaker community (officially the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming) founded by the Englishwoman “Mother” Ann Lee in 1776, on a farm just south of Albany, New York. Her followers believed the millennium had come, and with it, the need to renounce sin. Males and females were considered equals, and personal property was prohibited. The members aspired to live as simply as possible, and their clothes and architecture reflected this. By the mid-18th century, the movement numbered in the thousands and had started a variety of Shaker communities across the East. Their membership peaked at around 6,000 just before the Civil War and has dwindled since. In addition to their philosophy of embracing pacifism, communal living, celibacy, and productive labor, they were particularly well known for their handcrafts, especially chairs and furniture. In part from their commitment to celibacy, the Shakers have in essence passed into history.

Another important religiously based society was the Rappites (also called the Harmonists) who emigrated from Germany under the leadership of Johann Georg Rapp (anglicized as George Rapp) in 1803. The group, some 600 strong, originally settled in Butler County, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Indiana to found a new community called New Harmony, based on their belief in the Bible as the ultimate source of authority for humanity. They eventually moved back to Pennsylvania to a community they called Economy. Unfortunately, the colony did not outlive the death of its strong central leader, George Rapp, and dissolved some years later. There were, however, many imitators and offshoot colonies that continued in Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Oregon.

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