TRANSCENDENTALISM AND UTOPIAN
SOCIETIES IN AMERICAN CULTURE FROM 18151848
Rachel Bryan and Kate Barnes
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What was transcendentalism?
TRANSCENDENTALISM
TRANSCENDENTALISM WAS…
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A literary and
philosophical movement
associated with 19th
century writers and a
small but active circle
of New England
educators, religious
leaders, and social
reformers during the
time.
Began as a discussion
club, but grew to affect
the beliefs of later U.S
writers and Americans in

Its main ideas and
concerns (individualism,
self-improvement,
spiritualism, and moral
protest) are still part of
U.S. cultural practices
and political attitudes.
THOREAU
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One of the loudest
Transcendental voices
Secluded himself in a cabin
above Walden pond where he
wrote his most famous work,
Walden.
Although not seen as an
exemplary figure of
Transcendentalist views during
his time, Thoreau is now
considered the philosophical
model of a Transcendentalist in
the mid 19th century.
IN LITERATURE
Who took part in the movement?
HIS WORK


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Thoreau preached religious
tolerance, moral soundness,
love of nature, and the right
to disobey unjust authority.
His most famous writings
were Walden and Resistance
to Civil Government.
Three thousand copies of
Walden were printed, but
fewer than three hundred
copies were sold. Walden is
now regarded as one of the
most monumental pieces of
literature.
Walden Pond
http://writeideasmarketing.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/walden-pond.jpg
PRINCIPLES OF TRANSCENDENTALISM
What were the main ideas of transcendentalism?

Idealism

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Pantheism


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The loud Transcendental figures such as Whitman and Emerson
had religions, but did celebrate physical relationships. “Yet each
of these figures shared a fundamental belief in a higher reality of
ideas--in a metaphysical realm of spirit that is screened, and yet
symbolically revealed, by the material world.”
Also known as “Natural Supernaturalism,” and considered by
some as an American natural religion.
Similar to the Deist of the 18th century, the universe and
Enlightenment theories were extremely influential.
Optimism

Transcendentalist were overall optimists in that they knew the
hardships of the human experience, but were convinced of the
essential goodness and purposefulness of life.
TRANSCENDENTALISTS AND THE OUTSIDE
WORLD What did non transcendentalists think of the radicals?

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By many, transcendentalist figures were seen as
questionable and “conspirators.”
However, most people looked at transcendentalists as
doing something worth doing, but it just wasn’t for them,
much like we look at the hippies from the 1960s.
Edgar Allan Poe severely criticized the movement, calling
its members “frogpondians” and discredited their
writings as “mysticism for mysticism’s sake.” He wrote a
short story attacking the movement, referring to it as a
disease.
One of Nathanial Hawthorne’s more popular novels, The
Blithedale Romance, criticizes his short encounter with
Brook Farm, a failed Utopian Society.
UTOPIAN SOCIETIES
Brook Farm, New Harmony, Oneida, Shakers, and Mormons
What were the experimental societies developed by transcendentalists actually like?
Image: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
WHAT WERE UTOPIAN SOCIETIES?

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The western idea of
utopian societies
originated from ancient
times– such as in the
Garden of Eden and the
Golden Age of Greek
mythology.
The word “Utopia”
originated from a 16th
century writer who
introduced the word as a
fictional paradisal island
in the Atlantic ocean.

Deism, the second Great
Awakening, and
Enlightenment
philosophies prepared the
western world for
Transcendentalist thought.
BROOK FARM
What happened to the original experiment?
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
 Organized by George Ripley
 Many famous names held shares in Brook Farm; e.g. Nathaniel
Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Margaret Fuller.
 The community provided all necessities and education for its
members.
 A fire that burned down a
brand new building, financial
trouble, and a suit by Nathanial
Hawthorne to regain his
investment in the site led to its
end in 1847.
 Fueled Hawthorne’s novel
The Blithedale Romance. http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Brook-Farm-engraving.jpg

ONEIDA COMMUNITY
What was life like in the Oneida Community?

John Humphrey Noyes

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Born in Brattleboro, Vermont
in 1811
Joined Andover Theological
Seminary in November of
1831
Became involved in the
nascent abolitionist
movement
Founded the New Haven AntiSlavery society and New
Onedia Community Mansion House, Madison County, New
Haven free church where he Yorkhttp://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/amana/buildings/Oneida.jpg
preached his radical beliefs.
Great emphasis on perfection
being attainable in this life.
ONEIDA MEMBERS

His followers;

 Became known as Perfectionists.
 Practiced “complex marriage” and
considered themselves married to

the group, not one partner.
 Practiced “bible communism”
 Members were not accepted by

the community of Putney, New
York, so the group moved to
Madison in 1847
 Whole community lived together in
one house in the 1850s
 Ate communal meals, worked
together to raise and educate
children, and collaborated to
achieve manufacturing success.
 At it’s height 270 members lived
together in the house.
FALL
In 1847 a meeting of ministers was
held in Syracuse where the
community was condemned.
Mede members uneasy, and Noyes
fled to Canada on June 29, 1879
The community was officially ended i
January 1881 when reconstructed as
a Joint Stock Company.
SHAKERS
What was life like for the Shakers?
formally known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming

Beliefs;
 Communal
Living
 Productive labor
 Celibacy
 Abstaining
from marriage and sexual
relationships for religious reasons.
 Pacifism
 The
belief that violence, including war, is
unjustifiable under any circumstances, and
that all disputes should be settled by
peaceful means.
 Equality
of sexes
MEMBERS


6000 members before the
civil war
Successful in making items
for the outside commercial
world

Moved focus from
agriculture to handicrafts
e.g Furniture
 Became known as “Shaker
Style”

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Had two main communities
Began in 1780s, but
peaked from 1830-1860
Lived in same sex housing
Worked in it’s garden-seed
industry
THE SHAKER COMMUNITY
The inside makeup of a Utopian Society

Community had 15
buildings:
 Hancock
Shaker Village
 Sabbathday Lake Shaker
 The Great Stone
Village
Dwelling
 The Stone Mille Building
 Last remaining community
The West Meadow Barn
 Laundry and Dairy
 The East Brethren’s
Shop
 Mary Keane Chapel
 Ministry House
 West Brethren’s House

http://www.shakermuseum.org/shakervillage.htm
“Surely the Lord God will
do nothing, but he
revealed his secret unto
his servants the
prophets.” Amos 3:7,
Book of Mormon

Held the common Christian
ideas until the early 1800s,
when they believed Joseph
Smith was a prophet.
Joseph Smith was considered a
prophet similar to Moses or
Abraham. God had always sent
messengers to tech His plan.
 The Mormons believed God
gave Joseph Smith permission
to baptize and teach others the
steps they needed to take in
order to return to live with God.

How did the modern-day religion begin?
MORMONS
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BOOK OF MORMON
What does the Mormon text say about them?



Considered a continuation
of the Bible
The book of Mormon
contains the history and
God’s word between
600BC and 400 AD.
Compiled by a man
named Mormon onto
golden plates.
The book of Mormon answers
‘questions of the soul’
1. “Is there really a God?”
2. “Did I exist before I was
born?”
3. “What happens after I die?”
4. “Does my life have a
purpose?”
 Divided into books like the
bible

“'Mormonism' has made me all I am;
and the grace, the power, and the
wisdom of God will make me all that
I ever will be, either in time or in
eternity.”
BRIGHAM YOUNG
Who were the major players?

Second President of the
Mormon church
 Born
June 1st 1801
 Died August 29th 1877
 Years as President 18471877

Brigham Young University
 Multiple
Universities
founded and directed by
the church
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LATTER DAY SAINTS
Where is it now?


A branch of Mormon faith
Belief statement

“We are all spiritual children
of a loving Heavenly Father
who sent us to this earth to
learn and grow in a mortal
state. As Mormons, we are
followers of Jesus Christ. We
live our lives to serve Him
and teach of His eternal plan
for each of us.”
FIN
WORKS CITED
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http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/amana/utopia.htm 11-10-10
New Oxford American Dictionary
http://www.shakermuseum.org/history.htm 11-10-10
http://www.mormon.org/faith?gclid=CKrw_ujNmaUCFYdc2goddgoZG
w 11-10-10
http://lds.org/churchhistory/presidents/controllers/potcController.js
p?leader=2&topic=facts 11-10-10
http://www.byu.edu/webapp/home/index.jsp 11-10-10
What Hath God Wrought
http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/awtech/amertran.html 11-1010
http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/poebio.html 11-10-10
Norton Anthology of American Literature Vol. 2
http://www.toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Brook-Farmengraving.jpg
http://www.ushistory.org/us/26b.asp 11-8-10
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http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/maxkade/newharmony/home.
html 11-8-10
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/ideas/de
finitionbickman.html 11-8-10
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/philterm.htm 11-8-10
Brands Textbook