Shakers - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends

Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

. Founded upon the teachings of Ann Lee

Ann Lee

Mother Ann Lee was the leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, or Shakers....

, Shakers today are mostly known for their cultural contributions (especially style of music and furniture).

However, the Shakers' enduring legacy includes their model of equality of the sexes (or gender equality

Gender equality

Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...

), which they institutionalized in their society in the 1780s.

Origins

The Shakers were one of several religious groups that formed in eighteenth-century England. New communities of “charismatic” Christians

Charismatic Christianity

Charismatic Christianity is a Christian doctrine that maintains that modern-day believers experience miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and other spiritual gifts as described in of the Bible...

also took shape during this time. One of the most important of these new movements was the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, or the Shakers. While their monastic, communitarian life has been studied extensively, little attention has been given to Shaker preaching, particularly in the early days of the order. The first members of the group were known as “Shaking Quakers” because of the ecstatic nature of their worship services. Begun in 1747, the members looked to women for leadership. Jane Wardley and Ann Lee

Ann Lee

Mother Ann Lee was the leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, or Shakers....

were the most important. Jane Wardley was an articulate preacher who urged her followers to:
Ann Lee

Ann Lee

Mother Ann Lee was the leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, or Shakers....

joined them by 1758 and soon assumed leadership of the small community. The loss of four children in infancy created great trauma for “Mother Ann,” as her followers later called her. She claimed numerous revelations regarding the fall of Adam

Adam

Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...

and Eve

Eve

Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...

and its relationship to sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...

. She had become the “Mother of the new creation,” who called her followers to confess their sins, give up all their worldly goods, and take up the cross of celibacy. Her small community was soon known for its enthusiastic worship given to “singing and dancing, shaking and shouting, speaking with new tongues and prophesying, with all those various gifts of the Holy Ghost known in the primitive church.” The Shakers, as they were called, saw themselves as the avant garde of the kingdom of God, preparing the way for the new era when God’s will was done on earth. In the kingdom, as in the Shaker fellowship, there was “neither marrying nor giving in marriage.” Celibacy was a preparation for the kingdom.
By 1774, Ann Lee and some eight of her followers had emigrated to America, settling in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. There they preached their doctrines and won a surprising following. Ann herself was a powerful preacher and charismatic personality, travelling around the colonies, particularly in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, preaching her gospel views. When confronted about a female’s right to preach, she responded that “all the children, both male and female, must be subject to their parents; and the woman, being second, must be subject to her husband, who is the first; but when the man is gone, the right of government belongs to the woman: So is the family of Christ.”

As their communities grew, women and men shared leadership of the Shaker communities. Women preached and received revelations as the Spirit fell upon them. Thriving on the religious enthusiasm of the first and second Great Awakenings

Great Awakening

The term Great Awakening is used to refer to a period of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century...

, the Shakers declared their messianic, communitarian message with significant response. One early convert observed: “The wisdom of their instructions, the purity of their doctrine, their Christ-like deportment, and the simplicity of their manners, all appeared truly apostolical.” The Shakers represent a small but important Utopian response to the gospel. Preaching in their communities knew no boundaries of gender, social class, or education.

The Shakers built more than twenty settlements that attracted at least 20,000 converts over the next century. Strict believers in celibacy

Celibacy

Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...

, Shakers acquired their members through conversion, indenturing children, and adoption of orphans. Some children, such as Isaac Newton Youngs, came to the Shakers when their parents joined, then grew up to become faithful members as adults.

Many, however, did not remain Shakers. Turnover was high; the group reached maximum size of about 6,000 full members in 1840, but as of December 2009 had only three members left. Only a few of the original Shaker buildings are still in use today.

The Shakers of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing should not be confused with the Indian Shakers of the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

of North America.

Note

The Shaker community north of Albany was first called "Niskayuna." Later the town they were in was officially named Watervliet

Watervliet (town), New York

For the Shaker village, see Watervliet Shaker Historic District.The town of Watervliet was a town that at its height encompassed most of present-day Albany County and the majority of the current town of Niskayuna in neighboring Schenectady County, in the state of New York, United States...

. That part of the town of Watervliet is now in the town of Colonie (since 1895), and the name Watervliet is now limited only to the city of Watervliet

Watervliet, New York

Watervliet is a city in Albany County in the US state of New York. The population was 10,254 as of the 2010 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town of Colonie. The city is also known as "the Arsenal City".- History...

(1896). In addition, Niskayuna is now the name of a town to the northwest. This has led to some confusion, because many historical accounts refer to them as the Niskayuna Shakers, while others refer to them as Watervliet Shakers. The Watervliet Shaker Historic District

Watervliet Shaker Historic District

Watervliet Shaker Historic District, in Colonie, New York, is the site of the first Shaker community. It was established in 1776. The primary Shaker community, the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, was started a bit later...

is where Mother Ann Lee was buried.

Early chronology

In 1774, Shakers emigrated from England to America and settled in New York.

In 1779, New Light Baptists held a spiritualistic

Spiritualism

Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...

revival in New Lebanon

New Lebanon, New York

New Lebanon is a town in Columbia County, New York, U.S., southeast of Albany. In 1910, 1,378 people lived in New Lebanon, New York. The population was 2,454 at the 2000 census.The town of New Lebanon is in the northeast part of Columbia County...

. They held daily meetings that included extraordinary spiritual phenomena, speaking in tongues, and visions. Their religious fervor died down over the winter, but when they heard of Ann Lee's preaching in May 1780, many of those New Lights traveled to Niskayuna, some forty miles away, to meet her.

In 1780, soon after the "Dark Day

New England's Dark Day

New England's Dark Day refers to an event that occurred on May 19, 1780, when an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada. The primary cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog, and cloud...

," Ann Lee opened her gospel to the public. Soon thereafter, she and several of her followers were arrested as British spies or sympathizers and jailed. The Shakers were, in fact, pacifists

Pacifism

Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...

during and after the American War of Independence.

From 1781 to 1783, Ann Lee and some of her followers traveled on an extended missionary tour of New England, gathering converts and establishing a network of followers. In several localities, mobs attacked them, and the Shakers were whipped, beaten, and assaulted.

In 1784, Ann Lee died at Watervliet, New York, perhaps due to the after-effects of the assaults during her missionary tour. One of the first Elders, James Whittaker, took over leadership of the society.

In 1787, James Whittaker died and Joseph Meacham became the first Elder. Meacham began "gathering into order," bringing scattered Believers together and organizing them into communal families.

In 1788, Joseph Meacham brought Lucy Wright into the Ministry to serve with him. Together they gathered Shakers "into order" in their own communities, established the administrative structure that would promote equality of the sexes, and began building the villages that would become the Shakers' most visible sign of success.

In 1790, Shaker enclaves were organized at Hancock, Massachusetts, and Enfield, Connecticut; in 1792, Canterbury, New Hampshire and Tyringham, Massachusetts followed suit; 1793, Alfred, Maine, Enfield, New Hampshire, Harvard and Shirley, Massachusetts; 1794, New Gloucester (Sabbathday Lake), Maine.

In 1796, Joseph Meacham died. Lucy Wright

Lucy Wright

Lucy Wright was the leader of the central ministry of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers or Shaking Quakers, from 1796 until 1821...

remained at the head of the Ministry until her death in 1821.

From 1802 to 1805, Lucy Wright sent Shaker missionaries to proselytize in Vermont, New York, Ohio, and Kentucky. As a result, Shakers established several new colonies (see below).

In 1810, the West Union community was organized at Busro, Indiana (but was abandoned in 1827). In 1821, soon after Lucy Wright died, the Shakers codified their rules for the first time as the Millennial Laws of 1821. In 1826, another Shaker group was organized at Groveland

Groveland, New York

Groveland is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 3,853 at the 2000 census.The Town of Groveland is centrally located in the county, south of Geneseo.- History :...

, Sodus Bay, New York. The Sodus Bay Shaker Tract

Alasa Farms

Alasa Farms, also known as the Sodus Bay Shaker Tract and Sodus Bay Phalanx, is a historic farm complex located near Alton in Wayne County, New York. The farm complex was originally built and occupied by the Sodus Bay Shakers, an official branch of the United Society of Believers in Christ's...

was established in 1833 and existed until 1844. In 1837, the Shaker Era of Manifestations

Era of Manifestations

The Shakers came under a spiritual revival called the Era of Manifestations, which lasted from 1837 to 1853. It was marked by visions and ecstatic experiences among the followers....

began at Watervliet, New York (see below).

After 1850 the Shakers lost their momentum and added only occasional new members -- usually orphans left in their care. In 1871, they started publishing a monthly magazine called The Shaker (later, Shaker and Shakeress, and Shaker Manifesto.) In 1888, the Shakers amended their Millennial Laws for the fourth time; this version remains in effect.

From 1889 to 1932, dwindling membership led to the closing of eleven Shaker villages and consolidation of members at the remaining sites. In 1905, the Mount Lebanon Shakers hosted a Peace Convention.

Organization

A Shaker village was divided into groups or "families." The leading group in each village was the Church Family, and it was surrounded by satellite families that were often named for points on the compass rose

Compass rose

A compass rose, sometimes called a windrose, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions — North, East, South and West - and their intermediate points. It is also the term for the graduated markings found on the traditional...

. Each village was governed by a leadership team consisting of two men (Elders) and two women (Eldresses). Shakers lived together as brothers and sisters. Each house was divided so that men and women did most things separately. They used different staircases and doors. They sat on opposite sides of the room in worship, at meals, and in "union meetings" held to provide supervised socialization between the sexes. However, the daily business of a Shaker village required the brethren and sisters to interact. Though there was a division of labor between men and women, they also cooperated in carrying out many tasks, such as harvesting apples, food production, laundry, and gathering firewood.

Communalism under Joseph Meacham

After Ann Lee and James Whittaker

James Whittaker

James Whittaker was the second leader of the Shakers. He became leader following the death of Mother Ann Lee.-References:...

died, Joseph Meacham (1742–1796) became the leader of the Shakers in 1787. He had been a New Light Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

minister in Enfield, Connecticut

Enfield, Connecticut

Enfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 45,212 at the 2000 census. It sits on the border with Longmeadow, Massachusetts and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the...

, and was reputed to have, second only to Mother Ann, the spiritual gift of revelation.

Joseph Meacham brought Lucy Wright

Lucy Wright

Lucy Wright was the leader of the central ministry of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers or Shaking Quakers, from 1796 until 1821...

(1760–1821) into the Ministry to serve with him and together they developed the Shaker form of communalism

Communalism

Communalism is a term with three distinct meanings according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary'.'These include "a theory of government or a system of government in which independent communes participate in a federation". "the principles and practice of communal ownership"...

(religious communism

Religious communism

Religious communism is a form of communism centered on religious principles. The term usually refers to a number of egalitarian and utopian religious societies practicing the voluntary dissolution of private property, so that society's benefits are distributed according to a person's needs, and...

). By 1793 property had been made a "consecrated whole" in each Shaker community.

Shakers developed written covenants in the 1790. Those who signed the covenant had to confess their sins, consecrate their property and their labor to the society, and live celibate. If they were married before joining the society, their marriages essentially ended when they joined. A few less-committed Believers lived in "noncommunal orders" as Shaker sympathizers who preferred to remain with their families. The Shakers never forbade marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

for such individuals, but considered it less perfect than the celibate state.

New Shaker communities formed in the 1780s and 1790s included Hancock and West Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...

; Harvard, Massachusetts

Harvard, Massachusetts

Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian Transcendentalist center Fruitlands...

; East Canterbury, New Hampshire

Canterbury, New Hampshire

Canterbury is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,352 at the 2010 census. Canterbury is home to Ayers State Forest and Shaker State Forest. On the last Saturday in July, the town hosts the annual .- History :...

(or Shaker Village

Canterbury shaker village

Canterbury Shaker Village, is a historic site and museum in Canterbury, New Hampshire. It was one of a number of Shaker communities founded in the 19th century....

); Shirley, Massachusetts

Shirley, Massachusetts

-Demographics:This article describes the town of Shirley as a whole. Additional demographic detail is available which describes only the central settlement or village within the town, although that detail is included in the aggregate values reported here...

; Enfield, Connecticut

Enfield, Connecticut

(then also known as Shaker Station); Enfield, New Hampshire

Enfield, New Hampshire

Enfield is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,582 at the 2010 census. The town includes the villages of Enfield, Enfield Center, Upper Shaker Village, Lower Shaker Village, Lockehaven, and Montcalm....

; ("Chosen Vale"), at Tyringham, Massachusetts

Tyringham, Massachusetts

Tyringham is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 327 at the 2010 census.- History :...

; New Gloucester, Maine

New Gloucester, Maine

New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker Village in the U.S...

(since 1890: "Sabbathday Lake"); and Alfred, Maine

Alfred, Maine

Alfred is a town in York County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,497. Alfred is the county seat of York County and home to part of the Massabesic Experimental Forest...

, where, more than anywhere else among the Shakers, spiritualistic healing of the sick was practiced.

Western expansion of Shakerism under Lucy Wright's administration

After Joseph Meacham died, Lucy Wright

Lucy Wright

Lucy Wright was the leader of the central ministry of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, also known as the Shakers or Shaking Quakers, from 1796 until 1821...

continued Ann Lee's missionary tradition. Shaker missionaries proselytized at revivals, not only in New England and New York, but also farther west. Missionaries such as Issachar Bates

Issachar Bates

Issachar Bates was the most prominent composer of music for the Shakers, best known for "Come Life, Shaker Life", which he wrote in 1835....

and Benjamin Seth Youngs (older brother of Isaac Newton Youngs) gathered hundreds of proselytes into the faith.

Shaker missionaries entered Kentucky and Ohio after the Cane Ridge, Kentucky

Cane Ridge, Kentucky

Cane Ridge, Kentucky, USA was the site, in 1801, of a large camp meeting that drew thousands of people and had a lasting influence as one of the landmark events of the Second Great Awakening. Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians all participated, and many of the "spiritual exercises", such as...

revival of 1800–1803. From 1805 to 1807, they founded Shaker societies at Unio Village, Ohio; South Union, Logan County, Kentucky

Logan County, Kentucky

Logan County is a county located in the southwest area of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 26,573. Its county seat is Russellville...

; and Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, USA, is the site of a Shaker religious community that was active from 1805 to 1910. Following a preservationist effort that began in 1961, the site, now a National Historic Landmark, has become a popular tourist destination...

(in Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 20,817. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county is named for General Hugh Mercer...

). In 1824, the Whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

Shaker settlement was established in southwestern Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The westernmost Shaker community was located at West Union

West Union (Busro), Indiana

West Union is an abandoned Shaker community in Busseron Township, northwestern Knox County, Indiana, about fifteen miles north of Vincennes. The settlement was inhabited by the Shakers from 1811 to 1827...

(called Busro because it was on Busseron Creek) on the Wabash River a few miles north of Vincennes in Knox County, Indiana

Knox County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 39,256 people, 15,552 households, and 10,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 17,305 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...

Communal spiritual family

Shakers did not practice procreation themselves. Children were added to their communities through indenture, adoption, or conversion. Occasionally a foundling was anonymously left on a Shaker doorstep. They welcomed all, often taking in orphans and the homeless. For children, Shaker life was structured, safe, and predictable, with no shortage of adults who cared about their young charges.

When Shaker youngsters, girls and boys, reached the age of twenty-one, they were free to leave or to remain with the Shakers. Unwilling to remain celibate, many chose to leave; today there are thousands of descendants of Shaker-raised seceders.

Shakers lived in "families," each family sharing a large house with separate entrances for women and men. A cluster of families constituted a Shaker village. Every family was designed to be self-supporting with its own farm and businesses, but in times of hardship, other Shaker villages pitched in to help the afflicted.

Shaker religion valued women and men equally in religious leadership. The church was hierarchical, and at each level women and men shared authority. This was reflective of the Shaker belief that God was both female and male. They believed men and women were equal in the sight of God, and should be treated equally on earth, too. Thus two Elders and two Eldresses formed the Ministry at the top of the administrative structure. Two lower-ranking Elders and two Eldresses led each family, women overseeing women and men overseeing men.

In their temporal labor, Shakers followed traditional gender work-related roles. Their homes were segregated by sex, as were women and men’s work areas. Women worked indoors spinning, weaving, cooking, sewing, cleaning, washing, and making or packaging goods for sale. In good weather, groups of Shaker women were outdoors, gardening and gathering wild herbs for sale or home consumption. Men worked in the fields doing farm work and in their shops at crafts and trades. Shakers thus simultaneously valued women’s status in society and realized the importance and difficulty of women's work, not following traditional prejudices that would consider women a "weaker sex" simply to elevate the male, as it was unnecessary in their egalitarian social structure to do so. This also allowed the continuation of church leadership when there was a shortage of men.

Shakers worshipped in meetinghouses painted white and unadorned; pulpits and decorations were eschewed as worldly things. In meeting, they marched, sang, danced, and sometimes turned, twitched, jerked, or shouted. The earliest Shaker worship services were unstructured, loud, chaotic and emotional. However, Shakers later developed precisely choreographed dances and orderly marches accompanied by symbolic gestures. Many outsiders disapproved of Shakers' mode of worship without understanding the symbolism of their movements or the content of their songs.

Revelations and visions

Ann Lee's followers testified that she had many "spiritual gifts," including visions, prophecy, healing hands, and "the power of God" in her touch. In addition, the first American Shakers appreciated the revival tradition, and brought those practices into Shaker worship.

Moreover, Shakers believed in ongoing revelation through visions and spiritual inspiration. An intense spirituality developed under this unique arrangement, with periodic revivals of enthusiastic worship which revitalized their meetings.

A time known as the 'Era of Manifestations' began at Watervliet in 1837 and soon spread throughout Shaker society. Children told of visits to cities in the spirit realm and brought messages from Mother Ann to the community. Members spoke in tongues. In 1841, a spiritual message was perceived to inaugurate the "sweeping gift," or spiritual cleansing of the village. Other messages led the Shaker Ministry to outlaw the use of pork, tea, and coffee, causing dissension rather than the union Shakers valued.

In 1842, due to these unprecedented spiritual messages being received, the Ministry decided to bar the public from Shaker worship. The same year, Shakers set aside sacred places in each community, with names like Holy Mount and Mount Sinai, for "mountain meetings" or "mountain feasts" held spring and fall. Other revelations resulted in publishing visionary Philemon Stewart's A Holy, Sacred and Divine Roll and Book.

Finally the revival ran its course, and in 1847, the spirits, after warning them, left the Believers. However, "spirit gifts" did not end. The next phase of inspiration included the "gift drawings" by Hannah Cahoon, Polly Reed, and other Shaker sisters. A number of those drawings remain as important artifacts of Shaker folk art.

Shaker theology is based on the idea of the dualism of God as male and female: "So God created him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27). This passage was interpreted as showing the dual nature of the Creator.

Shakers believed that Jesus, born of a woman, the son of a Jewish carpenter, was the male

Male

Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...

manifestation of Christ and the first Christian Church; and that Mother Ann, daughter of an English blacksmith, was the female manifestation of Christ and the second Christian Church (which the Shakers believed themselves to be). She was seen as the Bride made ready for the Bridegroom, and in her, the promises of the Second Coming

Second Coming

In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

were fulfilled. Adam's sin was understood as sexual impurity; therefore, marriage was done away with in the body of the Believers in the Second Appearance, which was patterned after the Kingdom of God, in which there would be no marriage or giving in marriage. The four highest Shaker virtues were virgin purity; Christian communism

Christian communism

Christian communism is a form of religious communism based on Christianity. It is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of Jesus Christ compel Christians to support communism as the ideal social system...

; confession

Confession

This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

of sin, without which one could not become a Believer; and separation from the world.

Culture of work

The communality of the Believers was an economic success, and their cleanliness, honesty and frugality received the highest praise. All Shaker villages ran farms, using the latest scientific methods in agriculture. They raised most of their own food, so farming, and preserving the produce required to feed them through the winter, had to be priorities. Their livestock was fat and healthy, and their barns were commended for convenience and efficiency.

When not doing farm work, Shaker brethren pursued a variety of trades and hand crafts, many documented by Isaac N. Youngs. When not doing housework, Shaker sisters did likewise, spinning, weaving, sewing, and making sale goods.

Shakers ran a variety of businesses to support their communities. Many Shaker villages had their own tanneries, sold baskets, brushes, bonnets, brooms, fancy goods, and homespun fabric that was known for high quality, but were more famous for their medicinal herbs, garden seeds, apple-sauce, and knitted garments (Canterbury).

The Shaker goal in their temporal labor was perfection. Ann Lee's followers preserved her admonitions about work:

"Good spirits will not live where there is dirt."

"Do your work as though you had a thousand years to live and as if you were to die tomorrow."

"Put your hands to work, and your heart to God."

Mother Ann also cautioned them against getting into debt.

Shaker craftsmen were known for a style of Shaker furniture

Shaker furniture

Shaker furniture is a distinctive style of furniture developed by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing , a religious sect founded by Jane and James Wardley. They came to America from Manchester, England in 1774 led by Mother Ann Lee. Shaker furniture is widely admired for...

that was plain in style, durable, and functional. Shaker chair

Chair

A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...

s were usually mass-produced because a great number of them were needed to seat all the Shakers in a community.

Around the time of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, the Shakers at Mount Lebanon, New York, increased their production and marketing of Shaker chairs. They were so successful that several furniture companies produced their own versions of "Shaker" chairs. Because of the quality of their craftsmanship, original Shaker furniture

Furniture

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...

is costly.

The Shakers believed in the value of hard work and kept comfortably busy. Mother Ann said, "Labor to make the way of God your own; let it be your inheritance

Inheritance

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...

, your treasure

Treasure

Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...

, your occupation, your daily calling."

Culture and artifacts

Shaker beliefs have generated a unique culture and ways of life that have enriched the cultural history of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

as well as subsequently inspiring many modern fields.

The Shakers' dedication to hard work and perfection has resulted in a unique range of architecture, furniture and handicraft styles. They designed their furniture with care, believing that making something well was in itself, "an act of prayer." Before the late nineteenth century, they rarely fashioned items with elaborate details or extra decoration, but only made things for their intended uses. The ladder-back chair was a popular piece of furniture. Shaker craftsmen made most things out of pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

or other inexpensive wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

s and hence their furniture was light in color and weight.

Early nineteenth-century Shaker interiors are characterized by an austerity and simplicity. For example, they had a "peg rail," a continuous wooden device like a pelmet

Pelmet

A pelmet is a framework placed above a window, used to conceal curtain fixtures. These can be used decoratively and also help insulate the window by preventing convection currents. It is similar in appearance to a valance, which performs the same function but is made of fabric...

with hooks running all along it near the lintel level. They used the pegs to hang up clothes, hats, and very light furniture pieces such as chairs when not in use. The simple architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

of their homes, meeting houses, and barns have had a lasting influence on American architecture and design. There is a collection of furniture and utensils at Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village is a National Historic Landmark District in Hancock, Massachusetts that was established by Shakers in 1791. It was the third of nineteen major Shaker villages established between 1783 and 1836 in New York, New England, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana under the leadership of Joseph...

outside of Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

that is famous for its elegance and practicality.

At the end of the nineteenth-century, however, Shakers adopted some aspects of Victorian decor, such as ornate carved furniture, patterned linoleum, and cabbage-rose wallpaper. Examples are on display in the Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village

Trustees' Office, a formerly spare, plain building "improved" with ornate additions such as fish-scale siding, bay windows, porches, and a tower.

Shakers won respect and admiration for their productive farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

s and orderly communities. Their industry brought about many invention

Invention

An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...

s like Babbitt metal

Babbitt metal

Babbitt, also called Babbitt metal or bearing metal, is any of several alloys used for the bearing surface in a plain bearing.The original Babbitt metal was invented in 1839 by Isaac Babbitt in Taunton, Massachusetts, USA. Other formulations were later developed...

, the rotary harrow, the circular saw

Circular saw

The circular saw is a machine using a toothed metal cutting disc or blade. The term is also loosely used for the blade itself. The blade is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted. It can also be used to make narrow slots...

, the clothespin, the Shaker peg, the flat broom

Broom

A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....

, the wheel-driven washing machine

Washing machine

A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...

, a machine for setting teeth in textile cards, a threshing machine, metal pens, a new type of fire engine, a machine for matching boards, numerous innovations in waterworks, planing machinery, a hernia truss, silk reeling machinery, small looms for weaving palm leaf, machines for processing broom corn, ball-and-socket tilters for chair legs, and a number of other useful inventions.

Shakers were the first large producers of medicinal herbs in the United States, and pioneers in the sale of seeds in paper packets. Brethren grew the crops, but sisters picked, sorted, and packaged their products for sale, so those industries were built on a foundation of women's labor in the Shaker partnership between the sexes.

In the nineteenth century, hundreds of tourists visited Shaker villages, and many of them later wrote about their experiences there. Outsiders were invariably impressed by Shaker cleanliness, prosperity, and agriculture. Shaker food was delicious, and they were hospitable to outsiders. Shakers had a reputation for honesty and their products were the best of their kind.

By the middle of the 20th century, as the Shaker communities themselves were disappearing, some American collectors whose visual tastes were formed by the stark aspects of the modernist movement found themselves drawn to the spare artifacts of Shaker culture, in which "form follows function" was also clearly expressed. Kaare Klint, an architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

and famous furniture designer, used styles from Shaker furniture in his work.

Other artifacts of Shaker culture are their spirit drawings, dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

s, and song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s, which are important genres of Shaker folk art

Folk art

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....

. Doris Humphrey

Doris Humphrey

Doris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...

, an innovator in technique, choreography

Choreography

Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

, and theory of dance movement, made a full theatrical art with her dance entitled Dance of The Chosen, which depicted Shaker religious fervor.

Shaker music

The Shakers composed thousands of songs, and also created many dances; both were an important part of the Shaker worship services. In Shaker society, a spiritual "gift" could also be a musical revelation, and they considered it important to record musical inspirations as they occurred.

Scribes, many of whom had no formal musical training, used a form of music notation called the letteral system. This method used letters of the alphabet, often not positioned on a staff, along with a simple notation of conventional rhythmic values, and has a curious, and coincidental, similarity to some ancient Greek music notation.

Many of the lyrics to Shaker tunes consist of syllables and words from unknown tongues, the musical equivalent of glossolalia

Glossolalia

Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...

. It has been surmised that many of them were imitated from the sounds of Native American languages, as well as from the songs of African slaves, especially in the southernmost of the Shaker communities , but in fact the melodic material is derived from European scales and modes.

Most early Shaker music is monodic, that is to say, composed of a single melodic line with no harmonization. The tunes and scales recall the folksongs of the British Isles, but since the music was written down and carefully preserved, it is "art" music of a special kind rather than folklore. Many melodies are of extraordinary grace and beauty, and the Shaker song repertoire, though still relatively little known, is an important part of the American cultural heritage and of world religious music in general.

Shakers' earliest hymns were shared by word of mouth and letters circulated among their villages. Many Believers wrote out the lyrics in their own manuscript hymnals. In 1813, they published Millennial Praises, a hymnal containing only lyrics.

In the late 19th century, the Shakers published several hymnbooks with both lyrics and music in conventional four-part harmonies. These works are less strikingly original than the earlier, monodic repertoire.

The surviving Shakers sing songs drawn from both the earlier repertoire and the four part songbooks. They perform all of these unaccompanied, in single-line unison singing. The many recent, harmonized arrangements of older Shaker songs for choirs and instrumental groups mark a departure from traditional Shaker practice.

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...

's iconic 1944 ballet score "Appalachian Spring", written for Martha Graham

Martha Graham

Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...

, uses the now famous Shaker tune "Simple Gifts

Simple Gifts

"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett.It has endured many inaccurate descriptions. Though often classified as an anonymous Shaker hymn or as a work song, it is better classified as a dance song.-Lyrics:...

" as the basis of its finale. Given to Graham with the working title "Ballet for Martha," it was named by her for the scenario she had in mind, though Copland often said he was thinking of neither Appalachia nor Spring while he wrote it.

"Simple Gifts" was composed by Elder Joseph Brackett and originated in the Shaker community at Alfred, Maine

Alfred, Maine

in 1848. Many contemporary Christian denominations incorporate this tune into hymnal

Hymnal

Hymnal or hymnary or hymnbook is a collection of hymns, i.e. religious songs, usually in the form of a book. The earliest hand-written hymnals are known since Middle Ages in the context of European Christianity...

s, under various names, including "Lord of the Dance

Lord of the Dance (hymn)

Lord of the Dance is a hymn with words written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1967. He adapted the tune from the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts"...

," adapted in 1963 by English poet and songwriter Sydney Carter

Sydney Carter

Sydney Bertram Carter was an English poet, songwriter, folk musician, born in Camden Town, London. He is best known for the song "Lord of the Dance" , set to the tune of the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts", and the song "The Crow on the Cradle", adapted from an old folk song...

.

Some scholars, such as Daniel W. Patterson and Roger Lee Hall

Roger Lee Hall

Roger Lee Hall is an American composer and music preservationist.-Personal:Hall grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1960, where he was already involved with writing songs. He began his music career with piano lessons and as a songwriter during the 1960s...

, have compiled books of Shaker songs, and groups have been formed to sing the songs and perform the dances.

There are recordings available of Shaker songs, both documentation of singing by the Shakers themselves, as well as songs recorded by other groups (see external links). Two widely distributed commercial recordings by The Boston Camerata, "Simple Gifts" (1995) and "The Golden Harvest" (2000), were recorded at the Shaker community of Sabbathday Lake, Maine, with active cooperation from the surviving Shakers, whose singing can be heard at several points on both recordings.

The American rock band R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

included a song called "Fireplace" on its 1987 album "Document." The lyrics of the song ("Hang up your chairs to better sweep/Clear the floor to dance/ Shake the rug into the fireplace") are adapted from a speech by Mother Ann Lee.

In 2008, the rock band Weezer

Weezer

Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...

released its "Red Album" which includes a song entitled "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" with the subtitle "(Variations On a Shaker Hymn)" as it uses the melody of a Shaker song.

Other works inspired by Shaker culture

Shaker lifestyle and tradition is celebrated in Arlene Hutton's play As It Is in Heaven
As It Is In Heaven (play)
As It Is In Heaven is a play by actor/director Beth Lincks, under the pen name Arlene Hutton. It premiered at 78th Street Theater Lab, followed by a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and making its way to the Off-Broadway Arclight Theatre in New York City, New York, where it ran from...

, which is a re-creation of a decisive time in the history of the Shakers. The play is written by Arlene Hutton, the pen name of actor/director Beth Lincks. Born in Louisiana and raised in Florida, Lincks was inspired to write the play after visiting the Pleasant Hills Shaker village in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, a restored community that the Shakers occupied for more than a century, before abandoning it in 1927 because of the inability of the sect to attract new converts.

Novelist John Fowles

John Fowles

John Robert Fowles was an English novelist and essayist. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Fowles among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Birth and family:...

wrote in 1985 A Maggot

A Maggot

A Maggot is a novel by British author John Fowles. It is Fowles' sixth major novel, following The Collector, The Magus, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Daniel Martin, and Mantissa. Its title, as the author explains in the prologue, is taken from the archaic sense of the word that means "whim",...

, a fictitious postmodern historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

culminating in the birth of Ann Lee, and describing early Shakers in England.

In 2004 the Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen and Boston Camerata music director Joel Cohen created a live performance work with dance and music entitled "Borrowed Light." While all the music is Shaker song performed in a largely traditional manner, the dance intermingles only certain elements of Shaker practice and belief with Saarinen's original choreographic ideas, and with distinctive costumes and lighting. "Borrowed Light" has been given almost forty performances since 2004 in seven countries, most recently (early 2008) in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham and Tero Saarinen cited above, choreographers Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...

(“Sweet Fields,” 1996) and Martha Clarke

Martha Clarke

Martha Clarke is an American theater director and choreographer noted for her multidisciplinary approach to theatre, dance, and opera productions. She is the creator of plotless, dreamlike works that are perhaps described by the term "moving paintings. Her work frequently emphasizes striking...

(“Angel Reapers,” 2011) also set movement to Shaker hymns. Playwright Alfred Uhry

Alfred Uhry

Alfred Fox Uhry is an American playwright, screenwriter, and member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He is one of very few writers to receive an Academy Award, Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing....

collaborated with Martha Clarke on "Angel Reapers" and used Shaker texts as source material.

In 2009, Toronto-based, American-born poet Damian Rogers released her first volume of poetry, Paper Radio. The lifestyle and philosophy of the Shakers and their matriarch Ann Lee are recurring themes in her work.

Modern-day Shakers

Membership in the Shakers dwindled in the late 19th century for several reasons: people were attracted to cities and away from the farms; Shaker products could not compete with mass-produced products that became available at a much lower cost; and Shakers could not have children, so adoption was a major source of new members. This continued until orphanages were established and the states began to limit adoption by religious groups.

Some Shaker sites have become museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s, including Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village

in Hancock, Massachusetts; Enfield Shaker Museum

Enfield Shaker Museum

The Enfield Shaker Museum is a museum and historic site in Enfield, New Hampshire, USA. It is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the Shakers, a Protestant religious denomination, who lived on the site from 1793 to 1923. The museum features exhibitions, artifacts, eight Shaker...

in Enfield, New Hampshire; the North Family in New Lebanon, New York (Mount Lebanon Shaker Village

Mount Lebanon Shaker Village

The Mount Lebanon Shaker Village is a historic site associated with the Shakers, a Protestant religious denomination. Founded as a communal group in the 1780s, the Shakers located their central Ministry in New Lebanon, New York, USA, and built a village that eventually covered several thousand...

; photos at Mount Lebanon Shaker Society

Mount Lebanon Shaker Society

Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, also known as New Lebanon Shaker Society, was a communal settlement of Shakers in New Lebanon, New York. The early Shaker Ministry, including Joseph Meacham and Lucy Wright, the architects of Shakers' gender-balanced government, lived there.Isaac N. Youngs, the...

), Harvard, Massachusetts (Fruitlands

Fruitlands Museum

Fruitlands Museum is a cluster of small historic buildings in Harvard, Massachusetts on the former site of the unsuccessful utopian community Fruitlands...

); and the Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill, Kentucky

community in Kentucky. The Canterbury, New Hampshire

Canterbury, New Hampshire

, Shaker village was operating as a historic site even before its last member, Ethel Hudson, died in September 1992.

Believers have continually looked at the story of Ann Lee as a cornerstone of the theological architecture that has distinguished their church from other American religious groups. Shaker theology, its manifestation in material artifacts such as furniture and oval boxes, and the Ann Lee story draw the attention of outsiders either fascinated or repulsed by them.

Although there were six thousand believers at the peak of the Shaker movement, there were only twelve Shaker communities left by 1920. In the United States, there was one remaining active Shaker community, at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, which as of January 2011 has only three members: Sister June Carpenter, Brother Arnold Hadd, and Sister Frances Carr.

The Sabbathday Lake community still accepts new recruits, as it has since its founding. Shakers are no longer allowed to adopt orphans after new laws were passed in 1960 denying adoption to religious groups, but adults who wish to embrace Shaker life are welcome.

This community, founded in 1783, was one of the smaller Shaker groups during the sect's heyday. They farm and practice a variety of handicrafts; a Shaker Museum and Sunday services are open to visitors. Mother Ann Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August to commemorate the arrival of the English Shakers in America in 1774. The congregation sings and a Mother Ann cake is presented.

The daily schedule of a Shaker in Sabbathday Lake Village is as follows:

The day begins for many at 7:30 a.m.; the Great Bell on Dwelling House rings, calling everyone to breakfast.
At 8:00 a.m. morning prayers start. Two Psalms are read, then passages are read from elsewhere in the Bible. Following this is communal prayer and silent prayer, concluded with the singing of a Shaker hymn.
Work
Manual labour
Manual labour , manual or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals...

for the Shakers begins at 8:30.
Work stops at 11:30 for midday prayers.
Lunch begins at 12:00. This is the main meal for the Shakers.
Work continues at 1:00 p.m.
At 6:00 it is dinner time, the last meal of the day.
On Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m. they hold a prayer meeting which is followed by a Shaker Studies class.

Shaker Trust

To preserve their legacy as well as their idyllic lakeside property at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, Maine, the Shakers announced in October 2005 that they had entered into a trust with the state of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

and several conservation groups. Under the agreement, the Shakers will sell conservation easements to the trust, allowing the village to ward off development and continue operating as long as there are Shakers to live there.

The agreement does not specify whether the property will become a park, museum, or other public space should the Shakers die out. That decision would be made by a nonprofit corporation—the United Society of Shakers, Sabbathday Lake Inc.—whose board members are largely non-Shakers. The $3.7 million conservation plan relies on grants, donations, and public funds.

External links

Major Shaker sites

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origins

Note

Early chronology

Organization

Communalism under Joseph Meacham

Western expansion of Shakerism under Lucy Wright's administration

Communal spiritual family

Revelations and visions

Culture of work

Culture and artifacts

Shaker music

Other works inspired by Shaker culture

Modern-day Shakers

Shaker Trust

See also

Further reading

External links

Major Shaker sites