America Past; D20; Utopias and Reforms

[3 beeps] [wooshing sound] [music] Continuing threads in American history is that of reform. Periodically, we seem to get a conscience. Decide that things aren't the way they ought to be that we ought to change them.

One of the attempts to do that takes place here. This is New Harmony Indiana it's going to be the center of two, well known Utopian experiments. We'll talk about just what those are in a few minutes. For this reforming thread, really, America started that way. And the Puritans came over here. They were coming over to make a better world. They said they were going to organize a city on a Hill; that they were not as other men. (bird noises in background) You get the period in the early 1900's (background crowd noise continues) many reforms, many changes. The 1960s Americans seem to worry about things not being quite right. (background chanting continues) You see, when you try to change things, people accuse you of being un-American, or attacking the country. (chanting continues) Most of these people were not attacking anything. They were trying to make it better; they were trying to live up to that image of a city on a Hill.

Now the period between 1830 and 1860 was one of those periods. Jackson had been in office. He was concerned with the common man politically, and economically. Many people were concerned about him socially. So you get this reforming period. Now, not everybody believes you can do any good. You see when you get to reformers you really have those who want to go out and help other people and go right out there in the thick of it. Then there's those who decide that's hopeless. What we ought to do is organize some sort of an ideal society of our own. We will set an example to those other people, and we will help ourselves. The rest the world is beyond hope. But we can lead the kind of life that we think should be led. Which way is better? You know, to go out, work with others, or to set the example by forming your perfect society. Isn't that what monks in the Middle Ages did? They said,"Let me out of this mess of barbarians,

and the fall of the Roman Empire and all that. I'll go to the monastery and contemplate and lead a quiet life of my own". Others said, "No, you ought to be out there with the peasants, working with them." Well, if you're interested in forming this sort of perfect community of your own, you're interested in what's called a Utopia. That's a word I want you to know. A Utopia is a perfect community, an ideal society. It's Heaven on Earth, a Utopia. (music starts) The Greek philosopher, Plato, had written a book called The Republic, in which he set up what he considers an ideal society, the first Utopia. That Idea continues to appeal to people. To this day, you have people going off and living in communes, seeking some way to escape things that they find unacceptable in the modern world. Well, in the first half of the 19th century, there were hundreds of these in the United States.

Maybe 100,000 people lived in them. All sorts of different types. Some economic, "We're going to share the wealth," some religious, usually following some strong central leader. One of the religious groups was a group in New England called the Millerites. They believed the world was going to end, in 1843. How many times in history has the world ended - two or three hundred times? Well, it was going to end in 1843. It didn't. And these people went out, and they sat around on the roofs of their barns waiting to ascend to heaven. They actually became kind of tourist attractions, sitting there, knitting their ascension robes. When the Earth didn't end, (sounds of farm equipment) they went back to plowing the fields. During the first half of the 19th century, America was beginning to industrialize. (equipment noises)

The emphasis was on making money, gaining wealth. And there were plenty of people who just didn't think that that was where the emphasis on life ought to be, it ought to be on something more spiritual, perhaps. So they were willing to go off and join a Utopian society. (background noises) Emerson said there wasn't a reading man, that didn't have some Utopian scheme in his pocket. Now, it varied a lot, as to how these were organized, you can't really generalize, except maybe in two or three ways. Most of them had one strong central leader, the charismatic type. The Shakers had that, the Oneida Community, New Harmony, someone who attracted people to the community. Of course when that leader died, it meant the community ran the risk of dying along with him. Most of them had some economic scheme that they wanted to put into practice, usually socialistic. Many of them had a religious basis,

often believing that the Second Coming of Christ was close at hand. That would be true here at New Harmony, as were the Shakers, and the Oneida community. Well, how about New Harmony? What was it like? Well, the first society here was started by a group of Lutherans from Germany, under the leadership of George Rapp. George Rapp, with his ruddy cheeks and his beard, and his long old fashioned coat, his knobby cane. He thought that with the right combination of work and worship, he could organize a garden of Eden here on the banks of the Wabash. It was a celibate society. You were not supposed to get married. The world was going to end very soon. There was no need to propagate the race. Besides, not marrying seemed to be more Christ-like. It certainly was a prosperous community.

Well- tended fields, herds of cattle, horses, their brewery, their steam engines. They were hard workers. Many of their buildings are still around here. Their first log cabins. Some of their later homes, their brick dormitory. Their famous church is gone; its door is now a door in the local school (guitar music plays). But their well-known maze is still here. It was a form of entertainment, but it wasn't just for children. If you wander through here, there's lots of wrong turnings. There's one back there. It doesn't go any place. These represent the wrong turnings that you could take in life. Your goal in life is to get through it, without doing what you should not do. If you

manage out of this maze, you'll eventually reach the center, and in the center is a little house. And to them, that represented heaven, or harmony, or perfection, or whatever your goal was. (guitar music) The point is to reach it through this maze without being led astray. In spite of the fact that the Harmonists were very prosperous, Rapp decided in 1825 to sell out, and move back to Pennsylvania, where he started another community called Economy. He sold out to a British industrialist philanthropist named Robert Owen. What had been boarding houses for the Harmonists, he put to use as schools, other purposes by Owen. Now Owen called the place New Harmony. The historian Thomas Bailey says that it should have been called New Discord. You see, Owen was a dreamer. He was an

idealist. He was not good at day by day management and organizing. In two years, they went through seven constitutions. At one time, there were as many as six groups living here in the town, in what would have to be described as utter confusion. But, they were famous for certain things: their schools. They put a great emphasis on education. (Speaker 2) Robert Owen's basic premise was that a man's environment helps to create his his character. And so he wanted to set up a society based on educational progress, scientific technology, and human rights (Speaker 2 ends). Many of Owen's ideas were considered odd by the people who lived around New Harmony. He maintained that religion was a monstrous evil, that marriage was outdated. He didn't believe in private property. We all own everything collectively, we all share the work, and we all share the profits. The community lasted about three years.

That wasn't all that unusual for utopias. Most of them were very short- lived. But a few of them, albeit in abbreviated form, still exist today. One such group is the Shakers in Maine. (Group singing "I'm glad I am a Shaker") (Singing continues). Many Utopias failed because the members were unwilling to work hard enough. But the Shakers talked about dedicating their hands to work, and their hearts to God. They were industrious; they still are. At Sabbathday Lake in Maine, they still package and sell their herbs for teas, and for seasoning. They were the first people to take garden seeds, put them in a little envelope and sell them that way. They had a lumber business. They manufactured

spinning wheels. They were inventive. They didn't try to cling to the past. They favored labor saving devices that would free them for contemplation. (Speaker 3) If people do know about the Shakers, what they know about is the legacy that we have given to the world for inventiveness. Over 150 individual items have been known to have been invented or vastly improved upon by believers (Speaker 3 ends). They invented a more efficient flat bottomed broom, a circular saw, a clothes pin, a mowing machine, a steam powered washing machine. One of their rather unusual inventions was a tilting chair, with tilters on the bottom, so that if you leaned back, it didn't dig a hole in the floor, and it didn't weaken the back. In no area are the Shakers better known than in the area of handicrafts, particularly, their

fine Shaker furniture. (Music plays) (Speaker 4) The official name for Shakers is the United Society of Believers in Christ's First and Second Appearing. The name "Shakers" came about as a result of a religious service that the Shakers engaged in and it involved a lot of movement. And just as the Society of Friends were dubbed Quakers, so the United Society of Believers were known as Shakers (Speaker 4 ends). Singing: (couldn't catch it, but references to "shaking") Singing continues....Dancing or marching is no longer a part of the Shaker service, but when it was, it took place in meeting houses, such as this one, in continuous use since 1794.

The meeting house looks the same as it did then. Women sat on that side, they entered through that door. Men sat on this side, and they entered through their door. The sexes were kept separate - in the dormitories, at meals, and in church. But it was a situation where you had "separate but equal". Every major position in the Shaker community was held by both a man and a woman. (Hammer noise begins) Eventually, there were some 18 communities, based on the precepts of Mother Ann Lee who had founded Shakerism in the late 18th century. [Speaker 5] Our basic principles are celibacy, confession of sin, brotherhood, and the communal holding of all goods. I'm just convinced that the spirit of Shakerism is not contained here within this little place. That it has gone out into the world. It's well and healthy and I look forward to Shakerism continuing. [ Speaker 5 ends] (Car driving sound) The Boston area was almost overrun with Utopias. By far, the best

known was Brook Farm, probably because a group of well-known authors and journalists lived there and later wrote about it. Their purpose? Well, according to their founder, George Ripley, their purpose was nothing less than to establish Heaven on Earth. They failed in that. In fact, they went broke. But, while it lasted, (music plays) according to Ralph Waldo Emerson, never were there such witty potato patches, nor such clever cornfields. (music ends) Fruitlands, a very pleasant hill near Harvard Massachusetts is an example of a totally impractical Utopia. It was started by Bronson Alcott, whose daughter was Louisa May Alcott, who wrote Little Women.

It was called Fruitlands because they were supposed to only eat fruit, or vegetables. But not just any vegetable, you understand. It had to be a vegetable that grew up out of the ground. Why? Because man is supposed to reach upward for higher things. And you should only eat vegetables that reach upward, not something degrading, like a potato, that burrows around in the ground - but apples, corn, peas, that sort of thing. Man is not supposed to exploit an animal. You shouldn't eat meat, but you shouldn't drink milk either, or eat cheese, or eat eggs. All of that is taken from an animal. You shouldn't wear wool; that's taking away a sheep's coat. You shouldn't wear cotton, it's produced by slave labor. What could you wear? Well, if you didn't want to be a nudist, as one of his followers was, you could wear linen. You weren't even supposed to plow, that exploits an animal. It was back to the spade, as far as they were concerned, here at Fruitlands.

Alcott listened to the dictates of what he called the "oversoul". Louisa May said that whenever there was work to be done, the men all disappeared, following the call of the oversoul. A neighbor made a remark that Mrs. Alcott and the girls did all the work. It didn't last very long here. It was too impractical, too much talk, not enough work. About six months and a half months, and that was the end of Fruitlands. (Music begins) Fruitlands is typical of most Utopias. It was started with a great deal of enthusiasm, yet it failed, and it failed fairly quickly. Like most of them, it failed for economic reasons. The members of these societies were usually willing to think and to talk, but they needed

to live. And they were unwilling to put in the work that it took to be an economic success. Nevertheless, there is a certain appeal to the idea of escaping from the greedy, grubby world, escaping to your fields and pastures, and leading your ideal life. There was one Utopia that didn't have any internal discord. That was located in Massachusetts at Walden Pond. Population, 1. That 1, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau went off to Walden, lived there 26 months, to test the evils of a new industrial society. He refused to pay taxes to a government that allowed slavery. He was on the verge of going to jail for that. (Birdsong in background) Some of his friends rushed in the nick of time, paid his taxes for him, much

to his disgust, apparently, and kept him out of jail. Now, these Utopians, you see, they were going off alone, trying to create a better society, an ideal society for themselves. Some reformers went out into the real world. They wanted to change things out there. (people shouting: You must... legislature of your state to have.... my Supreme Court decision... a negro is property - an owned Negro - not a free man... ... woman's voice... ...like everyone here to know.... There are plenty of things 'out there' that needed changing. In an earlier program we talked about abolitionism, the anti-slavery movement, and about the campaign for women's rights. (background talking/shouting continues) One of the other reforms was the temperance movement, the attempt to reduce the consumption of alcohol. Many felt drinking was becoming a national disgrace, especially within the working class.

And these reformers waged a colorful campaign to illustrate the evils of drink. They weren't successful nationally, but many states did outlaw the sale of liquor, especially after the campaign was joined by doctors, who emphasized the connection between drinking and physical illness. Some people were concerned about the treatment of the mentally ill. In 1773, prior to the American Revolution, The House of Burgesses in Virginia voted to establish a hospital - a public hospital - for the support and maintenance of idiots, lunatics, and others of unsound mind. They were considered to be ahead of their times. Advanced. Today, the very language of that law shows a shocking lack of sensitivity. In Philadelphia, Dr. Benjamin Rush was restraining the mentally ill in his famous "tranquilizing chair", (music begins)

but the general public, well they viewed it this way, "If you can't cope with society, you shouldn't be out in society". Maybe it's because you're a criminal. Maybe it's because you're mentally retarded or mentally ill". They would just throw them into the jails: juvenile offenders, debtors, mentally ill, or criminal. One person played a key role in bringing about a change, a Massachusetts school teacher named Dorothea Dix. She went to a prison in Massachusetts, visited one of her former students, and was shocked at what she saw there. (music begins) She began sending petitions to the Massachusetts legislature. And she brought about a change, not only in Massachusetts - where she created a public uprising, demanding change - but around the United States, even around the world. (Speaker 6) "I proceed, Gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane

persons, confined within this commonwealth; in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens; chained, naked, beaten with rods and lashed into obedience (Speaker 6 ends). Dorothea Dix, she's an outstanding example that one person can make a difference, can bring about change. If you look at the hospital for the mentally ill in Williamsburg, which was the first one established in the United States, you can see some signs of that change. This is 1773, a cell. On the floor, just an old mattress, chains, a blanket, bars on the windows, a door that looks like the door to a jail. By the 1840's the cell has a bed. You have some of your personal belongings. There's a rug. The bars are gone. The door looks like a bedroom door.

Their methods of treatment would not be accepted by doctors today. But there was a change in attitude. Mental illness was to be treated as a disease, not as a crime. By the 1830s, more and more people were participating in government. They were voting, and it seemed logical that more and more people then, should be better educated. The schools of the time looked a good deal like they had in colonial days, particularly on the frontier. They were pretty crude, rows of benches. You'd sit there with your slate and you'd do your letters, or you'd do your math, "ciphering" as they called it. Some schools had regular looking desks. The whole thing to be heated by a pot bellied stove or a fireplace up front, close to the teacher's desk, where at least he didn't freeze in the Winter. There might be 12 grades crowded into this one room, one teacher for the whole schmear. The big change

is going to be a move to provide free public education, and to provide it through the high school level. Now, not everybody agreed with that. If you were paying tuition to a private school, you might well resist the notion that you should also pay taxes to support public schools. People resist that today. If you had no children at all, how would you react? Maybe like one man who said he didn't want to pay taxes to educate other folks' brats. Nevertheless, the change took place. And the big name behind the big change was Horace Mann. Horace Mann gave up a promising political career in Massachusetts to become the Secretary of the Board of Education, of the state of Massachusetts. Doesn't sound like too big a job, but he made it big. From that position he launched his reforms in education.

What were they? Well, teacher training. He had the strange notion that the teacher ought to have some training, that maybe it'd be a good idea if the teacher knew more than the students. So he began the idea of establishing colleges to train teachers. He wanted to expand the school year. It had been about 12 weeks. It's expanded, and (?) of course it becomes nine months. He wanted to break schooling into grade levels, like the 12 grades we have today. But most of all, he wanted it to be public and free. He put his ideas together in a report. And that report is considered to be one of the books that actually changed the course of history. Somebody made a list of them, books like Uncle Tom's Cabin. And on that list was a book entitled "The Reports of the Secretary of the Board of Education of the state of Massachusetts". And the heart of that report was that we needed more free public schools.

(Music begins) Thousands of Americans were involved in these reforms. For education, for temperance, for women's rights, for the abolition of slavery, or for escaping to Utopian communities. But there was another choice, for people who wanted to get away from life in the East. They could move to the West. Now most of this territory was controlled by Mexico and claimed by the Indians. But that didn't bother Americans. That was a minor stumbling block. They had moved across the Mississippi River. They were ready to move into Texas, over the Rocky Mountains. (Music begins) They were ready to fulfill what they called their "Manifest Destiny".