A History of the Amish: Third Edition

by Steven M. Nolt

A revealing look at the venerable Anabaptist community.
 
The Amish, one of America’s most intriguingly private, unique, and often misunderstood religious communities, have survived for three hundred years! How has that happened?
 
While much has been written on the Amish, little has been revealed about their history. This book brings together in one volume a thorough history of the Amish people. From their beginnings in Europe through their settlement in North America, the Amish have struggled to maintain their beliefs and traditions in often hostile settings.
 
Now updated, the book gives an in-depth look at how the modern Amish church continues to grow and change. It covers recent developments in new Amish settlements, the community’s conflict and negotiation with government, the Nickel Mines school shooting, and the media’s constant fascination with this religious people, from reality TV shows to romance novels.
 
Authoritative, thorough, and interestingly written, A History of the Amish presents the deep and rich heritage of the Amish people with dozens of illustrations and updated statistics.
 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Amish, Religion, Christian, American History, Christianity

462 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 1969

About the author

Steven M. Nolt is Senior Scholar and Professor of History and Anabaptist Studies at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A history of the Amish from their European Anabaptist beginnings to the present, tracing the different groups and their continued growth in the United States and Canada.

Ever since a childhood visit to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I've had a secret fascination with the Amish. Living in Ohio, one of our favorite getaways has been to Holmes County, home to the largest Amish population in Ohio. One quickly adjusts to sharing the road with horse-drawn vehicles and children walking to and from school. We've visited stores selling appliances that do not require electricity, and enjoyed the craftsmanship of Amish-built furniture, including two custom-built pieces in our home. For nearly half of my life, I have been a member of a Brethren Church, part of the same Anabaptist stream as the Amish, albeit far more liberal in its embrace of modern culture.

Steven M. Nolt's book traces the history of this group from its origins within the Anabaptist reform movement of Germany and Switzerland and the split between Hans Reist and Jakob Amman. We learn about the first groups that came to the United States and settled between Philadelphia and Lancaster, drawn to the religious openness of the Quaker State.  Nolt tells a story of persecution in Europe and a gradual dwindling of the faithful, coupled with waves of migration to North America, with settlements spreading to Ohio, Indiana and other Midwest states as well as Ontario, Canada.

Like so many things, growth leads to division, particularly over the issue of shunning, with first the Amish-Mennonites and then the Beachy Amish, and some smaller groups breaking off from what became known as the Old Order, who continued to take the most conservative approach to technology, generally worshiped in homes, and shunning.

The confrontation with America's cultural life perhaps was most dramatically underscored by the challenges the Amish, as a peace church, faced when America went to war in 1917 and 1941, and gradually winning acceptance of its conscientious objectors from the government. Then there was the matter of education. Would they be permitted to educate their own children, and let them go to work after eighth grade? Could they opt out of the social welfare net that developed in the U.S. from the Depression onward, continuing to care for their own?

Nolt's account includes a liberal amount of images, maps, and sidebar features. Some of the sidebars seemed to duplicate material in the text rather than supplement it, but many were features on key figures, ways of life, or historical moments.

A few more recent develops were among the most surprising to me. One was the Amish-Mennonite mission and evangelism movements. I had thought these communities more insular (and some are). The other were the measures they used and the success they enjoyed to retain a high percentage of their youth, 85 to 90 percent in many groups. Most churches in America suffer far greater losses. It was also surprising to me to learn that the percent of Amish engaged in farming has declined, though not as steeply as the rest of the country, even as they enter an increasingly diverse set of occupations and businesses, including an uneasy but explosively growing involvement in tourism.

What perhaps was most striking to me is that Nolt's account was not one of a dying way, but a thriving one, economically, culturally, spiritually, and numerically. For example, I learned that the number of Old Amish church districts in the U.S. grew from 444 in 1974 to 2,119 in 2014.  As of 2014, there were Old Order Amish settlements in 29 states and in Ontario with Ohio narrowly beating out Pennsylvania for the most Amish with Indiana a distant third. And this is just the Old Order groups.

Nolt offers an even-handed account of this people--their sharp divisions, their stricter groups, as well as portraying a life of enough, of salvation worked out over the course of a life in all of one's work, of community solidarity, and a remarkable witness of refraining from violence and granting forgiveness. And for all the portrayal of a group locked in tradition, we see a movement continuing to evolve as it wrestles with faithfulness to principle and past, and to the changing world around them.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ninety percent of what you may hear about the Amish is wrong, and eighty-four percent of the statistics that people use in argument are made up by the person quoting the statistic, as I have here. Nevertheless, most of what I have heard people say about the Amish has proven to be wrong. I was listening to a radio show the other day and, despite the fact that the Amish were the topic of the radio show, the host didn't bother to learn the first thing about them, nor did anyone who called in to the show in order to give their erroneous interpretation of a group of people they knew nothing about.
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"A History of the Amish", as its name implies, is focused on the history of the Amish, rather than an interpretation of their beliefs and customs, but there is much of that there, as well. Steven M. Nolt, the author, does a splendid job of it, looking at the Amish objectively, rather than as a freak show.

There are other books on the subject that are more in depth, the best of which are authored by Donald B. Kraybill, and many others, but "A History of the Amish" is a good start. Those who desire to develop an understanding of the Amish won't be led astray. It will give you a basic understanding of how the Amish came to be what they are, and that's a good start.

[Sirena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I was expecting more of the culture of the Amish. This is written like a history book and got a little dry and repetitive for me.

[Lauren Hiebner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Mennonite (General Conference), I was always interested in knowing what was the relationship between Mennonites and the Amish. Both were products of the Protestant Reformation and Anabaptists movement of the 1500s. The split occurred in Europe over doctrinal issues and their relationship to the culture they lived in. The themes of the Amish were and are simplicity, community and mutual aid which means generally not to become compromised by the society they live in. Eventually, many migrated to North America as they were seen as a threat to their community with many imprisoned and killed for their faith. Overpopulation in Europe also led to many migrating. Of course in America the same issue emerged, their relationship with the surrounding culture which created divisions and splits among the Amish. Issues that caused conflict were: shunning, social avoidance, foot washing, number of communions per year, and plain clothing. Some groups migrated out of the states to Canada and Latin America. Wars from the American Revolution to World War II caused additional strains on the youth. Farming was the common thread that the various groups had in common but with technological changes (auto, electricity, telephone) new conflicts emerged. Also the issue of public education created new conflicts with the local governments but these were mostly compromised. Probably the two main groups that emerged in all of this were the “Old Order” Amish and the “New Order” Amish Mennonites. Through all this some basic tenets remained; humility, simplicity, and submission. Despite novels and movies with Amish characters and increased tourism, the basic core beliefs remained and in some cases were reinforced. Today the Amish are highly respected in an ever changing modern world. An interesting read.

[Randy Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is nothing if not thorough, when completed the reader will have a broad, if an outsider’s view, of the history of the Amish sect, as their very nature probably forbids anything like an insider’s view from being written. This book definitely borders on getting lost in the weeds, but eventually gets to the end of the Amish’s’ 500 year history. I now have a better understanding as to why they hold the things they find so important like their drive to be separate and shunning. There is much to admire about the Amish. They generally are phenomenal hard workers and lead quiet humble lives. They take their faith very seriously and have a real fear of God, something that often seems missing in the modern church. But with all these rules, I wonder if maybe they have moved from their founding belief of being “saved by grace through faith” into a works righteousness mindset. If so, I would remind the Amish, and/or anyone else trying to find favor with God in this way, of Galatians 5:4 (CSB) “You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ, you have fallen from grace.” All your keeping of rules about buttons or electricity or shaving or cars or whatever else you want to come up with, if you’re putting your faith in these things to save you, it won’t work. The book says the Amish believe in a kind of a salvation that comes from a daily life of obedience which is not clearly defined in the book as the writer is not coming to these things from a theological perspective. This is maybe based on Philippians 2:12, if so that verse is talking about sanctification, not justification. If they have mixed up sanctification and justification, they’re not alone in this confusion. I suspect this is true because the book talks about loses they had when movements like the great awakening passed by their areas in the 1740s and the actual Gospel was preached, especially later in the early 19th century. God’s grace is designed to bring Him glory and can only be received as a free gift (so He gets all the glory). As Dallas Willard said, grace is not opposed to effort, it’s opposed to earning.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good historical account of how, when, where and why the Amish came into existence, their life and plight in Europe, immigration on that continent and to the US, and their history since then, including customs, demographics and population growth, issues with U.S. law and citizens, as well as amongst each other and with Mennonites, etc. Enjoyable to read. Doesn't feel like a text book. Although some of what I read here overlapped with the book "Amish Society" as well as "The Amish in Their Own Words," I knew I needed a book focused specifically on history to get a full historical account for an article I was writing. This book delivered that. Overall, I recommend all three for a totally well-rounded and thorough study of the Amish.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the history of the Amish and they have survived for 300 years. They broke away and became Anabaptists and then the Amish and Mennonites. The Amish are named after J. Ammann but few today know who he is. More than 180.000 people call themselves Amish. After being exiled from Europe they settled into Pennsylvania named after William Penn, a Quaker who feld also. a lot of Amish settled into Lancaster County and took up farming. Some of the Amish have stores where they sell their homemade goods. The Old Order Amish remains a growing group in the 21st century not only because of their large families, but because an increasing percentage of Amish children choose to follow their families faith. This book is a complete history from Amish beginnings up until the present time.

[Joan Colby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive history from the formation of the Amish sect as a subset of the Anabaptists in Switzerland in the 16th century to the present day Amish, Old Order Amish and Mennonite communities in the U.S. Their struggles with the state regarding secondary education and social security payment are covered, notably the Supreme Court decision of 1972 favoring the Amish in permitting them to reject education past the 8th grade. Altogether, a fine portrait of the plain peoples.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the Amish population boom an hour from me north and south, and with a good deal of Amish-made furniture and crafts in my home, I thought it would be a wise idea to learn their history, and this book delivered. Some of what I learned:

- Amish and Mennonites are descendants of the Anabaptist movement, a belief that holds salvation as achievable through faith alone. This early 16th century practice spread from its origin in Zurich to Southern Germany and modern date western Czechia. And the practitioners didn't have it easy, with thousands imprisoned, executed, expelled, and plundered by the government.

- A Dutch Catholic priest joined the Anabaptists in 1536, and the Mennonite faith is named after him - Menno Simons. The faith practiced shunning, but apparently not strict enough for Bern-born Jakob Ammon, whose push for more communion and shunning led to the 1693 schism that birthed the Amish faith.

- The Amish & Mennonites were heralded as good farmers back then too, and when the Thirty Years war killed a third of central Europe they found themselves able to lease land from nobles on the Rhine and in Alsace. Then they got booted in 1712, and moved onto the Southern Rhine and the Netherlands.

- A ship named Charming Nancy sailed for Pennsylvania in 1737 with 21 families, bringing the faith to North America. The Amish migration to NA peaked in 1816-17, with 3,500 settlers coming to the Midwest and Ontario.

- Overall, the Amish had relatively good relations with Native Americans, and they did not enslave people, though they would take on indentured servants.

- Culture conflicts emerged over style of dress and how much to engage in American civic and political life. Most Amish drafted into the Civil War paid $300 to get out of it, and sometimes saw their farms raided by Union soldiers

- Ordnung - church order - appears to be the driving force behind much of what makes the Amish different than other conservative Christian movements

- Amish splintered into Old order Amish and Amish Mennonites in the 1860s, continuing a pattern of the faith running into a schism they could not reconcile, with further splits into Egly Amish and Stuckey Amish

- Late 19th and early 20th century reform-minded Amish became Amish Mennonites, and, over time, Mennonites alone

- The European Amish population peaked in 1850 and was effectively gone by 1937 thanks to immigration to the U.S. and conversion to the less strict Mennonite church

- Various branches of each faith have wrestled with the permissibility of phones, cars, and electricity, for more than 100 years, with plenty of variation from locale to locale

- The Amish resisted the WW1 draft en masse, and the conscripts who refused to fight were not treated well by fellow soldiers and commanding officers in camp

- Latin American Amish colonies have shown mixed results, but in the U.S. the Amish have shown success in spreading beyond the traditional states of PA, Ohio, Indiana & Illinois, and now into Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, and Missouri

- Whether farming with a tractor or a hand plow, not every Amish man works the fields nowadays, with large numbers working outside the farm in metal works, carpentry, and dry goods

- At the end my belief that the Amish as a whole are a tough, hardworking, moral, and largely intolerant people was mostly reinforced. But with Amish retention of their youth into adulthood now above 85% it's clear that this group has staying power, and with their baby boom showing no signs of slowing they may very well top a million followers in the U.S. in my lifetime

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nolt traces the origins of the Amish religion from their origins in the Anabaptist movement of Europe all the way to the Amish of the present day day. Nolt shows the various splits, such the Mennonites from the Anabaptists over the issue of violence, the Amish from the Mennonites over the issue of shunning, the Old Order Amish and the Old Order Mennonites over technology, and the various Amish communities who have made slight rule adjustments but still recognize each other. He shows how the Amish came over, along with Mennonites, as part of the general "Pennsylvania Dutch" migration to North America and then spread from there, while the European Amish dwindled because of immigration and total wars that consumed Europe and eroded the commitment to pacifism, with the last European Amish community shutting down in 1937. Along the way, Nolt illustrates the debates within the Amish of how to keep their identity and commitment to pacifism, self-reliance of the community, anti-individualism, hard work, no physical churches, shunning rule-breakers, and very tradition religious communities.

Despite the image of the Amish being a static community, they have had much divergence, depending on the community, on how they maintain their community, and often Amish communities have left the "Old-Order" and become either indistinguishable from other Protestants or only have elements of traditional Amish communities. Nolt does a good job showing how these various communities have diverged at what points and how the Amish have adapted and survived while maintaining their identity. While Nolt does take an almost "above-the-clouds" approach to the history, he doesn't go into the more brutal or controversial parts, such as domestic abuse or trauma of shunning. This is a good starting book for those interested in the Amish.

[Jonathan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet again, Steven M. Nolt hits it out of the park! This is the definitive book on Amish history. It begins with the Magisterial and Radical Reformations, the emergence of Menno Simons to prominence within the Anabaptist movement, and only on page 30 does Jakob Ammann appear (though I can't say the man proves to be very likeable).

Nolt covers in detail the circumstances surrounding the Amish division from the Mennonites; the factors that led to considerable Mennonite and Amish migration to the New World colonies; the fate of the Amish communities who stayed in the Old World; the schisms within the New World Amish (of which those who retained the 'Amish' title were the minority; most groups ended up merging into the Mennonites); and plenty more, with ample consideration of all facets of the Amish experience, and plenty of special inserts with documents and narratives.

This book isn't just informative; it's also supremely interesting.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am quite impressed with the book. It was published in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, located in Lancaster County. The author, from Lancaster County, was educated at Mennonite colleges.

I was quite impressed that the book is not biased. It simply lays out the history of the Amish (and Mennonites because you have to know Mennonite history to understand Amish history) dating from their beginnings in the 16th century to the present. This book is heavily detailed and well documented.

This book answered a lot of questions I had about the Amish. It explained why I easily get confused, because the history is actually quite complex.

[Soraya Keiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of my research for my Honors Seminar paper. We were to choose a topic that relates to part of our family history, and as my great-great grandparents were Amish, I decided to focus on the merge from Amish to Mennonite. I learned a TON while reading this, I hadn't realized how much I was lacking in my information. This was definitely interesting and it was fun to read about important places in my family's history such as Kalona, IA and Goshen College

[Drpsychorat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched and documented book, it still did not give a complete detailed account of what the Amish believe or how they put their beliefs into practice. For example, the young Amish tradition of selecting the outer world over the Amish world was seldom mentioned. Detail was also missing from the life of the Amish in Indiana- an area I am very interested in.

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was interesting and quite in-depth, going back to the very beginning of the Amish people in the 17th Century. There was a lot of detail, so at times it might've gotten bogged down in that. Apparently, the audiobook was read by Balki, yes, I know, his name is Bronson Pinchot, so I wish I'd known that and I might have skipped reading the actual book and listened to it instead.

[Gaylina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting to read. A little tough to get through at times, especially the pronunciation of the names. However, that is to be expected. I would have liked it to be more up to date. This was written or updated 2002. It gave me a better understanding of the Amish and Mennonite society and I can see many misinformation that has been stated over the years.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written history of perhaps the most recognizable and idiosyncratic Christian sect in the United States, but one whose history is not well known. The historical suffering and mistreatment of the Amish's forebears, as well as their own mistreatment in the United States, helps frame why they reject the world and its trappings.

[cathy ostrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical account

Pretty good! This book drags a little, but it's packed with interest in facts and accounts over the years, since the beginnings of the Anabaptist movement.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting points but needs serious editing. Fragmented narrative. Repetitive. Could have been written thematically or by district rather than chronologically. Also missed some key topics, such as rumspringa.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting history of the Anabaptist religion and how it evolved through the years. There is much to admire about their decision to live apart from the world and to focus on community over the individual. I think our Country would benefit from following their example in these things.

[Cathie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a dry read so it took me a while, but the information provided is great. I thought they viewed modern technology as evil and that is not the case but modern technology isolates us in fostering independence and they strongly believe in community and helping each other.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. I wish I had read an updated version because a lot has happened within the Amish community in the past 25 years.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book!! it was a great book!! it was a interesting story!!

[Steve Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for an objective look at what shaped the Amish. I found I admire these people and am also very glad i was not born to them.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough but rather dry summary.

[Andrew Gagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes this book interesting isthat it has detailed recounts of the Amish history. Although, I'm disappointed that it is not fully updated.

[Miriam Schoenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exhaustive (but not exhausting) explanation of the Amish and their roots.

[Robert Sparkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to understand the history of the Amish.

[Kaye Wingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Darren Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you need to know about this religious group that seems mysterious but are really Christians living as they feel called to by God.