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Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism
For readers of Jill Lepore, Joseph J. Ellis, and Tony Horwitz comes a lively, thought-provoking intellectual history of the golden age of American utopianism—and the bold, revolutionary, and eccentric visions for the future put forward by five of history’s most influential utopian movements.
In the wake of the Enlightenment and the onset of industrialism, a generation of dreamers took it upon themselves to confront the messiness and injustice of a rapidly changing world. To our eyes, the utopian communities that took root in America in the nineteenth century may seem ambitious to the point of delusion, but they attracted members willing to dedicate their lives to creating a new social order and to asking the bold question What should the future look like?
In Paradise Now, Chris Jennings tells the story of five interrelated utopian movements, revealing their relevance both to their time and to our own. Here is Mother Ann Lee, the prophet of the Shakers, who grew up in newly industrialized Manchester, England—and would come to build a quiet but fierce religious tradition on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Even as the society she founded spread across the United States, the Welsh industrialist Robert Owen came to the Indiana frontier to build an egalitarian, rationalist utopia he called the New Moral World. A decade later, followers of the French visionary Charles Fourier blanketed America with colonies devoted to inaugurating a new millennium of pleasure and fraternity. Meanwhile, the French radical Étienne Cabet sailed to Texas with hopes of establishing a communist paradise dedicated to ideals that would be echoed in the next century. And in New York’s Oneida Community, a brilliant Vermonter named John Humphrey Noyes set about creating a new society in which the human spirit could finally be perfected in the image of God.
Over time, these movements fell apart, and the national mood that had inspired them was drowned out by the dream of westward expansion and the waking nightmare of the Civil War. Their most galvanizing ideas, however, lived on, and their audacity has influenced countless political movements since. Their stories remain an inspiration for everyone who seeks to build a better world, for all who ask, What should the future look like?
In the wake of the Enlightenment and the onset of industrialism, a generation of dreamers took it upon themselves to confront the messiness and injustice of a rapidly changing world. To our eyes, the utopian communities that took root in America in the nineteenth century may seem ambitious to the point of delusion, but they attracted members willing to dedicate their lives to creating a new social order and to asking the bold question What should the future look like?
In Paradise Now, Chris Jennings tells the story of five interrelated utopian movements, revealing their relevance both to their time and to our own. Here is Mother Ann Lee, the prophet of the Shakers, who grew up in newly industrialized Manchester, England—and would come to build a quiet but fierce religious tradition on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Even as the society she founded spread across the United States, the Welsh industrialist Robert Owen came to the Indiana frontier to build an egalitarian, rationalist utopia he called the New Moral World. A decade later, followers of the French visionary Charles Fourier blanketed America with colonies devoted to inaugurating a new millennium of pleasure and fraternity. Meanwhile, the French radical Étienne Cabet sailed to Texas with hopes of establishing a communist paradise dedicated to ideals that would be echoed in the next century. And in New York’s Oneida Community, a brilliant Vermonter named John Humphrey Noyes set about creating a new society in which the human spirit could finally be perfected in the image of God.
Over time, these movements fell apart, and the national mood that had inspired them was drowned out by the dream of westward expansion and the waking nightmare of the Civil War. Their most galvanizing ideas, however, lived on, and their audacity has influenced countless political movements since. Their stories remain an inspiration for everyone who seeks to build a better world, for all who ask, What should the future look like?
467 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 19, 2016
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December 3, 2015
Deeply held convictions about religion, science, and the industrial revolution converged in mid-nineteenth century America and created a flurry of experimental utopian communities whose enthusiastic members hoped they were building model societies that would change the world. This fascinating, hard to put down, sometimes heartbreaking history profiles five of the hard working, ideal rich groups--the Shakers, New Harmony, the Fourierist phalanxes, Icaria and Oneida. While the utopians held many core ideas in common, some of their beliefs varied widely, from multi-partner free love to celibacy, but unity predominated so the groups supported each other, exchanged members, and saw themselves as fellow travelers.
Their results were mixed, with a few of the communities being more viable than the others, but none of them prospered in ways that made them catalysts for a global reorganization of civilization. In spite of that, many of the progressive views the utopians all agreed on were eventually embraced by the population at large, including the right of women to be treated equally, the benefits of strong public education for democracy, the advantages of a diverse society, the need for a social safety net, and the dangers of unchecked markets.
Though setting up these prototype paradises involved a lot of arduous labor, the morale and happiness of participants was boosted by their idealistic mission, common purpose and close community, making it heartbreaking for the utopians when their groups fell apart. At a time when most Americans lived much more isolated lives under social strictures that limited contact between men and women and people of different classes, members of the utopias lived, ate, and worked together during the day, and held dances, lectures, singalongs, assemblies, and/or classes in the evenings--high-times that sound like great fun even to this privacy loving introvert.
Because of social changes they helped inspire, utopian communities ultimately did have some impact on the way culture has advanced since the nineteenth century, which is why the author suggests that while we are now obsessed with dystopias and picturing how things could go very wrong, there would be value in following the lead of utopians by imagining what we think an ideal world would look like.
Paradise Now is full of poignant, lively, and engagingly written insights into the mid-nineteenth century zeitgeist--mainly the time before the Civil War. It’s detailed without being ponderous, and reflective without being opinionated. I found it utterly riveting.
I read an advanced review copy of this book provided by the publisher at minimal cost to me. Review opinions are mine.
Their results were mixed, with a few of the communities being more viable than the others, but none of them prospered in ways that made them catalysts for a global reorganization of civilization. In spite of that, many of the progressive views the utopians all agreed on were eventually embraced by the population at large, including the right of women to be treated equally, the benefits of strong public education for democracy, the advantages of a diverse society, the need for a social safety net, and the dangers of unchecked markets.
Though setting up these prototype paradises involved a lot of arduous labor, the morale and happiness of participants was boosted by their idealistic mission, common purpose and close community, making it heartbreaking for the utopians when their groups fell apart. At a time when most Americans lived much more isolated lives under social strictures that limited contact between men and women and people of different classes, members of the utopias lived, ate, and worked together during the day, and held dances, lectures, singalongs, assemblies, and/or classes in the evenings--high-times that sound like great fun even to this privacy loving introvert.
Because of social changes they helped inspire, utopian communities ultimately did have some impact on the way culture has advanced since the nineteenth century, which is why the author suggests that while we are now obsessed with dystopias and picturing how things could go very wrong, there would be value in following the lead of utopians by imagining what we think an ideal world would look like.
Paradise Now is full of poignant, lively, and engagingly written insights into the mid-nineteenth century zeitgeist--mainly the time before the Civil War. It’s detailed without being ponderous, and reflective without being opinionated. I found it utterly riveting.
I read an advanced review copy of this book provided by the publisher at minimal cost to me. Review opinions are mine.
July 28, 2022
Chris Jennings' Paradise Now provides an engaging examination of the utopian movements in the mid-19th Century. The book primarily chronicles six distinct sects: the Shakers, led by prophetess Ann Lee; Robert Owen, a Welsh critic of the Industrial Revolution who traveled to America to found New Harmony; the communist Icarian experiment in antebellum Texas; the various followers of French eccentric Charles Fourier, who set up communitarian "phalanxes" across the United States; and the Oneida Colony in New York, who graduated from dreams of religious perfection on Earth to crafting silverware. Jennings makes a convincing case that these disparate movements, eccentric as they seem, were hardly a passing fad: during the first half of American history they exercised an outsized influence on society, pushing for then-unheard of reforms like women's rights and the eight-hour work day, often with a religious gloss, sometimes employing strikingly modern secular justifications. They grew variously out of backlash to the Industrial Revolution (both Ann Lee and Robert Owen, Jennings notes, came from the hellish factories of Manchester, England), the ideals of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening and the burgeoning debates over slavery and race. Of course, it's easy to mock the excesses of these groups: the celibacy of the Shakers, the compulsory orgies of the Fourierists, the very idea that humanity could be perfected through social engineering - a conceit which far more destructively animated totalitarian movements a century later. Nonetheless, it's fascinating to see how many of these groups intertwined with or energized the abolitionist movement and early women's suffrage campaigns, showing that sometimes it takes an eccentric to advance an unpopular but worthy cause. And hey, if we 21st Century readers have to endure global warming, at least Fourier promises us that the ice caps will turn the ocean into lemonade.
June 23, 2018
Loved this book! I've been making a study of 19th Century American Intellectual thought, and this book has been perfect as it covers the primary utopian movements in this period. The Shakers, Oneida, Icarians, New Harmony, Fouriersts, and Brooks Farm -- all here and covered along with their founders in detail. The writing is clear and lively, and a fair amount of comparative analysis between the movements as the book progresses.
June 20, 2017
VERY INSIGHTFUL AND ILLUMINATING.
“It was a time when the imminence of paradise seemed reasonable to reasonable people.” (Kindle Location 140)
I tend to clump stories about “oddball” cultures, cults, communes, and collectives, under the heading of ‘extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds’...and am mostly fascinated by them. The outlandish stories of which we manage convince ourselves and each other never cease to amaze.
Chris Jennings’s non-fiction, Paradise Now: The Story of America Utopianism, highlights five of the most popular and influential utopian movements of 19th-century America, and rises to the level of amazing. Chuck-full of insights, illumination, and enlightenment, about those exercises in wishful thinking; it both informs and entertains.
Recommendation: Worth the price and the effort (it’s a bit exhaustive in places) just to learn of the concept of Bible Communism… As opposed to that godless Soviet kind, I presume. I was also surprised to learn that “Go west, young man,” Horace Greeley, himself, was so seriously involved with communalism movements. Eye opening.
“Nobody risks inventing a new world if they like the one in which they live.” (Kindle Location 6965).
“In a century and a half, the prevailing outlook has shifted from jubilantly millenarian to tepidly apocalyptic. None of these predictions are necessarily wrong, but compared with the unmeasured, action-inspiring optimism of the nineteenth-century utopians, it appears that we are experiencing a deficit of imagination.” (Kindle Locations 6999-7001)
Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition 9,757 Kindle Locations, 512 pages.
“It was a time when the imminence of paradise seemed reasonable to reasonable people.” (Kindle Location 140)
I tend to clump stories about “oddball” cultures, cults, communes, and collectives, under the heading of ‘extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds’...and am mostly fascinated by them. The outlandish stories of which we manage convince ourselves and each other never cease to amaze.
Chris Jennings’s non-fiction, Paradise Now: The Story of America Utopianism, highlights five of the most popular and influential utopian movements of 19th-century America, and rises to the level of amazing. Chuck-full of insights, illumination, and enlightenment, about those exercises in wishful thinking; it both informs and entertains.
Recommendation: Worth the price and the effort (it’s a bit exhaustive in places) just to learn of the concept of Bible Communism… As opposed to that godless Soviet kind, I presume. I was also surprised to learn that “Go west, young man,” Horace Greeley, himself, was so seriously involved with communalism movements. Eye opening.
“Nobody risks inventing a new world if they like the one in which they live.” (Kindle Location 6965).
“In a century and a half, the prevailing outlook has shifted from jubilantly millenarian to tepidly apocalyptic. None of these predictions are necessarily wrong, but compared with the unmeasured, action-inspiring optimism of the nineteenth-century utopians, it appears that we are experiencing a deficit of imagination.” (Kindle Locations 6999-7001)
Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition 9,757 Kindle Locations, 512 pages.
July 10, 2022
One of the most enjoyable works of nonfiction I've read in some time. A fascinating and entertaining look at five interrelated 19th century Utopian/communist/socialist movements in America -- how they formed, functioned, and inevitably fell apart. Each one spearheaded by some of the most eccentric, exuberant, and strange thinkers you're likely to come across in American history. Chris Jennings did a wonderful job with this material.
June 9, 2017
An engrossing and surprisingly relevant and vital look at five utopian movements in the U.S. Basically, if you want to start a successful utopia, either have all the sex or zero sex, be very organized and have an eye for aesthetics, and probably don't be French, I guess.
It was really eye-opening to learn how much the work of Marx and Engels owes to the utopian movements. Jennings' descriptions are as clear as can be when talking about some often weighty philosophical (not to mention weird) beliefs, and the occasional snarky aside is appreciated.
Overall, a nice remembrance that Americans believe we can do anything. And sometimes, we get close to reaching our own impossible goals.
It was really eye-opening to learn how much the work of Marx and Engels owes to the utopian movements. Jennings' descriptions are as clear as can be when talking about some often weighty philosophical (not to mention weird) beliefs, and the occasional snarky aside is appreciated.
Overall, a nice remembrance that Americans believe we can do anything. And sometimes, we get close to reaching our own impossible goals.
June 26, 2018
If you like history of the 19th century or American religion, or even just information about quirky and interesting people, this is an excellent book. Jennings delves into 5 of the major utopian movements in the United States during a time when a belief in a perfect future still held the fascination of people of the new country. In many ways America was the hope of those who were dissatisfied with society as it was for whatever reason, economic or religious, and not all of the communities, or explorations into communism before it was the "Big Red", were religious.
Jennings is an excellent writer with a nice turn of phrase and subtle humor. I highly recommend it!
Jennings is an excellent writer with a nice turn of phrase and subtle humor. I highly recommend it!
October 6, 2016
This well-written and engaging account of five 19th-century utopian communities in the United States was a delight to read, with Jennings an intelligent and insightful guide.
Jennings deftly moves through the century from the Shakers to Robert Owens's New Harmony to the Fourierists to the Icarians and finally to the Oneida community without skipping a beat, highlighting both their common ground and their differences.
There is much to admire in these communities' endeavors to build a better world. They all envisaged a future where labor would be uplifting and fulfilling; where men and women would be considered equals; where people would live communally in small, cooperative villages; where life would be marked by amity between neighbors, the bonds of friendship forged in a common cause would prevail, and people's material and spiritual needs would be met.
As Jennings stresses, it took imagination to conceive of these glorious futures. And yet, while reading Paradise Now, I occasionally felt ill-at-ease with some aspects of utopian life.
Icaria founder Etienne Cabet eventually surrounded himself with bodyguards and encouraged informers to keep him apprised of dissent. The Oneida community's regular sessions where communards criticized each other mercilessly brought to mind a similar practice by the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Charles Fourier's obsession with planning every detail of life in his phalanxes, right down to determining how many minutes Fourierists would spend eating a small snack, would have resulted in a highly regimented life with little room for flexibility.
While Jennings is sympathetic to the movements he describes, he does not view them through rose-tinted glasses. His approach to the utopian communities he explores is even-handed and refreshing.
Jennings deftly moves through the century from the Shakers to Robert Owens's New Harmony to the Fourierists to the Icarians and finally to the Oneida community without skipping a beat, highlighting both their common ground and their differences.
There is much to admire in these communities' endeavors to build a better world. They all envisaged a future where labor would be uplifting and fulfilling; where men and women would be considered equals; where people would live communally in small, cooperative villages; where life would be marked by amity between neighbors, the bonds of friendship forged in a common cause would prevail, and people's material and spiritual needs would be met.
As Jennings stresses, it took imagination to conceive of these glorious futures. And yet, while reading Paradise Now, I occasionally felt ill-at-ease with some aspects of utopian life.
Icaria founder Etienne Cabet eventually surrounded himself with bodyguards and encouraged informers to keep him apprised of dissent. The Oneida community's regular sessions where communards criticized each other mercilessly brought to mind a similar practice by the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Charles Fourier's obsession with planning every detail of life in his phalanxes, right down to determining how many minutes Fourierists would spend eating a small snack, would have resulted in a highly regimented life with little room for flexibility.
While Jennings is sympathetic to the movements he describes, he does not view them through rose-tinted glasses. His approach to the utopian communities he explores is even-handed and refreshing.
May 17, 2017
This book was terrific. Jennings does a good job covering the history of 19th century US utopian movements. It's informative without getting bogged down in pointless details, and he frames his history in smart analysis about common themes and relevant contest. His opening and closing chapters do a nice job of reminding us why these movements are interesting and valuable--so creative and technologically innovative--even if also flawed. My only quibble is that he's too uncritical of Nathaniel Hawthorne's flirtation with Utopianism, but that is truly a quibble.
October 28, 2019
This book turned out to be a highly informative read, without failing to be engaging, and sometimes even entertaining. Being more than a dry summary of events that took part in a very special part of history, it sheds light on very different social experiments that happened in USA in 1800s. I didn't know about so many different communities in USA that tried to build "utopian" and "collective" life styles: some of them with strong religious background and motivation, whereas some of them much more secular, and inspired by powerful thinkers and doers from Europe.
Hearing the term "utopia" and collective living, I, like many others, either remember Thomas More, or Euro-centric revolutions, and recent failed attempts from Russia. As for USA, movements from 20th century comes to mind, but not so much the 19th century. This book helped me to get a better perspective not only about the very different motivations of people living in the frontiers, but also how and why they failed.
Of course, the book didn't offer a very detailed and satisfactory analysis of various types of failures of these different communities that believed "Another World Is Possible" and put their money where their mouth were, but I can't blame the author too much: that endeavor would probably need at least another volume of similar length.
If you wonder how people managed to build alternative communities in 1800s in USA, and why it is very difficult to sustain such organizations, I can recommend this book. A few questions to keep in mind as you read: "How does scale factor in? Does what works for a family, also work for 100 people, what about 1000, what about 1 million people?", "Can people from very different socio-economic backgrounds live collectively?", "Is it all about economy, or do other aspects play a sinister role without giving you a lot of clues about their importance"?
Hearing the term "utopia" and collective living, I, like many others, either remember Thomas More, or Euro-centric revolutions, and recent failed attempts from Russia. As for USA, movements from 20th century comes to mind, but not so much the 19th century. This book helped me to get a better perspective not only about the very different motivations of people living in the frontiers, but also how and why they failed.
Of course, the book didn't offer a very detailed and satisfactory analysis of various types of failures of these different communities that believed "Another World Is Possible" and put their money where their mouth were, but I can't blame the author too much: that endeavor would probably need at least another volume of similar length.
If you wonder how people managed to build alternative communities in 1800s in USA, and why it is very difficult to sustain such organizations, I can recommend this book. A few questions to keep in mind as you read: "How does scale factor in? Does what works for a family, also work for 100 people, what about 1000, what about 1 million people?", "Can people from very different socio-economic backgrounds live collectively?", "Is it all about economy, or do other aspects play a sinister role without giving you a lot of clues about their importance"?
August 22, 2019
Excellent content, unique material, if too lengthy for some movements detailed.
Very annoying that he describes NAP as from Red Bank, NJ when it was in Colts Neck NJ (formerly Atlantic Township), which is the reason I picked this book out to read in the first place; that site (close to my childhood home) lost to arson in the early 1970s.
Despite that error, recommended for anyone interested in social, political, religious, cultural movements in American history.
Very annoying that he describes NAP as from Red Bank, NJ when it was in Colts Neck NJ (formerly Atlantic Township), which is the reason I picked this book out to read in the first place; that site (close to my childhood home) lost to arson in the early 1970s.
Despite that error, recommended for anyone interested in social, political, religious, cultural movements in American history.
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January 26, 2021This is such rich, well-written social history of the American Utopian communities from the Shakers to Oneida. The author is witty, but not dismissive of these doomed idealists, and the characters spring to life.
July 23, 2021
Paradise Now is an engrossing and perspicacious survey of an important, fascinating, and sometimes amusingly bizarre historical phenomenon. Jennings enlivens his well-written prose with the occasional flash of wit and never supplies more detail than warranted. A triumph!
September 2, 2016
Nineteenth Century utopian communities started off with great promise. Yet all failed. Why? Curiosity aroused, I picked up this book. Five major ones are profiled, all formed by enthusiastic idealists. All were based on a communal lifestyle (some even called themselves "communist" but that was before Communist became a bad word), all aspired to serve as a model for future civilization. Shakers were celibate, "Perfectionists" of the Oneida commune practiced multi-partner free love. Major reasons for failure include bankruptcy, buildings burning down, quarrels over doctrine, sickness of living in close quarters with others and unsustainable inspiration. Except for the New Harmony, Ind., collective, all were Christian yet their social reform theories were secular. From this reading I gather that only Oneida had a regular ritual aimed toward fostering cohesive community (confession, performance review and psychoanalysis meld). Oneida lasted the longest of those profiled in this book (1848-1880) and one of its "inventions" (Oneida Silverware) exists today.
June 25, 2016
The Utopian groups that sprung up in 19th Century America all shared the belief that perfection was just around the corner and that they would set the example for others to follow. Their means to this end varied greatly but what they all had in common was the willingness to leave home and hearth behind and follow a charismatic leader, regardless of how half-baked or poorly thought out his or her teachings were.
June 8, 2016
"Among themselves, [young boys] will speak their own secret rubbish-collecting slang. For extrazealous trash picking, individual boys will be rewarded with medals and military-style honors. 'Frenzied by trumpet blasts and roars of approval, intoxicated by unending accolades, the Little Hordes would place their love of filth at the service of the Phalanx.'"
worth it just for the ludicrous fourierist stuff
worth it just for the ludicrous fourierist stuff
December 5, 2016
What I found most interesting was the influence of the culture and conditions of the mid 19th century on the formation of Utopianism as well as the religions that survive that time period today, particularly Mormonism.
June 18, 2017
Interesting book that isn't, like too many histories, afraid to to speculate on what it all means.
June 25, 2020
After having visited the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, with my wife for a couple days and nights in 2019 for our 16th wedding anniversary, my interest in successful American Utopian societies grew even more. When I heard on the New York Times Book Review podcast about Paradise Now by Chris Jennings, I immediately added it to my Books To Read list. Paradise Now recounts the birth and eventual demise of five uniquely American Utopian societies in the 19th century: the Shakers, New Harmony, Indiana, the Fourierists, the Oneida Community and the Icarians.
The book is structured with a brief introduction and a brief conclusion, with five sections in the middle for each of the societies. Some of the sections are longer than others where there is more information available from the author. For example, the section on the Shakers is one of the longest. The Shakers' society was definitely the most successful and longest-living of the five societies. They also seemed to have a reputation of getting along well with the secular communities around them as well as other religious groups and societies. The Icarians were by far the weirdest society, in my opinion, started based upon the writings (namely of a fictional land named Icaria) of a French revolutionary named Etienne Cabet. In a way, the Icarians remind me a bit of Scientology, a religion based upon writings of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.
Interesting to me was that the term 'communism' in that timeframe meant the reorganization of society on a communal basis, which doesn't give me the strong negative feelings I get when I hear about communism or socialism today. Another thing I found interesting was how so many of the founders of the unsuccessful colonies (e.g. New Harmony) spent an inordinate amount of time travelling around America and back and forth to Europe in fundraising efforts. Meanwhile, back at the colonies, poor leadership or no leadership ran rampant and upon the return of the leaders and founders, the colonies either needed a lot of help or quickly fell apart. There are also a couple of good themes running through the book: 1) women are highly respected and are important leaders in several of the societies, 2) education is "crowd-sourced" in a kind of co-op fashion within the societies and the children in them received a very high-quality education. In other words, these societies weren't primarily about making white men rich. However, African-Americans were nowhere to be found in these societies - very few had their freedom during this timeframe to even have the choice to join a community, let alone the lack of diversity in these communities to begin with.
I wish that the author would have spent more time summarizing commonalities and themes of these societies that were all geographically and historically fairly close to each other; to compare and contrast them. He does sprinkle these comparisons throughout the middle sections, but it is more sporadic. The author also makes note of visits from one colony to another by members, and disagreements or friendly relations between the same. At the beginning of the book the author helps to give us a very brief explanation of the era of the Great Awakening in the Western World and helps us to understand the sense of urgency that was present in the minds of the founders of these societies. In the conclusion, the author does summarize some themes, but it is a brief chapter. The good thing about not having so much summarizing is that the book is very engaging and exciting to read, and is not at all like a textbook or reference book. The author provides plenty of quotes and evidence of his descriptions of the societies, and also dovetails the events happening in the societies with world events and connections with prominent historical figures of the time (e.g. Karl Marx, F. Engels, Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Overall, I think this is a really good book for someone to read who is interested specifically in any of the five societies covered herein, because research and information on some of them is fairly limited due to the exclusive nature of the communities. It is also interesting from social psychology, economic, religious and political aspects, to read how these different communities succeeded or mostly failed, despite best intentions. In today's divisive climate in America in 2020, I especially enjoyed the positive elements of these societies - people coming together under a common cause to help each other and thrive.
The book is structured with a brief introduction and a brief conclusion, with five sections in the middle for each of the societies. Some of the sections are longer than others where there is more information available from the author. For example, the section on the Shakers is one of the longest. The Shakers' society was definitely the most successful and longest-living of the five societies. They also seemed to have a reputation of getting along well with the secular communities around them as well as other religious groups and societies. The Icarians were by far the weirdest society, in my opinion, started based upon the writings (namely of a fictional land named Icaria) of a French revolutionary named Etienne Cabet. In a way, the Icarians remind me a bit of Scientology, a religion based upon writings of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.
Interesting to me was that the term 'communism' in that timeframe meant the reorganization of society on a communal basis, which doesn't give me the strong negative feelings I get when I hear about communism or socialism today. Another thing I found interesting was how so many of the founders of the unsuccessful colonies (e.g. New Harmony) spent an inordinate amount of time travelling around America and back and forth to Europe in fundraising efforts. Meanwhile, back at the colonies, poor leadership or no leadership ran rampant and upon the return of the leaders and founders, the colonies either needed a lot of help or quickly fell apart. There are also a couple of good themes running through the book: 1) women are highly respected and are important leaders in several of the societies, 2) education is "crowd-sourced" in a kind of co-op fashion within the societies and the children in them received a very high-quality education. In other words, these societies weren't primarily about making white men rich. However, African-Americans were nowhere to be found in these societies - very few had their freedom during this timeframe to even have the choice to join a community, let alone the lack of diversity in these communities to begin with.
I wish that the author would have spent more time summarizing commonalities and themes of these societies that were all geographically and historically fairly close to each other; to compare and contrast them. He does sprinkle these comparisons throughout the middle sections, but it is more sporadic. The author also makes note of visits from one colony to another by members, and disagreements or friendly relations between the same. At the beginning of the book the author helps to give us a very brief explanation of the era of the Great Awakening in the Western World and helps us to understand the sense of urgency that was present in the minds of the founders of these societies. In the conclusion, the author does summarize some themes, but it is a brief chapter. The good thing about not having so much summarizing is that the book is very engaging and exciting to read, and is not at all like a textbook or reference book. The author provides plenty of quotes and evidence of his descriptions of the societies, and also dovetails the events happening in the societies with world events and connections with prominent historical figures of the time (e.g. Karl Marx, F. Engels, Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Overall, I think this is a really good book for someone to read who is interested specifically in any of the five societies covered herein, because research and information on some of them is fairly limited due to the exclusive nature of the communities. It is also interesting from social psychology, economic, religious and political aspects, to read how these different communities succeeded or mostly failed, despite best intentions. In today's divisive climate in America in 2020, I especially enjoyed the positive elements of these societies - people coming together under a common cause to help each other and thrive.
September 24, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed Jennings' book on American utopias! It focuses only on a handful, namely the Shakers, Owenites, Fourierists, Icarians, and Perfectionists, though a few other movements make brief appearances as well. I suppose I hadn't had much foreknowledge of the topic before I dove in - only perhaps that these 19th century communities were forebears to the hippie communes of the 60s and 70s. Jennings presents, in essentially chronological order, the appearance of the major collectivist movements in the United States with special attention paid both to the personalities involved and the nuances of the philosophies or faiths that drove them. A surprisingly amount of cross-pollination occurred; personalities involved in kicking off one utopian moment inevitably pop up in the chapters focused on the next, which helped give me a more developed image of each of these people. The oddly progressive ideas that were fermenting in these collectivist movements kept catching me off guard, given they pre-dated the Civil War (e.g. nation wide woman's suffrage wouldn't arrive until 1920, nearly a century later). The author managed to present the movements with blunt honesty, their sometimes bizarre ideas on full display, but also in a way that maintained the humanity of the idealists with respect for their hope and determination, if not necessarily for the goals they'd set out for. Hope, I suppose, sits at the crux of it, then as it does now. I'll be dwelling upon the conclusion for some time to come.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in American history or social science; I've found it an unexpectedly interesting read on a topic I'd never have guessed would interest me.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in American history or social science; I've found it an unexpectedly interesting read on a topic I'd never have guessed would interest me.
November 1, 2019
This book caught my attention because many of the subjects currently being discussed in political arenas - free healthcare; free education; free childcare; guaranteed living wages - are common to Utopian idealists. In the book, Chris Jennings explores five significant Utopian movements that arose in the United States starting in the late 1700's through the latter 1800's. Approaching each individually (and each is unique), he details the thought processes, beliefs and ambitions that brought each movement to life. He follows the development, growth and ultimate demise of each of the movements. Life inside each Utopia is described, the successes and failures examined, the leaders of each movement (and each had a charismatic leader) are studied and quoted extensively. It is quite remarkable to read the social agendas of some of these groups considering the era - women's rights and liberation; sexual freedoms (some quite brazen); free, comprehensive, life-long education; views on marriage, etc. And all were united in the ideal that, once they had created a model of Utopia, the world would see it and find it irresistible, that they were indeed beginning a revolution that would transform the World. The author does not belabor why these movements ultimately failed, none of them able to expand beyond a few thousand adherents. I would have appreciated more discussion around that, as it helps in trying to consider how some of the ideals, which are now actively promoted by certain political leaders would, or wouldn't, succeed in current times with a US population of 350 million people. Or, with lessons from this book or others, how some of those ideals could be made to work if scaled and managed differently.
February 22, 2022
This is a wonderful, readable history of several major utopian movements in 19th-century America. The story of the Shakers, the Oneida community, the Fourier movement, and more, all could make a solid book in themselves (and probably have); by restricting his story to these groups--all of which flourished (to the degree they did; some did much better than others) in pre-Civil War America, mostly in connection to the Protestant revivals of the Second Great Awakening--and specifically how their founders both often knew of and were responding to one another, Jennings expanded my understanding of just how much social ferment and experimentation there was in American before the Industrial Revolution provided a general wave that everyone (in theory, anyway) could join in. I would have liked it if Jennings could have expanded his book to build stronger comparisons to the utopian movements of the mid-20th century; his brief comment in the conclusion that "twentieth-century communes expressed a secessionist impulse--a leave-taking from the World--not the opening gambit of a new global dispensation," is obviously true in many particulars, but isn't entirely so (the hippie communards of the 1960s certainly had no evangelical desire to move the world towards the promised Christian millennium, but you can't dismiss the pioneering Koinonia Farm in that way!). Still, the book was long enough as it was, and it provided a grateful education to me, so I'm happy with what it is.
October 19, 2022
Sporadically entertaining. Often has detail where it is not needed and gaps where there should be more. I'd give it 3 stars if I wasn't so interested in the subject. If you are thinking of reading it, I'd advice judicious skimming.
The author does not spend much time detailing the way the utopian communities he chronicles ended. In part this is just an issue of interests. Jennings is interested in the way people were inspired to try to create an ideal society (which in many cases they expected to transform the world by example). I am more interested in why anyone would be so unrealistic as to believe that ideal social arrangements could be discovered by one or a few people and then simply enacted according to plan. Therefore I wanted to read more about how the participants in these experiments came face to face with reality.
My feeling is that usually the communities fell apart because they depended on idealism, enthusiasm, and romanticized notions about life which could not last forever, especially as the population aged. More analysis would be interesting.
This would explain why the Shakers, the first experimental community detailed, were actually the most successful...the population was motivated by religious belief. The emphasis was on self-denial rather than exuberant self-expression and and pie-eyed hopes for world transformation.
The author does not spend much time detailing the way the utopian communities he chronicles ended. In part this is just an issue of interests. Jennings is interested in the way people were inspired to try to create an ideal society (which in many cases they expected to transform the world by example). I am more interested in why anyone would be so unrealistic as to believe that ideal social arrangements could be discovered by one or a few people and then simply enacted according to plan. Therefore I wanted to read more about how the participants in these experiments came face to face with reality.
My feeling is that usually the communities fell apart because they depended on idealism, enthusiasm, and romanticized notions about life which could not last forever, especially as the population aged. More analysis would be interesting.
This would explain why the Shakers, the first experimental community detailed, were actually the most successful...the population was motivated by religious belief. The emphasis was on self-denial rather than exuberant self-expression and and pie-eyed hopes for world transformation.
August 8, 2020
Always entertaining, this brilliantly written book by Chris Jennings aptly characterizes the groups of 19th century Americans that attempted to actualize their often bizarre and always elusive visions of the ideal society. Jennings is sympathetic in his depictions, often scouring for the roots of why utopian movements gained such popularity in mid-19th century America. And he accurately suggests why these ideas seem so particularly outlandish to the 21st century American:
"As social fluidity coagulates and individuals cease to imagine their own circumstances changing very much, they are less likely to imagine a dramatically improved future for society in general. The future, as an organizing principle for both hope and critique, ceases to exert much pull on the present. The forms of human association come to seem more or less fixated, subject only to incremental improvement or decay"
As wacky as some of the ideas described in this book are, it is difficult not to admire and be inspired by the persistence and unrelenting optimism of these Americans who strove for a more just and equitable society during a century of economic and social injustice.
"As social fluidity coagulates and individuals cease to imagine their own circumstances changing very much, they are less likely to imagine a dramatically improved future for society in general. The future, as an organizing principle for both hope and critique, ceases to exert much pull on the present. The forms of human association come to seem more or less fixated, subject only to incremental improvement or decay"
As wacky as some of the ideas described in this book are, it is difficult not to admire and be inspired by the persistence and unrelenting optimism of these Americans who strove for a more just and equitable society during a century of economic and social injustice.
November 26, 2017
Engaging, though not easy, read on a fascinating subject. Jennings focuses on five different utopian communities that reached their height during the 19th century, and also endeavors to explain what was going on at the time to make this sort of communism so popular. He sets out the roots of each group (namely the Shakers, Robert Owens' New Harmony, the Fourierist Phalanxes, Icaria, and the Oneida Community), showing how they differ and yet, at times, coalesce. The range of ideas is mind-boggling (some are quite odd, others eyebrow raising), yet each group shares the forward thinking hope that life on earth can and should be made perfect.
Of them all, only the Shakers remain, and barely.
If you are interested in American history, American thought, and how both religion and secularism can end up in the same place - this is worth the read.
I received my copy through the Goodreads giveaways for an honest review.
Of them all, only the Shakers remain, and barely.
If you are interested in American history, American thought, and how both religion and secularism can end up in the same place - this is worth the read.
I received my copy through the Goodreads giveaways for an honest review.
July 20, 2018
I loved this fascinating look at five utopian society movements that have found a home in America in the 19th century. This book gives snapshots of these various schools of thought, and the ways their followers attempted to live out their principles in the U.S.
Most were formed as a response to industrialism, and an attempt to create a society as equitable and peaceful as possible. John Humphrey Noyes called his brand of utopianism "Bible Communism," and in many ways you can see the connection between his views, and the later communism that would rise in Eastern Europe.
I enjoyed the spirit of optimism that was so prominent in each of the movements, and feel like the book gave me a better understanding of 19th century America.
I read this book because I enjoyed Oneida: from Free Love Utopia to Well Set Table, by Ellen Wayland-Smith. Paradise Now was easier read, and I think a better brief introduction to American utopianism.
Most were formed as a response to industrialism, and an attempt to create a society as equitable and peaceful as possible. John Humphrey Noyes called his brand of utopianism "Bible Communism," and in many ways you can see the connection between his views, and the later communism that would rise in Eastern Europe.
I enjoyed the spirit of optimism that was so prominent in each of the movements, and feel like the book gave me a better understanding of 19th century America.
I read this book because I enjoyed Oneida: from Free Love Utopia to Well Set Table, by Ellen Wayland-Smith. Paradise Now was easier read, and I think a better brief introduction to American utopianism.
December 2, 2017
I'm sure someone at the local public library reviewing use stats will be surprised to see how many times this was checked out and renewed, mostly by me. This was the second time I checked it out and renewed it multiple times, and I finally made myself sat down and finish it. It wasn't that it was interesting, it's just that I kept getting distracted by newer, shinier library books.
Once I actually got into this I found it engaging and also funny. I was surprised here at the number of reviews on this book, once when trying to decide whether to give up and return it again, or renew it, I went looking for an audiobook, only not to find one. Apparently, no one thought there would be a market for such a thing. I'm not sure why I would have really liked this on audiobook. I hesitate to recommend this because it's a lot of information for casual reading, but I'm glad I finally read it.
Once I actually got into this I found it engaging and also funny. I was surprised here at the number of reviews on this book, once when trying to decide whether to give up and return it again, or renew it, I went looking for an audiobook, only not to find one. Apparently, no one thought there would be a market for such a thing. I'm not sure why I would have really liked this on audiobook. I hesitate to recommend this because it's a lot of information for casual reading, but I'm glad I finally read it.
September 27, 2017
I've read only 2 other books on this topic, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is the definitive account of 19th-century American Utopian communities. There is an abundance of detail to enliven the narrative. Where else could you learn about the fashion choices at Brook Farm or recreational pursuits at the Oneida community? (Spoiler alert: croquet!) Although all of the Utopian communities ultimately failed, there are lessons we can still learn from them. This book helps to keep these lessons alive.
March 18, 2023
an awesome book rec from midge about american utopian experiments of the 19th century. this book reminded me that my backup plan for not getting into smith was not applying to another college but rather joining Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, VA and in my heart of hearts, i haven’t outgrown the commune urge. like not that specific one, bc i don’t trust the good hippies of Louisa, VA to not be racist terfs but i remember that a bumper sticker on one of their cars said “my other car isn’t mine either”. thanks midge!
January 10, 2024
Hundreds of utopian communities were founded in early nineteenth-century America, their citizens excited about the promise of a new nation and their role in ushering in the millenium, which they believed was imminent. They pioneered many ideas we take for granted now: women's rights and equality, birth control, worker's rights, community child care, and gender roles. The book explores five utopian movements which tens of thousands people joined, some of which became quite successful and lasted well into the 20th century, and their relevance to our society today.
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