The Communistic Societies of the United States: Economic Social and Religious Utopias of the Nineteenth Century

by Charles Nordhoff

A veteran newspaper correspondent, Charles Nordhoff was the first trained observer to give a detailed account of the communitarian societies that were a marked feature of American life in the nineteenth century. He visited dozens of these communities — virtually every one in existence — and read extensively in their doctrinal and other literature in preparation for this book. His straightforward, factual report on what he saw and learned is still a vital document for students of American history, sociology, and culture.
The Amana Society, the Harmonists at Economy, the Separatists of Zoar, the Shakers, the Oneida and Wallingford Perfectionists, the Aurora and Bethel communes, the Icarians, the Bishop Hill colony, the Cedar Vale commune, the Social Freedom Community, and three non-communistic colonies (Anaheim, California; Vineland, New Jersey; and Silkville Prairie Home, Kansas) are all examined in detail. They emerge from these pages as living experiments in human relations.
For each community, Nordhoff discusses history, religious or other guiding philosophy, social habits, and customs, and business and administration. He also supplies vignettes of his visits and interviews, vividly describing the houses and other buildings, the physical settings, the clothing, food, everyday conversation, intellectual and aesthetic aspiration, etc. within each society.
With its concluding chapter on conditions requisite to the success of a communistic society and on the effects of such a society upon its members, and its 38 illustrations of interiors and exteriors, typical clothing styles, and so on, Nordhoff's work is a refreshingly unprejudiced report on socialism and communism in their prescientific infancy. It is especially welcome at a time of growing interest in America's social and cultural past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Utopia, American, Economics

439 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 1966

About the author

This describes the 19th century journalist and author. For the 20th century novelist most famous for Mutiny on the Bounty, see Charles Bernard Nordhoff.

Charles Nordhoff was an American journalist, descriptive and miscellaneous writer.

He was born in Erwitte, Germany (Prussia) in 1830, and emigrated to the USA in 1845. He was educated in Cincinnati, and was for nine years at sea, in the navy and merchant service; from 1853 to 1857 in various newspaper offices; was then employed editorially by the Harpers (1861), and for the next ten years on the staff of the New York Evening Post.

From 1871 to 1873 Nordhoff travelled in California and visited Hawaii. He then became Washington correspondent of the New York Herald. His most widely known books are Northern California, Oregon and the Sandwich Islands (1874), The Communistic Societies of the United States (1857) and God and the Future Life (1881).

Reviews

[Private Account · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super interesting. I read it at the same time as Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism (a book on the same subject but written in 2016). I strongly preferred this book to the newer one. This one had more info. It was drier. It felt more honest. It was better organized. I liked the author more—authentic. No selling. No drama. Paradise Now suffers from trying too hard. I read about Shakers in both books but this one is the one that made me really feel like I understood them. Likewise with the other groups.

This book made me think that humans are better off in small communities than big ones, especially the bottom 50%. They may be happier in actual communism (small scale, large scale doesn’t work). Think monasteries. Small group communism can actually work. Ish. None of these societies lasted. Their children preferred life elsewhere. But how interesting to see that they could work at all.

[Joshua]

(these comments refer to the 1875 edition)

An enjoyable tour through the "hippie" communes of America's yesteryear (side note: John Etzler, who is discussed in "Powering the Dream" was a Rappist (aka Harmonist aka Economist) for some time). What makes this book fascinating is the detail with which the author describes the living situation at each of the communes, based on his personal tours of each of these. In the conclusion, he makes some remarks on the beneficial (and anti-beneficial) general characteristics of commune living. What I took from this was: (i) It is hard to attract middle class/upper class members unless they are "fanatics" (religious or otherwise), due to the necessary regimentation and work that is required to make a commune successful, but much easier to attract lower class residentsby providing a steady livelihood and support in old age. (ii) Events that promote common-time (e.g., social hours) are beneficial. (iii) Communal living and/or celibacy are not necessary for success; (iv) Encourage austerity and lack of ornamentation in building, furnishing, and dress to save money.; (v) Buy wholesale (you have a mini-town, after all, and can get rid of the middleman), sell retail (specialize in high value manufactures, with agriculture providing a sustenance baseline)

Also, I did not realize that Anaheim, CA and Vineland, NJ were founded as collective operations (although these are included as a "not-truly communes" chapter in the book).

p. 387: "In fact, the Germans make better communists than any other people—unless someday the Chinese should turn their attention to communistic attempts"

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The United States has featured many utopian communities over time. This book assembles a set of those that the author labels "communistic." I am not sure that that designation is completely accurate in all the cases.

Examples? The Shakers, The Amana Society, Oneida, Aurora, and so on. My personal favorite? Bishop Hill, Illinois. This colony was created just miles from my hoem town, Kewanee, Illinois. The book speaks of its decay, but--in recvent years--the buildings have been refurbished and the community is now a nice tourist attraction. I have enjoyed visiting the place (last time was a couple decades or so ago). Communistic? Not sure. . . .

Anyhow, an interesting review of a number of utopian societies. . . .

[Ryan Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nordhoff visits several communistic societies in the united states in 1874 and 1875: The Shakers, the Perfectionists, the Bethel community, and others. He analyzes their pecuniary success, bylaws, religion, and general well being.

In the 1870s in the US, Communism was already a dirty word, but had not yet acquired the darker meanings of 'evil empire' and totalitarianism. Nordhoff immediately recognized that these communities were only successful when they had a strong leader with no checks on his power.

The communities he visited were 'successful' in that they had added acres to their holdings and were not in debt. I attribute at least some of this to survivor bias, he visited no communities that died in their infancy. Also, he rightly notices that there is, outside of religious fanatacism, no higher calling to any of the communes. They are not interested in bettering the lot of mankind in general, they do not aspire to anything beautiful. They do not believe in progress.

Finally, I find that the communes would not be at all successful without the access to capitalistic society next door. To whom do they sell their wool? Their timber? Where do they get the hired help they need for chopping wood or representing them in legal suits?

Overall, grand and venerable idea that has no place in any rational person's plans.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and the observations about communism are spot on. The reason ibleave off a star is that towards the end, the examples become less descriptive and thorough in their analysis.

[Tommy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts off by attacking trade unions based on the old wage fund theory. I suppose the sympathetic accounts are for an ideological reason i.e. private "communistic" societies could be one answer for all the visible social ills without giving up on the good old protestant work ethic. More modern examples like Jim Jones should make us a bit more sceptical of how these types of groups present themselves to the outside world.

The societies which may thus be properly used as illustrations of successful communism in this country are the SHAKERS, established in the Eastern States in 1794, and in the West about 1808; the RAPPISTS, established in 1805; the BAUMELERS, or ZOARITES, established in 1817; the EBEN-EZERS, or AMANA Communists, established in 1844; the BETHEL Commune, established in 1844; the ONEIDA PERFECTIONISTS, established in 1848; the ICARIANS, who date from 1849; and the AURORA Commune, from 1852.
...the Icarians are French; the Shakers and Perfectionists Americans; the others are Germans; and these outnumber all the American communists.

These groups were mostly made up of unacculturated highly religious foreigners living highly regimented lives. Their economic and psychological viability is swept away by mass society and production.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is an interesting but somewhat repetitive contemporaneous journalistic account of american utopian communities in the 19th century (...i think -- the exact dates are already foggy and i already returned the book to the library so i can't verify). the author's style is highly readable, and even entertaining, but the information gets samey because he chooses to cover similar sorts of communities -- mostly german, protestant. still, worth reading if the subject interests you.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbelievably interesting insight into what was then a consideration to solve the union problem. Thoroughly fascinating as seen through the eyes of the journalist and knowing how things actually happened afterwards. A bit repetitious in a - I guess - goal to be thorough, but a lost little time period of history when the future was unknown and the book aimed at supplying an alternative option genuinely and honestly to encourage the quality of life for man.

[Harriet Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Communistic Societies of the United States

The Communistic Societies of the United States by Charles Nordhoff is an interesting book. The Communistic Societies seem to be based more on religious principles, than on Marxism. As a matter of fact, I see nothing of Marxism in them, at all.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book detailing the communistic societies (Shakers, etc.) of the U.S. around 1870. I recommend it as a look into ways of living that are probably quite different from your current one.

[J.D.L. Rosell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firsthand information on utopian societies in the United States during the 1800s from a journalist of the time. Very interesting to understand a few of the many social experiments of the time.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to finish reading this...looked at the pictures & started the forward. The first sentence says, "Contemporary readers often confuse Charles Nordhoff's name with that of his grandson, Charles Bernard nordhoff, the author of the "Mutiny on the Bounty," and with his son Walter Nordhoff...."
Since I wanted to read other books by the author of the "Mutiny on the Bounty", I'm not going to finish this!