Utopian Societies
Utopian societies have been mentioned since the beginning of time. It was mentioned in Plato's novel called Plato's Republic which was written in 400 BC and it was also referenced in Lois Lowry's, The Giver and this was written in 1993. According to dictionary.com a utopia is an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects. Even though many people came up with ideas for a perfect society, in the end they usually all collapse or a major flaw to them. Examples of Utopian societies are shown below.
The Shakers
This has been in America from 1787 until 1947. It was mainly founded by Anne Lee in England in 1758. Her and some followers arrived in America in 1774. Later on she passed on but Shaker colonies spread and by the time of the civil war there was around six thousand followers. The Shakers developed their own religious expression which included communal living, productive labor, celibacy, pacifism, the equality of the sexes, and a ritual noted for its dancing and shaking. Their work was farming at first but them they turned to the production of hand made items such as chairs and furniture. A famous community of shakers was the Enfield community in Enfield, . The greatest number of people that they had here was 146 shakers. They lived in same sex houses and they worked in the garden seed industry. The community contained fifteen buildings some of these Meetinghouses, buildings for people to live in and more.
The Amish
This is a group of Anabaptist Protestant group that teaches separation from the world. This religion stresses hard work, humility, nonviolence, and simplicity. Members may not go to war, hold public office, or swear oaths. The men wear dark clothes and wide-brimmed hats and after they get married the men grow a beard. The women wear plain dresses and bonnets. The children attend rural Amish schools. They support the rights of private property and individual economic freedom and don't participate in government social programs. They help one another along with non-Amish people in times of financial need as part of their religious commitments. This religion originated in Switzerland by Jacob Ammann. They started to come over to America in the early 1700's where they settled in eastern Pennsylvania and spoke German.
