Brook Farm Research Paper

677 Words3 Pages
Sam Heald Mr. Albertson 11/12/14 Brook Farm: A Utopian Society Brook Farm, otherwise know as the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education, was established by George Ripley in the mid-nineteenth century in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. In the late months of 1841, Ripley bought the land in West Roxbury and planned to create a utopian community. Ripley was a known transcendentalist, and a former Unitarian minister. Transcendentalism is defined as, “an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism.” The Transcendentalism philosophy developed right around the time of Brook Farm, and was the basis for its inception. With the help of his wife, George Ripley created a utopian…show more content…
He worked to create a society that was appealing to all classes, not just the intellectuals. During a time where transcendentalism was on the rise, he figured creating a community with similar ideals to it would be alluring. Ripley wanted to, “combine the thinker and the worker, to guarantee the greatest mental freedom, and to prepare a society of liberal, cultivated persons, who’s relations with each other would permit a more wholesome and simpler life than could be led amid the pressure of competitive institutions.” Essentially, Ripley wanted a prosperous utopian community, where people would learn and work. This community functioned on his ideals, which were heavily swayed by transcendentalism. He wanted to combine the worker and the learner together as one. Everyone was required to work a few hours a day, and have some sort of education during the other hours. Some found they liked these ideals, while others found certain aspects of life at Brook Farm…show more content…
In it he states, “Our objects, as you know, are to insure a more natural union between intellectual and manual labor than now exists; to combine the thinker and worker, as far as possible, in the same individual; to guarantee the highest mental freedom, by providing all with labor, adapted to their tastes and talents, and securing them to the fruits of their industry; to do away the necessity of menial services, by opening the benefits of education and the profits of labor to all; and thus to prepare a society of liberal, intelligent, and cultivated persons, whose relations with each other would permit a more simple and wholesome life, than can be lead amidst the pressure of our competitive institutions.” These ‘goals’ he exclaimed to Emerson in a letter laid the blueprint out for the creation of Brook Farm. Ripley created a joint-stock company with others, and sold stocks to interested investors. With the purchase of one share, the buyer then became a member of the institution. He planned to raise a total of $30,000 in order to get Brook Farm running. Notable members like Nathaniel Hawthorne and visitors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson helped strike interest into joining the community. Then there were the people who sought after the simple life, which was advertised by Ripley. They liked the idea of a utopian
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