The shakers are one of the most famous American utopian communities known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appealing. They originated in England during mid-17th century. The Shakers were one of the very few which succeeded in their community. Their nickname is “Shakers” because of the trembling during worship from their religious zeal. It was after Mother Ann Lee's visions by God, representing an ideal life, that people went from England to America and began establishing their community and beliefs. Mother Ann Lee served as an inspiration to others because of her bravery and religiousness. During a time in which women weren’t able to do as much, Mother Ann Lee was able to preach to others and lead the Shaker church. This…show more content… Her followers thought of her as “The Second Coming of Christ” she possessed all his qualities but in woman form. My curiosity about this community served as motivation to keep researching more of how the Shakers originated, their characteristics, and most importantly, their history. Mother Ann Lee and her followers were able to do something many other utopian communities weren’t able to accomplish. Just before the Civil War once they were established in America, their faith had spread and they had over 6,000 members. During the 19th century they were the largest and most successful utopian group in existence. They managed to still be present in the 21st century although, they deny that at one point their Shaker communities were failing and closing. There still exists a small community of Shakers known as the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community in Sabbathday, Maine. This is the same location where they would meet to worship and…show more content… The Shakers developed a multistate corporation. On a recent article by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica it states, “The Shaker movement reached its height during the 1840s, when about 6,000 members were enrolled in the church. It later declined, however, because of changes in spiritual needs and the church’s insistence of celibacy and it’s opposing to childbearing.” I believe if it wasn’t for such harsh rules and requirements then maybe their society would’ve kept rising. They were asking for individuals to live a life in which there weren’t any excitements, not many things for people to look forward to.
They had many industries available to them in their own closed community. The Shakers had furniture making, basketry, metalworking, weaving, seed packaging, and broom making. These same products were either sold to those outside of their community or used within the community itself. Their sale of seeds in packages happened to benefit them the most, it brought them a huge success. In fact, some of the objects we find in the twenty-first century came from the Shakers. We still have the flat broom, circular saw, and the revolving oven. Through all their work simplicity and efficiency were their guiding