LITR 5737: Literary & Historical Utopias
Historical Presentation 2005
Keri Welborn
Utopian
Movement Regarding the Oneida Community
John Humphrey Noyes
·
Born September 3, 1811 in Brattleboro, Vermont
·
Converted to Christianity in 1831 (he was 20 years old)
·
Came to the understanding of Perfectionism, a way of salvation. Reasons for this are unclear, however, it is believed that he
believed that he “could not believe that he was a sinner, since he could not
summon up from within any feeling of guilt or despair”.
The Perfectionist also believed that the second coming of Christ had
already occurred.
The
Movement
1834—Noyes
began the theories that would become the foundation of truth in the Oneida
Community.
1837—A letter written by Noyes
was published in the periodical Battle Axe.
In this letter Noyes stated that he was God’s agent on earth,
This letter also led to a correspondence with Harriet Holton
1838—Proposed to and married
Harriet Holton. The marriage was
based largely on the money that Holton brought to the marriage and convenience.
1840—Putney Association was
developed
1844—Putney Association adopted communism which included all property of family living and associations.
Community has about 37 members
1846—Community adopted Noyes
teachings of Mutual Criticism, Complex Marriage, and Male Continence (see below)
1848— Mutual Criticism, Complex
Marriage, and Male Continence adopted by
the entire community
*It should be noted that at this
time only a small portion of the community practiced these and that the
community came under a great deal of persecution because of these teachings and
to avoid being a useless martyr Noyes bought approx. 40 acres of land in Oneida,
NY (the Promised Land)
1847—The
Putney group agreed "that the Kingdom of God had come”.
The community could believe this because of two of Noyes' teachings: one
being that Christ's second coming took place in A.D. 70, and the other being
that they could bring in the millennial kingdom themselves.
1848—February 1 the Oneida
Community was founded and had 87 members
1849—Community had 87 members
in January
1850—Community had 205 members
in February
1875—Community had 298 members
1876—Problems occur because
Noyes tried to pass over leadership to Dr. Theodore Noyes, his son.
The members resented this because Dr, Noyes was an agnostic and ran the
community too strictly.
1878—Community had 306 members
Beginning of the break-up of the community
1879—Noyes abandoned the system
of Complex Marriage
1881—Oneida Community abandoned
and the Oneida Community, Limited was established
Other Information
Government—consisted of 21
standing committees and 48 administrative departments.
The Oneida Community covered every conceivable activity and interest from
hair cutting to dentistry to education.
Equality—The
women had equality with men and served on the committees and shared in all
activities.
Branches—Branch
communities were started in Brooklyn, Wallingford, Newark, Putney, Cambridge,
and Manlius. These communities,
however, were abandoned to concentrate the members at Oneida.
Comparison
to other Utopian societies—Oneidans were not forced to deal with legal
suits (like the Shakers), they rarely struggled with apostates spreading untrue
stories (like the Mormons).
Miscellaneous—The
website titled Family Diversity (below) states that “Oneida was one of
the most successful utopian communities in history.
It also says that the Oneida Community avoided the “back to land”
fantasies which were popular during the era.
They founded businesses
including a spoon factory which evolved (after their breakup) into the Oneida
Silversmiths atware company.
Interesting
Fact—Charles Guiteau left the community in 1867.
Guiteau assassinated President Garfield.
Doctrines, Beliefs, and
Practices
1.
COMPLEX MARRIAGE
- This is where every man and every woman is married to each other. They could
engage in sexual intercourse, but could not be attached to each other as stated
earlier.
2.
MALE CONTINENCE
- This was a form of birth control where during and after sexual intercourse the
man could not ejaculate. It stated that "a couple would engage in sexual congress
without the man ever ejaculating, either during intercourse or after
withdrawal" ( Oneida Overview , p.3). Noyes justified this practice
because his wife Harriet in the first six years of their marriage had five
difficult childbirths, four of which were premature and resulted in the deaths
of the children. Noyes had concluded that unwanted pregnancies simply
represented a waste of a man's seed, and therefore bore no difference to
masturbation.
3.
ASCENDING FELLOWSHIP
- This is where the young virgins in the community were brought into the
practice of Complex Marriage. The older godly members who were in a special
group and were called Central Members would pick a virgin to be spiritually
responsible for. This took place when the young people were about fourteen years
old.
4.
MUTUAL CRITICISM
- In Mutual Criticism, each member of the community that was being reprimanded
was taken in front of either a committee or sometimes the whole community to be
criticized for their action. Under
communal control, members were subjected to the criticisms of a committee or
else the whole community. These criticisms were directed toward the
"member's bad traits (those thoughts or acts that detracted from family
unity), [so that the] individual could be put through a shameful and humiliating
experience" ( Oneida Overview , p.3). Ironically enough, Noyes would
never allow himself to be criticized.
5.
CONFESSION
- The members of the community, according to Noyes, were sinless after
conversion, so no confession would be needed.
6.
REGENERATION
- That Christ's death was not for the sins of man, but was the first blow to
Satan. But that by believing in the death of Christ, one was released from sin,
because Christ destroyed the central cause of sin. By believing then, one is
regenerated (Whitworth 101-102).
7.
SEPARATION
- The members did separate into a community, but their main separation was to be
a sexual one.
8.
REVELATION -
Noyes never said that he received special revelation, though he did have some
twisted interpretations. Noyes once wrote an article in "The Berean"
and emphasized the credibility of scripture and denounced those who denied the
validity and relevance of scripture.
9.
EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
- The Oneida Community believed in equality of the sexes as stated earlier.
10.
MILLENNIAL KINGDOM - That the Millennial Kingdom had been introduced in A.D. 70 at which
time Noyes thought Christ had made His Second Coming (Hudson 186).
11.
STIRPICULTURE-
If a child was desired-and allowed- a Eugenics program was used so that
only the best children would be bred. These concepts of creating a perfect world
had not been expounded since Plato's Republic. Stirpiculture is derived from the
principle of eugenics, attempts to improve hereditary qualities through
selective breeding. Noyes encouraged the most spiritually ascended followers to
mate with each other in order to produce the most spiritual offspring. The
mating of certain individuals tended to create special love between members and
caused tension among members.
12.
ECONOMIC
COMMUNISM-
From their community's birth right up to it's death the members rejected all
forms of personal wealth and private property.
Links and Resources
New York History Net—Consists of a comphrehensive
history of Noyes, his beliefs, and the Oneida Community
http://www.nyhistory.com/central/oneida.htm
Religious
Movements Homepage—Very similar to New York History but was not as
comprehensive.
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Oneida.html
Family Diversity (for
lack of a better name)—Not so extensive, but contains interesting facts about
the Oneidans.
http://www.rouncefield.homestead.com/files/as_soc_family_27.htm
The Oneida Community Collection || Syracuse
University Library—Syracruse has an
extensive list of recourses in which to research the Oneida Community.
http://libwww.syr.edu/digital/guides/o/OneidaCommunityCollection/
Oneida
Community Mansion House A National Historic Landmark—A
comprehensive look at the actual house that the Oneida Community lived in.
Literary Objectives
Objective 3: Given the fact that utopian
communities always fail (usually sooner rather than later), what historical
critique of utopias is possible beyond “They don’t work” or “It’s
futile?” (For instance, the fact that utopias always fail depends on the prior
fact that people continue to imagine or attempt utopias.)
3a. What relations develop between fictional and actual utopian communities? What has been the historical impact of utopian fictions?
3c. Is the utopian impulse universal, or is it special to western civilization, esp. in its modern phase? Has the utopian impulse become extinct or evolved? Is utopia “progressive / liberal” or “reactionary / conservative?”