History of American Socialisms Part 1

History of American Socialisms.

by John Humphrey Noyes.

PREFACE.

The object of this book is to help the study of Socialism by the inductive method. It is, first and chiefly, a collection of facts; and the attempts at interpretation and generalization which are interspersed, are secondary and not intentionally dogmatic.

It is certainly high time that Socialists should begin to take lessons from experience; and for this purpose, that they should chasten their confidence in flattering theories, and turn their attention to actual events.

This country has been from the beginning, and especially for the last forty years, a laboratory in which Socialisms of all kinds have been experimenting. It may safely be a.s.sumed that Providence has presided over the operations, and has taken care to make them instructive. The disasters of Owenism and Fourierism have not been in vain; the successes of the Shakers and Rappites have not been set before us for nothing. We may hope to learn something from every experiment.

The author, having had unusual advantages for observing the Socialistic movements, and especial good fortune in obtaining collections of observations made by others, has deemed it his duty to devote a year to the preparation of this history.

As no other systematic account of American Socialisms exists, the facts here collected, aside from any interpretation of them, may be valuable to the student of history, and entertaining to the general reader.

The present issue may be considered a proof-sheet, as carefully corrected as it can be by individual, vigilance. It is hoped that it will call out from experts in Socialism and others, corrections and additions that will improve it for future editions.

_Wallingford, Conn., December, 1869._

AMERICAN SOCIALISMS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

Many years ago, when a branch of the Oneida Community lived at Willow Place in Brooklyn, near New York, a sombre pilgrim called there one day, asking for rest and conversation. His business proved to be the collecting of memoirs of socialistic experiments. We treated him hospitably, and gave him the information he sought about our Community. He repeated his visit several times in the course of some following years, and finally seemed to take a very friendly interest in our experiment. Thus we became acquainted with him, and also in a measure with the work he had undertaken, which was nothing less than a history of all the a.s.sociations and Communities that have lived and died in this country, within the last thirty or forty years.

This man's name was A.J. Macdonald. We remember that he was a person of small stature, with black hair and sharp eyes. He had a benevolent air, but seemed a little sad. We imagined that the sad scenes he had encountered while looking after the stories of so many short-lived Communities, had given him a tinge of melancholy. He was indeed the "Old Mortality" of Socialism, wandering from grave to grave, patiently deciphering the epitaphs of defunct "Phalanxes." We learned from him that he was a Scotchman by birth, and a printer by trade; that he was an admirer and disciple of Owen, and came from the "old country" some ten years before, partly to see and follow the fortunes of his master's experiments in Socialism: but finding Owenism in ruins and Fourierism going to ruin, he took upon himself the task of making a book, that should give future generations the benefit of the lessons taught by these attempts and failures.

His own attempt was a failure. He gathered a huge ma.s.s of materials, wrote his preface, and then died in New York of the cholera. Our record of his last visit is dated February, 1854.

Ten years later our attention was turned to the project of writing a history of American Socialisms. Such a book seemed to be a want of the times. We remembered Macdonald, and wished that by some chance we could obtain his collections. But we had lost all traces of them, and the hope of recovering them from the chaos of the great city where he died, seemed chimerical. Nevertheless some of our a.s.sociates, then in business on Broadway, commenced inquiring at the printing offices, and soon found acquaintances of Macdonald, who directed them to the residence of his brother-in-law in the city. There, to our joyful surprise, we found the collections we were in search of, lying useless except as mementos, and a gentleman in charge of them who was willing we should take them and use them as we pleased.

On examining our treasure, we found it to be a pile of ma.n.u.scripts, of letter-paper size and three inches thick, with printed sc.r.a.ps from newspapers and pamphlets interspersed. All was in the loosest state of disorder; but we strung the leaves together, paged them, and made an index of their contents. The book thus extemporized has been our companion, as the reader will see, in the ensuing history. The number of its pages is seven hundred and forty-seven. The index has the names of sixty-nine a.s.sociative experiments, beginning with Brook Farm and ending with the Shakers. The memoirs are of various lengths, from a mere mention to a narrative of nearly a hundred pages. Among them are notices of leading Socialists, such as Owen, Fourier, Frances Wright, &c. The collection was in no fit condition for publication; but it marked out a path for us, and gave us a ma.s.s of material that has been very serviceable, and probably could not elsewhere be found.

The breadth and thoroughness of Macdonald's intention will be seen in the following circular which, in the prosecution of his enterprise, he sent to many leading Socialists.

PRINTED LETTER OF INQUIRY.

"_New York, March, 1851._

"I have been for some time engaged in collecting the necessary materials for a book, to be ent.i.tled '_The Communities of the United States_,' in which I propose giving a brief account of all the social and co-operative experiments that have been made in this country--their origin, principles, and progress; and, particularly, the causes of their success or failure.

"I have reason to believe, from long experience among social reformers, that such a work is needed, and will be both useful and interesting. It will serve as a guide to all future experiments, showing what has already been done; like a light-house, pointing to the rocks on which so many have been wrecked, or to the haven in which the few have found rest. It will give facts and statistics to be depended upon, gathered from the most authentic sources, and forming a collection of interesting narratives. It will show the errors of enthusiasts, and the triumphs of the cool-thinking; the disappointments of the sanguine, and the dear-bought experience of many social adventurers. It will give mankind an idea of the labor of body and mind that has been expended to realize a better state of society; to subst.i.tute a social and co-operative state for a compet.i.tive one; a system of harmony, for one of discord.

"To insure the truthfulness of the work, I propose to gather most of my information from individuals who have actually been engaged in the experiments of which I treat. With this object in view, I take the liberty to address you, asking your aid in carrying out my plan. I request you to give me an account of the experiment in which you were engaged at ----. For instance, I require such information as the following questions would call forth, viz:

"1. Who originated it, or how was it originated?

"2. What were its principles and objects?

"3. What were its means in land and money?

"4. Was all the property put into common stock?

"5. What was the number of persons in the a.s.sociation?

"6. What were their trades, occupations and amount of skill?

"7. Their education, natural intelligence and morality?

"8. What religious belief, and if any, how preached and practised?

"9. How were members admitted? was there any standard by which to judge them, or any property qualification necessary?

"10. Was there a written or printed const.i.tution or laws? if so can you send me a copy?

"11. Were pledges, fines, oaths, or any coercive means used?

"12. When and where did the a.s.sociation commence its experiment?

Please describe the locality; what dwellings and other conveniences were upon it; how many persons it could accommodate; how many persons lived on the spot; how much land was cultivated; whether there were plenty of provisions; &c., &c.

"13. How was the land obtained? Was it free or mortgaged? Who owned it?

"14. Were the new circ.u.mstances of the a.s.sociates superior or inferior to the circ.u.mstances they enjoyed previous to their a.s.sociating?

"15. Did they obtain aid from without?

"16. What particular person or persons took the lead?

"17. Who managed the receipts and expenditures, and were they honestly managed?

"18. Did the a.s.sociates agree or disagree, and in what?

"19. How long did they keep together?

"20. When and why did they break up? State the causes, direct and indirect.

"21. If successful, what were the causes of success?