Progressive Era
134-618: Repression and persecution Anti-war and civil rights movements Contemporary Brook Farm , also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education , was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s. It was founded by former Unitarian minister George Ripley and his wife Sophia Ripley at
268-775: A prayer derived from religious text or doctrine, worshipping through the context of a religion, performing corporal and spiritual works of mercy , and attending a religious seminary school or monastery are examples of religious (non-secular) activities. In many cultures, there is little dichotomy between "natural" and "supernatural", "religious" and "not-religious", especially since people have beliefs in other supernatural or spiritual things irrespective of belief in God or gods. Other cultures stress practice of ritual rather than belief. Conceptions of both "secular" and "religious", while sometimes having some parallels in local cultures, were generally imported along with Western worldviews, often in
402-517: A "Phalanx". To meet this vision, now under the name "Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education", Brook Farmers committed themselves to constructing an ambitious communal building known as the Phalanstery . Construction began in the summer of 1844. The structure would accommodate 14 families and single people as well. It was planned to be 175 feet (53 m) by 40 feet (12 m) and include, as Ripley wrote, "a large and commodious kitchen,
536-463: A Protestant Brook Farmer complained, "We are beginning to see wooden crosses around and pictures of saints ... and I suspect that rosaries are rattling under aprons." Nathaniel Hawthorne, eventually elected treasurer of the community, did not enjoy his experience. Initially, he praised the work he was doing, boasting of "what a great, broad-shouldered, elephantine personage I shall become by and by!" Later, he wrote to his wife-to-be Sophia Peabody, "labor
670-961: A blunt directive from Moscow denouncing the Polish government. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland and occupied the Polish territory assigned to it by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, followed by co-ordination with German forces in Poland. The CPUSA turned the focus of its public activities from anti-fascism to advocating peace, not only opposing military preparations, but also condemning those opposed to Hitler . The party did not at first attack President Roosevelt, reasoning that this could devastate American Communism, blaming instead Roosevelt's advisors. On November 30, when Soviet Union attacked Finland and after forced mutual assistance pacts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ,
804-483: A chief who kept a record of the work done. While this system created a new work hierarchy, the members still had the flexibility to move between groups easily. These new measures caused Brook Farm to make a profit in 1844, a feat it had not accomplished in its first few years of existence. Typical work duties at Brook Farm included chopping wood, bringing in firewood, milking cows, turning a grindstone , and other farming chores. Not all were farmers, however. Some worked in
938-497: A dairy farm owned by Charles and Maria Mayo Ellis in West Roxbury, Massachusetts , near the home of Theodore Parker . They began raising money, including holding a meeting at Peabody's bookshop to raise $ 10,000 for the farm's purchase. The site was eventually purchased on October 11, 1841, for $ 10,500, though participants began moving in as early as April. The 170-acre (0.69 km) farm about eight miles (13 km) from Boston
1072-399: A dining-hall capable of seating from three to four hundred persons, two public saloons, and a spacious hall or lecture room". Ripley and two associates created a new constitution for Brook Farm in 1844, beginning the experiment's attempts to follow Fourier's Phalanx system. Many Brook Farmers supported the transition; at a dinner in honor of Fourier's birthday, one member of the group proposed
1206-425: A founding member, Hawthorne was unhappy during his tenure as a Brook Farmer, partly because he was unable to write while living there. "I have no quiet at all", he complained, and his hands were covered "with a new crop of blisters—the effect of raking hay". He presented a fictionalized portrait of his experience in his 1852 novel The Blithedale Romance . He acknowledged the resemblance in his introduction, saying "in
1340-719: A front-page column in the New York Tribune that ran in several parts from March 1842 to September 1843. Brisbane argued in the series, titled "Association: or, Principles of a True Organization of Society", that Fourier's theories could be applied in the United States. He published similar articles in 1842 in The Dial , the journal of the Transcendentalists. Fourier's societal vision included elaborate plans for specific structures and highly organized roles for its members. He called his system for an ideal community
1474-459: A mass of firework". The financial blow from the loss of the uninsured building was $ 7,000 and it marked the beginning of the end of Brook Farm. Ripley, who had begun the experiment, made an unofficial break with Brook Farm in May 1846. Many others began to leave as well, though the farm's dissolution was slow. As one Brook Farmer said, the community's slow decline was like apple petals drifting slowly to
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#17327810273631608-753: A non-denominational cemetery known as the Gardens of Gethsemene (as part of St. Joseph's Cemetery and the Baker Street Jewish Cemeteries ). During the period of Lutheran ownership the only now extant building, a c. 1890 print shop, was built on the land; the buildings associated with the Transcendentalists, most recently the Margaret Fuller Cottage, had burned down by the 1980s. In 1988, the Metropolitan District Commission (since merged with
1742-403: A parallel language to religion, and intensifies Protestant features such as iconoclasm, skepticism towards rituals, and emphasizes beliefs. In doing so, secularism perpetuates Christian traits under a different name. Most cultures around the world do not have tension or dichotomous views of religion and secularity. Since religion and secular are both Western concepts that were formed under
1876-487: A plot for mailing 36 bombs to prominent members of the U.S. political and economic establishment : J. P. Morgan Jr. , John D. Rockefeller , Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes , U.S. Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer , and immigration officials. On June 2, 1919, in eight cities, eight bombs exploded simultaneously . One target was the Washington, D.C. , house of U.S. Attorney General Palmer, where
2010-445: A pre-WWII isolationist tradition on the right. Liberal anti-communists believed that political debate was enough to show Communists as disloyal and irrelevant, while countersubversive anticommunists believed that Communists had to be exposed and punished. At times, countersubversive anticommunists accused liberals of being "equally destructive" as Communists due to an alleged lack of religious values or supposed "red web" infiltration into
2144-414: A process by which anything becomes secular is named secularization , though the term is mainly reserved for the secularization of society ; and any concept or ideology promoting the secular may be termed secularism , a term generally applied to the ideology dictating no religious influence on the public sphere . Scholars recognize that secularity is structured by Protestant models of Christianity, shares
2278-485: A requirement to earn leisure time. Leisure time was important to Brook Farm's philosophy. As Elizabeth Palmer Peabody wrote for The Dial in January 1842, "none will be engaged merely in bodily labor ... This community aims to be rich, not in the metallic representative of wealth, but in ... leisure to live in all the faculties of the soul". At Brook Farm, women could go beyond their typical sphere of tasks and their labor
2412-574: A response to World War I, Congress passed the Espionage Act to prevent any information relating to national defense from being used to harm the United States or to aid her enemies. The Wilson administration used this act to make anything "urging treason" a "nonmailable matter". Due to the Espionage Act and the then Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson , 74 separate newspapers were not being mailed. In April 1919, authorities discovered
2546-541: A revival of Red Scare politics in the United States, and for its ties to conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney and conservative activist Steve Bannon . David Skidmore, writing for The Diplomat , saw it as another instance of "adolescent hysteria" in American diplomacy, as another of the "fevered crusades [which] have produced some of the costliest mistakes in American foreign policy". Between 2000 and 2023, there were 224 reported instances of Chinese espionage directed at
2680-472: A toast to "Fourier, the second coming of Christ". Others did not share that enthusiasm, and some left the commune. One of those who left was Isaac Hecker , who converted to Catholicism and went on to become the founder of the first American-based order of priests, the Paulist Fathers , in 1858. In particular, many Brook Farmers thought the new model was too rigid and structured and too different from
2814-496: A utopian community, the characters in his novel did not represent any specific Brook Farmers. Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise, supposed or real, of leftist ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism . Historically, "red scares" have led to mass political persecution , scapegoating , and the ousting of those in government positions who have had connections with left-wing to far-left ideology. The name
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#17327810273632948-628: A wide range of industries including steel working, shipbuilding, coal mining, copper mining, and others necessary for wartime activities. After World War I ended (November 1918), the number of strikes increased to record levels in 1919, with more than 3,600 separate strikes by a wide range of workers, e.g. steel workers, railroad shop workers, and the Boston police department. The press portrayed these worker strikes as "radical threats to American society" inspired by "left-wing, foreign agents provocateurs ". The IWW and those sympathetic to workers claimed that
3082-514: A window all day ... and both received at night the same wages". Twenty years later, Emerson publicly denounced the experiment in his essay collection The Conduct of Life . Charles Lane , one of the founders of another community called Fruitlands , thought the Brook Farmers' lifestyle did not sacrifice enough. He said they were "playing away their youth and day-time in a miserably joyous frivolous manner". Like other communities, Brook Farm
3216-455: A woman of the community who was in charge of his/her wardrobe, personal habits, and exercise. The teachers included three graduates of Harvard Divinity School (George Ripley, George Partridge Bradford , and John Sullivan Dwight ) and several women (Ripley's wife Sophia, his sister Marianne, and his cousin Hannah, Georgianna Bruce, and Abby Morton ). Ripley was in charge of teaching English and
3350-660: Is Twentieth-Century Americanism", the chairman, Earl Browder, advertised the CPUSA's integration to the political mainstream. In contrast, the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party opposed U.S. participation in the war and supported labor strikes, even in the war-effort industry. For this reason, James P. Cannon and other SWP leaders were convicted per the Smith Act. In March 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9835 , creating
3484-470: Is a spy. Abundant accounts in narrative forms contained themes of the infiltration, subversion, invasion, and destruction of American society by un–American thought . Even a baseball team, the Cincinnati Reds , temporarily renamed themselves the "Cincinnati Redlegs" to avoid the money-losing and career-ruining connotations inherent in being ball-playing "Reds" (communists). In 1954, Congress passed
3618-485: Is best understood not as being "anti-religious", but as being "religiously neutral" since many activities in religious bodies are secular themselves, and most versions of secularity do not lead to irreligiosity. The idea of a dichotomy between religion and the secular originated in the European Enlightenment . Furthermore, since religion and secular are both Western concepts that were formed under
3752-586: Is derived from the red flag , a common symbol of communism and socialism. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which are referred to by this name. The First Red Scare , which occurred immediately after World War I , revolved around a perceived threat from the American labor movement , anarchist revolution , and political radicalism that followed revolutionary socialist movements in Germany and Russia during
3886-774: Is known as " McCarthyism " after its best-known advocate, Senator Joseph McCarthy . McCarthyism coincided with an increased and widespread fear of communist espionage that was consequent of the increasing tension in the Cold War through the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe , the Berlin Blockade (1948–49), the end of the Chinese Civil War , the confessions of spying for the Soviet Union that were made by several high-ranking U.S. government officials, and
4020-520: Is not utterly buried under a dung-heap." In the late 1830s, Ripley became increasingly engaged in " Associationism ", an early socialist movement based on the work of Charles Fourier . Horace Greeley , a New York newspaper editor, and others began to pressure Brook Farm to follow more closely the pattern of Fourier at a time when the community was struggling to be self-sufficient. Albert Brisbane , whose book The Social Destiny of Man (1840) had inspired Ripley, paid Greeley $ 500 for permission to publish
4154-408: Is the curse of the world, and nobody can meddle with it without becoming proportionately brutified". After dissociating with the community, Hawthorne demanded the return of his initial investment, though he never held any ill will toward Ripley, to whom he wrote he would "heartily rejoice at your success—of which I can see no reasonable doubt". Many outside Brook Farm were critical of it, especially in
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4288-714: The Communist Control Act of 1954 which prevented members of the communist party in America from holding office in labor unions and other labor organizations. Examining the political controversies of the 1940s and 1950s, historian John Earl Haynes , who studied the Venona decryptions extensively, argued that Joseph McCarthy's attempts to "make anti-communism a partisan weapon" actually "threatened [the post-War] anti-Communist consensus", thereby ultimately harming anti-communist efforts more than helping them. Meanwhile,
4422-612: The German-American Bund , and the perceived racial disloyalty of the Japanese-American population ( cf. hyphenated-Americans ). After the Soviet Union signed the non-aggression Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany on August 23, 1939, negative attitudes towards communists in the United States were on the rise. While the American communist party at first attacked Germany for its September 1, 1939 invasion of western Poland , on September 11 it received
4556-702: The Korean War (1950–53) against U.S. ally South Korea . A few of the events during the Red Scare were also due to a power struggle between director of FBI J. Edgar Hoover and the Central Intelligence Agency . Hoover had instigated and aided some of the investigations of members of the CIA with "leftist" history, like Cord Meyer . This conflict could also be traced back to the conflict between Hoover and William J. Donovan , going back to
4690-685: The Kremlin has." In 1954, after accusing the army, including war heroes, Senator Joseph McCarthy lost credibility in the eyes of the American public and the Army-McCarthy Hearings were held in the summer of 1954. He was formally censured by his colleagues in Congress and the hearings led by McCarthy came to a close. After the Senate formally censured McCarthy, his political standing and power were significantly diminished, and much of
4824-487: The Latin word saeculum which meant ' of a generation, belonging to an age ' or denoted a period of about one hundred years. The Christian doctrine that God exists outside time led medieval Western culture to use secular to indicate separation from specifically religious affairs and involvement in temporal ones. Secular does not necessarily imply hostility or rejection of God or religion, though some use
4958-654: The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation , or DCR) purchased 148 acres (0.60 km) of the original land. The farm was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1965, a Boston Landmark in 1977, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The DCR now operate the state-owned portion as a historic site; the West Roxbury Historical Society periodically offers tours. Brook Farm
5092-579: The New Deal . Much evidence for Soviet espionage existed, according to Democratic Senator and historian Daniel Moynihan , with the Venona project consisting of "overwhelming proof of the activities of Soviet spy networks in America, complete with names, dates, places, and deeds." However, Moynihan argued that because sources like the Venona project were kept secret for so long, "ignorant armies clashed by night". With McCarthy advocating an extremist view,
5226-595: The New Testament in the Vulgate translation ( c. 410 ) of the original Koine Greek phrase εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ( eis toùs aionas ton aiṓnōn ), e.g. at Galatians 1:5 , was used in the early Christian church (and is still used today), in the doxologies , to denote the coming and going of the ages, the grant of eternal life, and the long duration of created things from their beginning to forever and ever . Secular and secularity derive from
5360-537: The New York Tribune , said that former Brook Farmers would only notice the resemblance in the humorous parts of the story. Some have also seen a resemblance between Margaret Fuller and Hawthorne's fictional character Zenobia. In the novel, a visitor—a writer like Hawthorne—finds that hard farm labor is not conducive to intellectual creativity. In his introduction, Hawthorne insisted that, although his experience with Brook Farm undoubtedly influenced his concept of
5494-499: The U.S. Constitution via Palmer-authorized "illegal acts" and "wanton violence". Defensively, Palmer then warned that a government-deposing left-wing revolution would begin on 1 May 1920— May Day , the International Workers' Day. When it failed to happen, he was ridiculed and lost much credibility. Strengthening the legal criticism of Palmer was that fewer than 600 deportations were substantiated with evidence, out of
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5628-462: The " Federal Employees Loyalty Program " establishing political-loyalty review boards who determined the "Americanism" of Federal Government employees, and requiring that all federal employees to take an oath of loyalty to the United States government. It then recommended termination of those who had confessed to spying for the Soviet Union, as well as some suspected of being "Un-American". This led to more than 2,700 dismissals and 12,000 resignations from
5762-470: The "Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education" was organized. The school was Brook Farm's most immediate (and at times only) source of income and attracted students from as far away as Cuba and the Philippines . Children under 12 were charged $ 3.50 per week and, at first, boys over 12 were charged $ 4 a week and girls were charged $ 5; by August 1842, the rates were made identical. Adult education
5896-408: The "shockingly high level" of infiltration by Soviet agents during WWII had largely dissipated by 1950. Liberal anti-communists like Edward Shils and Daniel Moynihan had contempt for McCarthyism, and Moynihan argued that McCarthy's overreaction distracted from the "real (but limited) extent of Soviet espionage in America." In 1950, President Harry Truman called Joseph McCarthy "the greatest asset
6030-469: The 'Blithedale' of this volume, many readers will probably suspect a faint and not very faithful shadowing of Brook Farm, in West Roxbury, which (now a little more than ten years ago) was occupied and cultivated by a company of socialists." The chapter called "The Masqueraders", for example, was based on a picnic held one September to celebrate the harvest season. George Ripley, who reviewed the book for
6164-638: The 1930s, communism had become an attractive economic ideology , particularly among labor leaders and intellectuals. By 1939, the CPUSA had about 50,000 members. In 1940, soon after World War II began in Europe, the U.S. Congress legislated the Alien Registration Act (aka the Smith Act , 18 USC § 2385) making it a crime to "knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise or teach the duty, necessity, desirability or propriety of overthrowing
6298-599: The 19th–early 20th century. The Second Red Scare , which occurred immediately after World War II , was preoccupied with the perception that national or foreign communists were infiltrating or subverting American society and the federal government . The first Red Scare in the United States accompanied the Russian Revolution of 1917 (specifically, the October Revolution ) and subsequent communist revolutions in Europe and beyond . Citizens of
6432-614: The Association who sit at the meat table shall be charged extra for their board". Life on Brook Farm was further worsened by an outbreak of smallpox in November 1845; though no one died, 26 Brook Farmers were infected. Ripley attempted to quell the financial difficulties by negotiating with creditors and stockholders, who agreed to cancel $ 7,000 of debt. Construction on the Phalanstery progressed well until March 3, 1846, when it
6566-529: The Brook Farm community, despite several invitations. He wrote to Ripley on December 15, 1840, of his "conviction that the Community is not good for me". He also questioned the community's idealism, particularly its optimism that all members would share responsibility and workload equally. As he wrote, "The country members naturally were surprised to observe that one man ploughed all day and one looked out of
6700-421: The Brook Farmers adopted a societal model based on the socialist concepts of Charles Fourier and began publishing The Harbinger as an unofficial journal promoting Fourierism. Following his vision, the community began building an ambitious structure called the Phalanstery . When the uninsured building burned down, the community was financially devastated and never recovered. It was fully closed by 1847. Despite
6834-568: The Communist Party considered Russian security sufficient justification to support the actions. Secret short wave radio broadcasts in October from Comintern leader Georgi Dimitrov ordered CPUSA leader Earl Browder to change the party's support for Roosevelt. On October 23, the party began attacking Roosevelt. The party was active in the isolationist America First Committee . The CPUSA also dropped its boycott of Nazi goods, spread
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#17327810273636968-521: The Ellis Farm in West Roxbury , Massachusetts (nine miles outside of downtown Boston ), in 1841 and was inspired in part by the ideals of transcendentalism , a religious and cultural philosophy based in New England . Founded as a joint stock company , it promised its participants a portion of the farm's profits in exchange for an equal share of the work. Brook Farmers believed that by sharing
7102-652: The Federal agents against Reds and suspected-Reds". In the event, twelve publicly prominent lawyers characterized the Palmer Raids as unconstitutional. The critics included future Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter , who published A Report on the Illegal Practices of The United States Department of Justice , documenting systematic violations of the Fourth , Fifth , Sixth , and Eighth Amendments to
7236-496: The Government of the United States or of any State by force or violence, or for anyone to organize any association which teaches, advises or encourages such an overthrow, or for anyone to become a member of or to affiliate with any such association"—and required Federal registration of all foreign nationals . Although principally deployed against communists, the Smith Act was also used against right-wing political threats such as
7370-662: The New Red Scare has caused the American and Chinese governments to "increasingly view Chinese students with suspicion" on American college campuses. The fourth iteration of the Committee on the Present Danger , a United States foreign policy interest group, was established on March 25, 2019, branding itself Committee on the Present Danger: China (CPDC). The CPDC has been criticized as promoting
7504-612: The Red Scare did not distinguish between communism , anarchism , socialism , or social democracy . This aggressive crackdown on certain ideologies resulted in many Supreme Court cases over free speech. In the 1919 case of Schenk v. United States , the Supreme Court, introducing the clear-and-present-danger test, effectively deemed the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 constitutional. The second Red Scare occurred after World War II (1939–1945), and
7638-451: The Sedition Act of 1918 to limit the exercise of free speech by criminalizing language deemed disloyal to the United States government. Initially, the press praised the raids; The Washington Post stated: "There is no time to waste on hairsplitting over [the] infringement of liberty", and The New York Times wrote that the injuries inflicted upon the arrested were "souvenirs of the new attitude of aggressiveness which had been assumed by
7772-618: The Soviet Union—in the process revealing the extraordinary breadth of the Soviet spy network in infiltrating the federal government. The process also launched the successful political careers of Richard Nixon and Robert F. Kennedy , as well as that of Joseph McCarthy. The HUAC held a large interest in investigating those in the entertainment industry in Hollywood. They interrogated actors, writers, and producers. The people who cooperated in
7906-1417: The Synthesist, the Light, the Truth, the Hope, the Teacher, the Reconciler, the Wedge, the Pirate, the Seer, the Indicator, the Tailor, the Babe in the Manger, the Universe, the Apocalypse, the Red Dragon, the Plant, Beelzebub—the Devil or anything rather than the meaningless name Phalanx. Brook Farm began to decline rapidly after its restructuring. In October 1844, Orestes Brownson visited the site and sensed that "the atmosphere of
8040-477: The U.S. government before, during and after World War II. Other U.S. citizen spies confessed to their acts of espionage in situations where the statute of limitations on prosecuting them had run out. In 1949, anti-communist fear, and fear of American traitors, was aggravated by the Chinese Communists winning the Chinese Civil War against the Western-sponsored Kuomintang , their founding of the Communist China , and later China intervenes (October–December 1950) in
8174-407: The United States in the years of World War I (1914–1918) were intensely patriotic; anarchist and left-wing social agitation aggravated national, social, and political tensions. Political scientist and former member of the Communist Party USA Murray B. Levin wrote that the Red Scare was "a nationwide anti-radical hysteria provoked by a mounting fear and anxiety that a Bolshevik revolution in America
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#17327810273638308-439: The United States. The American Red Scares, combined with the general atmosphere of the Cold War, had a marked influence on other Anglophone countries. Anticommunist paranoia and violence was significantly advanced in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In other parts of the world , such as Indonesia , fear and loathing of communism has escalated to the level of political violence . Secular Secularity , also
8442-404: The West Street bookshop operated by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody . Ripley and his wife Sophia formed a joint stock company in 1841 along with 10 other investors. He sold shares of the company for $ 500 with a promise of 5% of the profits to each investor. Shareholders were also allowed a single vote in decision-making and several held director positions. The Ripleys chose to begin their experiment at
8576-618: The act a "mockery of the Bill of Rights" and a "long step toward totalitarianism" because it represented a government restriction on the freedom of opinion. He vetoed the act but his veto was overridden by Congress. Much of the bill eventually was repealed. The formal establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and the beginning of the Korean War in 1950 meant that Asian Americans , especially those of Chinese or Korean descent, came under increasing suspicion by both American civilians and government officials of being Communist sympathizers. Simultaneously, some American politicians saw
8710-435: The atom bomb , were found to have engaged in espionage. This allegedly included some pro-Soviet capitalists, such as economist Harry Dexter White , and communist businessman David Karr . According to The New York Times , China 's growing military and economic power has resulted in a "New Red Scare" in the United States. Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed anti-China sentiment. According to The Economist ,
8844-478: The bombing, in which 38 died and 141 were injured. In 1919–20, several states enacted " criminal syndicalism " laws outlawing advocacy of violence in effecting and securing social change . The restrictions included limitations on free speech . Passage of these laws, in turn, provoked aggressive police investigation of the accused persons, their jailing, and deportation for being suspected of being either communist or left-wing. Regardless of ideological gradation,
8978-474: The bombings, President Woodrow Wilson had pressured Congress to legislate the anti-anarchist Sedition Act of 1918 to protect wartime morale by deporting putatively undesirable political people. Law professor David D. Cole reports that President Wilson's "federal government consistently targeted alien radicals, deporting them... for their speech or associations, making little effort to distinguish terrorists from ideological dissidents ". President Wilson used
9112-517: The carefree aspects that had attracted them. Both supporters and detractors called the early part of Brook Farm's history the "Transcendental days". Ripley himself became a celebrity proponent of Fourierism and organized conventions throughout New England to discuss the community. In the last few months of 1844, Brook Farmers were offered the chance to take over two Associationism-inspired publications, Brisbane's The Phalanx and John Allen's The Social Reformer . Four printers were part of Brook Farm at
9246-442: The center for social activities and was where community members went for three meals a day. The Hive's dining room held 50 people and its library was stocked with Ripley's personal book collection, which was made available to all members. As the community grew, it became necessary to add more buildings for lodgings and various activities. The first building constructed was "The Nest", where school lessons took place and where guests of
9380-411: The commune's failure, many Brook Farmers looked back on their experience favorably. The commune's critics included Charles Lane , founder of another utopian community, Fruitlands . Nathaniel Hawthorne was a founding member of Brook Farm, though not a strong adherent of the community's ideals. He later fictionalized his experience in his novel The Blithedale Romance (1852). After Brook Farm closed,
9514-493: The community at age 27 in 1843. He wrote, "It was for the meanest a life above humdrum, and for the greatest something far, infinitely far beyond. They looked into the gates of life and saw beyond charming visions, and hopes springing up for all". But the community's idealism was sometimes not lived up to. Because the community was officially secular, a variety of religions were represented, though not always amicably. When Isaac Hecker and, later, Sophia Ripley converted to Catholicism,
9648-550: The community in an article titled "Brook Farm" in the December 13, 1845, issue of the Broadway Journal . He wrote that he had "sincere respect" for the group and that its journal, The Harbinger , was "conducted by an assemblage of well-read persons who mean no harm—and who, perhaps, can do no less". Despite many critics, none suggested George Ripley be replaced as Brook Farm's leader. Ralph Waldo Emerson never joined
9782-483: The community was published in August 1841. "The Community at West Roxbury, Mass." was likely written by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody. Though they began with 10 investors, eventually 32 people became Brook Farmers. Writer and editor Margaret Fuller was invited to Brook Farm and, though she never officially joined the community, was a frequent visitor, often spending New Year's Eve there. Ripley received many applications to join
9916-542: The community, especially from people who had little money or were in poor health, but full-fledged membership was granted only to those who could afford a $ 500 share of the joint stock company. One of Brook Farm's founders was author Nathaniel Hawthorne . Hawthorne did not particularly agree with the experiment's ideals, hoping only that it would help him raise enough money to begin his life with his wife-to-be, Sophia Peabody . She considered moving there as well and even visited in May 1841, though Hawthorne sent her away. Ripley
10050-525: The community. They wore wreaths of wild daisies on their heads, and each week a special wreath, bought from a florist, was given to the best-dressed girl. At the end of every day, many performed a "symbol of Universal Unity", in which they stood in a circle and joined hands and vowed for "truth to the cause of God and Humanity". Spirits remained high throughout the experiment, regardless of the community's financial standing. The social structure demanded selflessness and people rarely failed to fulfill their duties,
10184-472: The context of colonialism . Attempts to define either the "secular" or the "religious" in non-Western societies, accompanying local modernization and Westernization processes, were often and still are fraught with tension. Due to all these factors, secular as a general term of reference was much deprecated in social sciences, and is used carefully and with qualifications. Philosopher Charles Taylor in his 2007 book A Secular Age understands and discusses
10318-531: The discussion of communist subversion was made into a civil rights issue instead of a counterintelligence one. This historiographical perspective is shared by historians John Earl Haynes and Robert Louis Benson. While President Truman formulated the Truman Doctrine against Soviet expansion, it is possible he was not fully informed of the Venona intercepts, leaving him unaware of the domestic extent of espionage, according to Moynihan and Benson. By
10452-820: The explosion killed the bomber, who (evidence indicated) was an Italian-American radical from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . Afterwards, Palmer ordered the U.S. Justice Department to launch the Palmer Raids (1919–21). He deported 249 Russian immigrants on the " Soviet Ark ", formed the General Intelligence Unit – a precursor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – within the Department of Justice, and used federal agents to jail more than 5,000 citizens and to search homes without respecting their constitutional rights. In 1918, before
10586-521: The fact that their values , morality , or sense of life's meaning are no longer underpinned by communally-accepted religious facts. All religious beliefs or irreligious philosophical positions are, in a secular society, held with an awareness that there are a wide range of other contradictory positions available to any individual; belief in general becomes a different type of experience when all particular beliefs are optional. A plethora of competing religious and irreligious worldviews open up, each rendering
10720-516: The farm would stay. Mr. and Mrs. Ripley's house, later called the Eyrie, was built during the second year. The next building to be built was the Margaret Fuller Cottage; though named after Fuller, she never spent a night there. A Brook Farm participant named Ichabod Morton built the Pilgrim House, named in honor of his home town of Plymouth, Massachusetts . The 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -story building
10854-401: The farm's many visitors. The main source of income was the school, which was overseen by Mrs. Ripley. A preschool, primary school, and a college preparatory school attracted children internationally and each child was charged for his or her education. Adult education was also offered. The community was never financially stable and had difficulty profiting from its agricultural pursuits. By 1844,
10988-514: The fear of Communists infiltrating the country. Supporters, however, believe the actions of the HUAC were justified given the level of threat Communism posed to democracy in the United States. Senator McCarthy stirred up further fear in the United States of communists infiltrating the country by saying that communist spies were omnipresent, and he was America's only salvation, using this fear to increase his own influence. In 1950 Joseph McCarthy addressed
11122-781: The fear that the Soviet Union would drop nuclear bombs on the United States, and fear of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). In Canada, the 1946 Kellock–Taschereau Commission investigated espionage after top-secret documents concerning RDX , radar and other weapons were handed over to the Soviets by a domestic spy-ring. At the House Un-American Activities Committee , former CPUSA members and NKVD spies, Elizabeth Bentley and Whittaker Chambers , testified that Soviet spies and communist sympathizers had penetrated
11256-596: The first Red Scare, but especially during World War II. Donovan ran the OSS (CIA's predecessor). They had differing opinions on the nature of the alliance with the Soviet Union, conflicts over jurisdiction, conflicts of personality, the OSS hiring of communists and criminals as agents, etc. Historian Richard Powers distinguishes two main forms of anti-communism during the period, liberal anti-communism and countersubversive anti-communism. The countersubversives, he argues, derived from
11390-497: The ground, making it seem "dreamy and unreal". On November 5, 1846, Ripley's book collection, which had served as Brook Farm's library, was auctioned to help cover the association's debts. By the end, Brook Farm had a total debt of $ 17,445. Ripley told a friend, "I can now understand how a man would feel if he could attend his own funeral". He took a job with the New York Tribune and it took him 13 years to repay Brook Farm's debt, which he did in 1862. A man named John Plummer purchased
11524-460: The influence of Christian theology, other cultures do not necessarily have words or concepts that resemble or are equivalent to them. Historically, the word secular was not related or linked to religion, but was a freestanding term in Latin that would relate to any mundane endeavour. However, the term, saecula saeculorum ( saeculōrum being the genitive plural of saeculum ) as found in
11658-436: The influence of Christian theology, other cultures do not necessarily have words or concepts that resemble or are equivalent to them. One can regard eating and bathing as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them. Nevertheless, some religious traditions see both eating and bathing as sacraments , therefore making them religious activities within those world views . Saying
11792-422: The investigations got to continue working as they had been, but people who refused to cooperate were blacklisted . Critics of the HUAC claim their tactics were an abuse of government power and resulted in a witch hunt that disregarded citizens’ rights and ruined their careers and reputations. Critics claim the internal witch hunt was a use for personal gain to spread influence for government officials by intensifying
11926-468: The killer, who had been dating one of Trotsky's secretaries, was a disillusioned follower. In allegiance to the Soviet Union, the party changed this policy again after Hitler broke the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact by attacking the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. The CPUSA opposed labor strikes in the weapons industry and supporting the U.S. war effort against the Axis Powers . With the slogan "Communism
12060-443: The labor, so in 1841 the community adopted standards for work: ten hours of work were required per day during the summer and eight hours during winter. When Brook Farm first adopted Fourierist notions, it created a more structured work environment with a system that consisted of three series of industry : agriculture , mechanical, and domestic . Within each series were a number of groups that handled more specific tasks. Each group had
12194-525: The land that was Brook Farm in 1849 before selling it six years later to James Freeman Clarke , who intended to establish another community there. Instead, Clarke offered it to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War and the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment used it for training as Camp Andrew . Clarke sold the property in 1868 to two brothers, who used it as a summer boarding house. In 1870, Gottlieb F. Burckhardt purchased
12328-535: The medieval period, but coexisted and interacted naturally. The word secular has a meaning very similar to profane as used in a religious context. Today, anything that is not directly connected with religion may be considered secular, in other words, neutral to religion. Secularity does not mean ' anti-religious ' , but ' unrelated to religion ' . Many activities in religious bodies are secular, and though there are multiple types of secularity or secularization, most do not lead to irreligiosity. Linguistically,
12462-425: The other more "fragile". This condition in turn entails for Taylor that even clearly religious beliefs and practices are experienced in a qualitatively different way when they occur in a secular social context. In Taylor's sense of the term, a society could in theory be highly "secular" even if nearly all of its members believed in a deity or even subscribed to a particular religious creed; secularity here has to do with
12596-469: The outbreak of the Korean War . The events of the late 1940s, the early 1950s—the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (1953), the trial of Alger Hiss , the Iron Curtain (1945–1991) around Eastern Europe , and the Soviet Union's first nuclear weapon test in 1949 ( RDS-1 )—surprised the American public, influencing popular opinion about U.S. national security , which, in turn, was connected to
12730-960: The oversight of Ripley and fellow Brook Farmer Charles Anderson Dana . Naming the publication turned out to be a difficult task. Parke Godwin offered advice when it was suggested to keep the name The Phalanx : Call it the Pilot, the Harbinger, the Halycon, the Harmonist, The Worker, the Architect, The Zodiac, The Pleiad, the Iris, the Examiner, The Aurora, the Crown, the Imperial, the Independent,
12864-402: The place is horrible". To save money, "retrenchments", or sacrifices, were called for, particularly at the dinner table. Meat, coffee, tea, and butter were no longer offered, though it was agreed that a separate table with meat be allowed in December 1844. That Thanksgiving, a neighbor donated a turkey. Many Brook Farmers applied for exceptions to these rules and soon it was agreed that "members of
12998-459: The press "misrepresented legitimate labor strikes" as "crimes against society", "conspiracies against the government", and "plots to establish communism". Opponents of labor viewed strikes as an extension of the radical, anarchist foundations of the IWW, which contends that all workers should be united as a social class and that capitalism and the wage system should be abolished. In June 1917, as
13132-450: The press. The New York Observer , for example, wrote, "The Associationists, under the pretense of a desire to promote order and morals, design to overthrow the marriage institution, and in the place of the divine law, to substitute the 'passions' as the proper regulator of the intercourse of the sexes", concluding that they were "secretly and industriously aiming to destroy the foundation of society". Edgar Allan Poe expressed his opinions on
13266-464: The property was operated for most of the next 130 years by a Lutheran organization, first as an orphanage, and then a treatment center and school. Fire destroyed the Transcendentalists' buildings over the years. In 1988, the State of Massachusetts acquired 148 acres (60 ha) of the farm, which is now operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as a historic site. Brook Farm
13400-607: The property, after which he formed the Association of the Evangelical Lutheran Church for Works of Mercy to operate an orphanage in The Hive, as the property's main house. The orphanage opened in 1872 and operated until 1943. In 1948 the Lutherans converted it into a treatment center and school, which closed in 1977. Parts of the farm were separated in 1873 for use as a cemetery, a use that continues today as
13534-643: The prospect of American-educated Chinese students bringing their knowledge back to "Red China" as an unacceptable threat to American national security, and laws such as the China Aid Act of 1950 and the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 gave significant assistance to Chinese students who wished to settle in the United States. Despite being naturalized, however, Chinese immigrants continued to face suspicion of their allegiance. The general effect, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison scholar Qing Liu,
13668-403: The school was remarked upon by many; she missed only two classes in six years. The people of Brook Farm spent most of their time either studying or working the farm, but they always set aside time for play. In their free time, they enjoyed music, dancing, card games, drama, costume parties, sledding, and skating. Every week, the community would gather at The Hive for a dance by the young ladies of
13802-548: The secular or secularness (from Latin saeculum , ' worldly ' or ' of a generation ' ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion . The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian history into the modern era . In the Middle Ages , there were even secular clergy. Furthermore, secular and religious entities were not separated in
13936-457: The secularity of Western societies less in terms of how much of a role religion plays in public life ( secularity 1 ), or how religious a society's individual members are ( secularity 2 ), than as a "backdrop" or social context in which religious belief is no longer taken as a given ( secularity 3 ). For Taylor, this third sense of secularity is the unique historical condition in which virtually all individuals – religious or not – have to contend with
14070-506: The senate, citing 81 separate cases, and made accusations against suspected communists. Although he provided little or no evidence, this prompted the Senate to call for a full investigation. Senator McCarran introduced the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 that was passed by the U.S. Congress and which modified a great deal of law to restrict civil liberties in the name of security. President Truman declared
14204-658: The slogans " The Yanks Are Not Coming " and "Hands Off", set up a "perpetual peace vigil" across the street from the White House and announced that Roosevelt was the head of the "war party of the American bourgeoisie". By April 1940, the party Daily Worker ' s line seemed not so much antiwar as simply pro-German. A pamphlet stated the Jews had just as much to fear from Britain and France as they did Germany. In August 1940, after NKVD agent Ramón Mercader killed Trotsky with an ice axe , Browder perpetuated Moscow's fiction that
14338-466: The strength of congressional investigation committees, and weakening the Smith Act. In the 1957 case Yates v. United States and the 1961 case Scales v. United States , the Supreme Court limited Congress's ability to circumvent the First Amendment, and in 1967 during the Supreme Court case United States v. Robel , the Supreme Court ruled that a ban on communists in the defense industry
14472-404: The tension surrounding the idea of a possible communist takeover died down. From 1955 through 1959, the Supreme Court made several decisions which restricted the ways in which the government could enforce its anti-communist policies, some of which included limiting the federal loyalty program to only those who had access to sensitive information, allowing defendants to face their accusers, reducing
14606-749: The term this way (see " secularism ", below); Martin Luther used to speak of "secular work" as a vocation from God for most Christians. Secular has been a part of the Christian church's history, which even developed in the medieval period secular clergy , priests who were defined as the Church's geographically-delimited diocesan clergy and not a part of the diasporal monastic orders. This arrangement continues today. The Waldensians advocated for secularity by separation of church and state. According to cultural anthropologists such as Jack David Eller, secularity
14740-463: The thousands of resident aliens arrested and deported. In July 1920, Palmer's once-promising Democratic Party bid for the U.S. presidency failed. Wall Street was bombed on September 16, 1920, near Federal Hall National Memorial and the JP Morgan Bank . Although both anarchists and communists were suspected as being responsible for the bombing, ultimately no individuals were indicted for
14874-410: The time and members of the community believed it would elevate their status as leaders of the movement, as well as provide additional income. Ultimately, the Brook Farmers published a new journal combining the two, The Harbinger . The journal's first issue was published on June 14, 1845, and it was continuously printed, originally weekly, until October 1847, when it relocated to New York City, still under
15008-560: The time. Because of the community's focus on individual freedom, women were autonomous from their husbands and allowed to become stockholders. Women also played an important role in providing sources of income. Many devoted time to making, in Brook Farmer Marianne Dwight's words, "elegant and tasteful caps, capes, collars, undersleeves, etc., etc.," for sale at Boston shops. Others painted screens and lampshades for sale. Women were allowed to go to school and, because of
15142-760: The trades, including making shoes, and others were teachers. Regardless of the job, all were considered equal and because of the job distribution, as Elizabeth Peabody wrote, "no one has any great weight in any one thing". In exchange for their work, participants were granted several "guarantees", including "medical attendance, nursing, education in all departments, amusements". There were some occasional conflicts between different workers, partly because those who were educators believed themselves more aristocratic ; overall, however, as historian Charles Crowe wrote, "indeed all aspects of communal life operated with surprisingly little friction" in general. People visited Brook Farm frequently, totaling an estimated 1,150 each year, and each
15276-429: The well-known education of women at Brook Farm, many female writers and performers visited. Sophia Ripley , who had written an outspoken feminist essay for The Dial on "Woman" before moving to Brook Farm, was very educated and taught history and foreign languages at the farm. Many people in the community wrote of how much they enjoyed their experience and the lighthearted atmosphere. One participant, John Codman, joined
15410-402: The workload, they would have ample time for leisure and intellectual pursuits. Life on Brook Farm was based on balancing labor and leisure while working together for the community's benefit. Each member could choose whatever work they found most appealing and all were paid equally, including women. Revenue came from farming and from selling handmade products like clothing, as well as fees paid by
15544-651: The years 1947 to 1956. It also was the template for several state legislatures' loyalty acts, such as California's Levering Act . The House Committee on Un-American Activities was created during the Truman administration as a response to allegations by Republicans of disloyalty in Truman's administration. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and the committees of Senator Joseph McCarthy ( R. , Wisc. ) conducted character investigations of "American communists" (actual and alleged), and their roles in (real and imaginary) espionage, propaganda, and subversion favoring
15678-619: Was "to insure a more natural union between intellectual and manual labor than now exists; to combine the thinker and the worker, as far as possible, in the same individual." The organization of work in Brook Farm changed over time because of both financial troubles and changes in ideology. Members of Brook Farm initially participated in an "attractive industry" system where each could pick his or her work assignments based on their preferences. This method had no specific authority to ensure that essential tasks were done. After initial leniency, some sensed that not all members were doing their fair share of
15812-403: Was also available in the evenings. The schedule for adults included courses on moral philosophy , German language, and modern European history. Within the school there was an infant school for children under six, a primary school for children under ten, and a preparatory school that prepared children for college in six years. When entering the school, each pupil under high-school age was assigned
15946-458: Was aware of Hawthorne's motivations, and tried to convince him to get involved more fully by appointing him as one of four trustees, specifically overseeing "Direction of Finance". After requesting his initial investment returned, Hawthorne resigned from Brook Farm on October 17, 1842. He wrote of his displeasure with the community: "even my Custom House experience was not such a thraldom and weariness; my mind and heart were freer ...Thank God, my soul
16080-407: Was based on the ideals of Transcendentalism; its founders believed that by pooling labor they could sustain the community and still have time for literary and scientific pursuits. The experiment was meant to serve as an example for the rest of the world, based on the principles of "industry without drudgery, and true equality without its vulgarity". At Brook Farm, as in other communities, physical labor
16214-537: Was charged for their visit. Between November 1844 and October 1845, surviving records show that $ 425 was collected from visitor fees. The list of visitors included theologian Henry James, Sr. , sculptor William Wetmore Story , artist John Sartain , and British social reformer Robert Owen . Despite multiple sources of income, the community was in constant debt almost immediately after it began. The community, including Ripley, had difficulty with farming, in particular because of poor soil and not enough labor. The major crop
16348-515: Was criticized for its potential to break up the nuclear family because of its focus on working as a larger community. After its conversion to Fourierism, the Transcendentalists showed less support for it. Henry David Thoreau questioned the community members' idealism and wrote in his journal, "As for these communities, I think I had rather keep bachelor's hall in hell than go to board in heaven". Even Sophia Ripley later questioned their original optimism, calling it "childish, empty, & sad". Though
16482-421: Was described in a pamphlet as a "place of great natural beauty, combining a convenient nearness to the city with a degree of retirement and freedom from unfavorable influences unusual even in the country". The purchase also covered a neighboring Keith farm, about 22 acres (89,000 m), "consisting altogether of a farm with dwelling house, barn, and outbuildings thereon situated". The first major public notice of
16616-401: Was discovered that it had caught fire. Within two hours, the structure had completely burned down; firefighters from Boston arrived too late. The fire was likely caused by a defective chimney. One participant noted, "Ere long the flames were chasing one another in a mad riot over the structure; running across long corridors and up and down the supporting columns of wood, until the huge edifice was
16750-470: Was hay, which was sold at low-grade prices; vegetables, milk, and fruit were not produced in sufficient numbers to be profitable. The property was mortgaged four times between 1841 and 1845. Brook Farm got into the habit of spending money before it had been raised. One Brook Farmer wrote, "I think here lies the difficulty,—we have not had business men to conduct our affairs ... those among us who have some business talents, see this error". On September 29, 1841,
16884-404: Was highly valued. They did have tasks typical of other women at the time, such as simple food preparation, and shared housekeeping. But during harvest time, women were allowed to work in the fields and men even helped out with laundry during the cold weather. Because no single religion could impose its beliefs on the community, women were safe from the typical patriarchy associated with religion at
17018-587: Was imminent—a revolution that would change Church, home, marriage, civility, and the American way of Life". News media exacerbated such fears, channeling them into anti-foreign sentiment due to the lively debate among recent immigrants from Europe regarding various forms of anarchism as possible solutions to widespread poverty. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies, backed several labor strikes in 1916 and 1917. These strikes covered
17152-428: Was known to be relaxed in his class. Dana taught languages, speaking ten himself. Dwight taught music and Latin . Students studied European languages and literature and, at no extra cost, pupils could also indulge in the fine arts. The primary school was overseen by Sophia and Marianne Ripley, using a progressive child-centered pedagogy that has been compared to John Dewey 's later reforms. Sophia Ripley's dedication to
17286-599: Was named for the brook that ran near the roadside and eventually went to the Charles River . It was surrounded by low hills and its meadows and sunny slopes were diversified by orchard, quiet groves and denser pine woods. But the land turned out to be difficult to farm. The land on the Keith lot that was purchased along with the Ellis farm included a functional farmhouse, which Brook Farmers called "The Hive". The Hive became
17420-657: Was one of Massachusetts's first sites to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and be designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1977, the Boston Landmarks Commission designated Brook Farm a Boston Landmark , the city's highest recognition for historic sites. In October 1840, George Ripley announced to the Transcendental Club that he was planning to form a Utopian community. Brook Farm, as it would be called,
17554-509: Was perceived as a condition of mental well-being and health. Brook Farm was one of at least 80 communal experiments active in the United States in the 1840s, though it was the first to be secular . Ripley believed his experiment would be a model for the rest of society. He predicted: "If wisely executed, it will be a light over this country and this age. If not the sunrise, it will be the morning star." As more interested people began to take part in planning, Ripley relocated meetings from his home to
17688-670: Was the third structure built that year, at a cost of nearly $ 5,000. Morton stayed there only two weeks before moving out, after which the building was used for general lodging and also held laundry facilities. The many constructions, including greenhouses and small craft shops, quickly reduced the treasury. Participants at Brook Farm were also shareholders and were promised 5% of the annual profits or free tuition for one student. In exchange for 300 days of work per year, they were granted free room and board. Members performed whatever work most appealed to them and all, including women, were paid equal wages. The philosophy of labor, according to Ripley,
17822-401: Was to simultaneously demand that Chinese (and other Asian) students politically support the American government yet avoid engaging directly in politics. The Second Red Scare profoundly altered the temper of American society. Its later characterizations may be seen as contributory to works of feared communist espionage, such as the film My Son John (1952), about parents' suspicions their son
17956-709: Was unconstitutional. In 1995, the American government declassified details of the Venona Project following the Moynihan Commission , which when combined with the opening of the USSR Comintern archives, provided substantial validation of intelligence gathering, outright spying, and policy influencing, by Americans on behalf of the Soviet Union, from 1940 through 1980. Over 300 American communists, whether they knew it or not, including government officials and technicians that helped in developing
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