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IntroductionThis introductory chapter sets the stage for presenting a study of the New Lebanon Shaker Children's Order. It begins with a brief overview of the foundation of Shakerism -Ann Lee and her beliefs about men, women, perfection, and salvation ~ and the religious culture of eighteenth century America into which they immigrated.Following this historical section are discussions of how the study was approached, the theoretical frameworks that inform the analysis, the objectives that organized the research, the methods and source criteria, the organization of the subsequent chapters, and what contributions this work makes to the larger body of historical family studies.
Ann Lee: Creating ShakerismAnn Lee believed she was the female embodiment of God ~ the second Christ incarnate. She preached a millennium, not of the future, not of an expectation of hope for tomorrow, but as a realization of today for all those who could accept the offer of God.The millennium was here, now. Every man, woman, and child had the potential of achieving perfection in this world, the world of the living and the present. 3 their spiritiial progress led the Lead Ministry (the central governing body) to form a separate -and separated -order for youth under the age of sixteen. Caretakers instead of parents were entrusted with the children's welfare. The Children's Order itself, as modeled in the larger society, was segregated by gender; boys and girls remained apart from each other in all activities, including school, and apart from the adults.Children were trained and educated by the society because of their potential spiritual and economic contributions to the sect as adult converts. From reviewing many Shaker diaries of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this research found that most youth came to the society with parent converts or as orphans. While these youth contributed to the labor force and made significant economic offerings, they were incorporated into the Shaker society primarily to perpetuate the ideals and religious tenets of Shakerism into the future. The middle decades of the nineteenth century brought a complexity to the Society that the first and second generation of leaders had not known; this, coupled with the beginning of the numerical decline in membership at mid-century seemed to mark a philosophical or attitudinal shift by the Society about the value of children. After the 1840s, youth seemingly were brought into the Society more to augment a declining membership and for their much needed labor to keep the society fed, clothed, and housed rather than for their spiritual value to the community.The Shakers were a celibate adult society who invested time and energy in children who would take up the Shaker cross and carry their name and cause forward.^ This study focuses on the Children's Order as a separate unit within the Shaker organizational hierarchy....
