Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on New Lanark, Oneida, & Other Utopian Societies In America. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous utopian groups created their own "heavens on earth" in the American heartland, ranging from the Shakers, to Robert Owen's "New Harmony," to the Oneida community. They struggled in vain to create "perfect" societies that would differ in contrast with the dreary ones overseas in Europe. This 6 page research paper examines the purpose, attempts, and failures of these communities -- concentrating primarily upon the examples of New Lanark and Oneida. The themes of these communities and their decline are discussed. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Utopias.doc
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
For the worker the new industrial order meant misery, unemployment, squalor and depravity. A 16-hour day for 8-year-old children was not uncommon. The brutality of the overseers was accepted as
natural. Machines displaced human labor. As a consequence the workers became restless. The ruling classes reacted vehemently. They feared a new French Revolution and resorted to repressive measures instead of
introducing reforms. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous utopian groups created their own "heavens on earth" in the American heartland, ranging from the Shakers, to
Robert Owens "New Harmony," to the Oneida community. They struggled in vain to create "perfect" societies that would differ in contrast with the dreary ones overseas in Europe. Today,
in the 20th Century we may have the equivalent "Joy of Sex," but in the previous century they celebrated "The Joy of Sects." Though these often marginal groups might be
occasionally persecuted--the Mormons, for instance--they still managed to thrive and proliferate in America as nowhere else in the world-- due largely in part to the inherent freedoms and relative tolerance
here. In fact, I would submit that part of our national birthright involves not only a tolerance of eccentricity, but a downright affection for it. Groups such as the
Icarias and the New Harmony were some of the earlier Utopian groups founded in the United States to promote the ideal of these "perfect" freedoms. Because of their smallness and
their isolation from the rest of society, these attempts ultimately failed. The New Harmony was founded by a man named Robert Owen. Owen advised the
workers of ordinary America society that no one was responsible for his position in society, whether rich or poor. Therefore, there was no reason for anger even against the
...