attributed to Mother Ann Lee
The religious society known as the Shakers* was an offshoot of the English Quaker church and a group known as the French Prophets or Camisards. Originally called the "Shaking Quakers", it was formed in England in 1747. Ann Lee, a member of this early sect, received remarkable visions while in prison, and is acknowledged as the leader and spiritual Mother of the Shakers.
After sailing to America in 1774 with a small group of followers, Ann Lee settled in Niskeyuna (also called Watervliet) near Albany, New York. Within ten years Shaker settlements appeared in Massachusetts, Connecticut and other parts of New York. By the beginning of the next century (1805), there were Shaker communities in New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. These settlements were autonomous in government but united in doctrine, rites, discipline and economic support. Most other religious societies which appeared in the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States were transplanted from Europe, and only one other indigenous society, the Perfectionists of the Oneida Community (see earlier article on Oneida) achieved any prosperity while remaining distinct as a separatist community.
Without going into great detail regarding the tenets of this religion, the basics were impacted by the customs and traditions of colonial New England and upstate New York, populated by vigorous Puritan Protestant idealists. The Shakers had little interest in the political or economic issues of the time. Marriage, private property, competitive industry and war were held in disfavor. They believed in a commonwealth of the spirit which rose above nationalism and kept faith in the eternal values of the human soul.
To combat the evils of worldliness, they followed the example of medieval monastic orders and separated from the "world" of their day. Purity of spirit was reflected in lack of adornment for its own sake both in their dress and in their habitats. The welfare of the group was held to be more important than that of the individual, and all labor was performed in support of the group. Celibacy was rigorously enforced, and the steady growth of the sect reflected a strong religious revival movement during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, rather than through the offspring of members. Often, orphans were brought into local communities and some became valued leaders of their communities.
The Shaker movement's dissent from worldly customs found particular expression in a simplified, original style of furniture. Regardless of the traditions of craftsmanship inherited from their New England and New York forebears, the Shakers were not interested in imitation. They kept only what they considered to be the essential good in the furniture designs of their region and period.
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