Definitive study provides detailed coverage of origins, ideology, industry and art, mode of worship, internal organization of communities. Author's reliance on original manuscript material make this study especially useful. 33 illustrations.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the Shaker religious movement, as well as a detailed account of the life of one of its members. The author draws on a variety of sources to provide a vivid portrait of the Shaker way of life, and explores the theological and social underpinnings of this unique religious community. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

A history of the Shakers, tracing their social and religious philosophies and practices from their eighteenth-century origins

When she died in America at age forty-eight, having brought her faithful to a new land on the eve of the Revolution, she left behind a religious movement that was to have thousands of followers and become our most important and successful utopian community."--BOOK JACKET.