Brook Farm

Brook Farm was a social utopian living and working community in West Roxbury (now Boston ) Massachusetts that existed from 1841 to 1847. Founder was the belonging to the inner circle of the Transcendentalist George Ripley, a former Unitarian minister who had broken away from the Church and now with Brook Farm transposed some social reformist ideas into action.

Prehistory

During his time as a preacher was George Ripley as undogmatic and open to the world. His knowledge of the literary and philosophical movements in Europe, which he had obtained as a translator and editor of the 15 - volume collection Specimens of Foreign Standard Literature ( 1838 ), were with him a critical attitude towards the Church's doctrine emerge, which eventually led to the break. Ripley left his pulpit in 1841 and never returned. He succeeded Ralph Waldo Emerson, who had several years earlier resigned from his ministry. Together with him and other intellectuals Ripley had formed a discussion group in 1836, which became the nucleus of the first independent intellectual flow in the United States. Transcendentalism played a major role in the emergence of an American self-consciousness.

Idealistic Basics

In the new community there should be no exploitation, hierarchy or rivalry. The aim was the perfection of the individual who is actively self-determined, freely and responsibly, in which he collaborates with the other for the good of the whole. Talents and skills should not lead to privilege. Manual and mental labor were considered equivalent. Women and men were equal, and the pay was uniform. It was mandatory summer work ten hours in winter eight hours a day, with the type of employment could be chosen. In religious terms, there was tolerance. Otherwise, the coexistence in the municipality should make after the socialist society draft of Charles Fourier.

Financial Basics

To finance the project Ripley sold shares for $ 500, where he ran out of a total investment requirement of $ 10,000. On each of the 20 shares should therefore 5% of the to be generated profits fall. ( The value of a share certificate then corresponded approximately to the average annual income in the lower middle class. Edgar Allan Poe earned at the time as an editor at the New York Evening Mirror per week $ 15 per year $ 780. Margaret Fuller had a short time as a teacher, the unusually high annual salary of $ 1000. ) The desired cooperative concept developed by the Communards should have purchase the shares themselves, which did not succeed. Indeed, there were investors who were not Communards Communards and who had paid nothing. A donor who bought several shares, was the painter Josiah Wolcott (1814-1885), who held Brook Farm on some oil paintings ( see the figure above ). The main financial burden was, however, from the beginning, Ripley, who also earned his valuable private library in the project.

Material Basics

On October 11, 1841 George Ripley acquired for sale farm of Charles and Mary Mayo Ellis in West Roxbury, which was used in milk production. The purchase was completed by the neighboring smaller Keith farm, so that initially enough houses, stables and barns were available. Later, other residential building and a school building were added. For even then universally adored Margaret Fuller, who did not belong to the municipality, a private cottage was built. The largest and most recent building project from 1844 in the wake of the intended reorganization within the meaning of Fourier, it was about a prestigious building complex ( Phalanstère ).

Life on the Farm

Since the terrain was hilly and sandy and thus excluded a rewarding vegetable or grain cultivation, in addition to livestock and dairy farming also various crafts were exercised on a smaller scale by the Brook - farmers. Shoes, clothes, home textiles and household items could be sold in the near Boston. As a lucrative source of income, the education and upbringing turned out. There is a kindergarten, a school and various options for adult education were offered. Among the teachers were the music teacher and composer William Henry Fry and John Sullivan Dwight. The many visitors to the community from far and wide, among them the British social reformer Robert Owen, made ​​for revenue from the sale of farm products and a modest donations. Among the most ardent supporters of the Commune was Horace Greeley, editor of the liberal New York Tribune. He was the one who kept alive the public interest. The social life on the farm was varied, exuded and was also associated with the neighbors, too. Very popular were music and dance performances and masquerades.

Trouble

The biggest problem from the beginning was the lack of financial resources. High mortgage burdens passed on all the time. Other disadvantages followed from the lack of expertise in relation to agricultural and commercial management. Difficulties also arose from the dwindling enthusiasm. In its place came disillusionment through the everyday events and dissatisfaction after but differences were noticed. One group wore dungarees and worked from morning to night, the other group taught by the hour in fine dress. A dungarees wore Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was one of the founding members of the community. After just one year he left disappointed the farm. He said that he would never have to work so hard and had not come to his writing so busy. His ambivalent experiences on Brook Farm were later reflected in his novel The Blithedale Romance. Unrest also sparked the defection of some Communards to Catholicism, which meant turning away from the farm in one case. In parallel, the lack of commercial success with time constraints in the daily distribution.

Decline

Preparations George Ripley 's Brook Farm project align strict accordance with the specifications of Fourier (1844 ), marked a turning point, because some Communards rejected the reform and left the community. The staffing crisis was exacerbated in 1845 by the outbreak of smallpox in which diseased over twenty farmers. As the biggest disaster came in 1846 a large fire on to the farm, which put some ( uninsured ) building in ruins. This was the end of Brook Farm. After the sale and settlement remained debt of over 17,000 dollars that George Ripley took over personally. His library had already been some time previously auctioned to cover interim insolvency.

Epilogue

A unanimous positive rating with most participants found only the first few years. The mood at the farm was described as open, light and cheerful. Looking back, wanted self-critical Communards not miss their experiences. The farm was under different ownership for some years on - also without luck. 1855 acquired the Unitarian clergyman James Freeman Clarke, one of the transcendentalists from Ripley's within the farm area to start a similar project, but this did not materialize. At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 Clarke presented as patriotic citizens of the northern states and opposed slavery his country free the Union troops available. The built there camp Andrew served the training of infantry. In addition to historical memorials today a part is designated as a conservation area, other parts are used as cemeteries. George Ripley was promoted after the fiasco with Brook Farm into an influential editor at the New York Tribune. His success as a publisher encyclopaedias enabled him to repay the debt, which he took 13 years and an honorable life in old age.