Free love in utopia : John Humphrey Noyes and the origin of the Oneida Community / compiled by George Wallingford Noyes ; edited and with an introduction by Lawrence Foster.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Noyes, George Wallingford.

Foster, Lawrence, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Oneida Community.

Noyes, John Humphrey, 1811-1886.

Noyes, John Humphrey.

Physical Description:

lvi, 370 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2001]

Summary:

The "free love" Oneida Community, founded in New York state during the turbulent decades before the Civil War, practiced an extraordinary system of "complex marriage" as part of its sustained experiment in creating the kingdom of heaven on earth. For more than thirty years, two hundred adult members considered themselves heterosexually married to the entire community rather than to a single monogamous partner.

Free Love in Utopia provides the first in-depth account of how complex marriage was introduced among previously monogamous or single Oneida Community members. Bringing together vivid, firsthand writings by members of the community -- including personal correspondence, memoranda on spiritual and material concerns, and official pronouncements -- this volume portrays daily life in Oneida and the deep religious commitment that permeated every aspect of it. It also presents a complex portrait of the community's founder, John Humphrey Noyes, who demanded not only complete religious loyalty from his followers but also minute control over their sexual lives. It recounts the formidable legal suits faced by the community -- one of which almost forced it to disband in 1852 -- and the critical behind-the-scenes work of Noyes's second-in-command, John L. Miller. Most important, Free Love in Utopia describes in detail how Oneida's "enlarged family" was created and how its unorthodox practices affected its members.

Key selections from a large collection of primary documents detailing Oneida's early years were compiled by George Wallingford Noyes, nephew of the founder. The present volume, astutely edited and introduced by noted communitarian scholar Lawrence Foster, marks the first publication of G. W. Noyes's remarkable manuscript, excerpted from the irreplaceable original documents that were deliberately burned after his death. The volume also reproduces Oneida's First Annual Report, which contains the sexual manifesto that underlay the community.

Contents:

Introduction: The Roots of an Extraordinary Community ix

Cast of Characters xlix

1. Noyes Again at the Helm 1

2. Settlement of the Putney Lawsuits 13

3. Life in the Association: January 1849 22

4. The Spirit of Desertion: February to March 1849 26

5. Founding of the Brooklyn Branch: February to May 1849 32

6. Excommunication of Otis Miller: May 20, 1849 34

7. Community Fanaticism and Tensions: June 1849 to February 1850 37

8. Industry and Finance: August 1849 to July 1851 43

9. The Children's House: August 11, 1849, to February 2, 1851 53

10. Battle of Putney Rear Guard: September 2, 1849, to December 15, 1852 58

11. Relations with Outsiders: 1849-1853 67

12. Case of Francis Hyde: September to December 1850 75

13. Abigail Merwin: December 28, 1850, to July 16, 1851 85

14. Noyes's Trip to Europe: April 16 to June 4, 1852 91

15. The Wallingford Branch: May 1851 93

16. The Hubbard Quarrel: July 26, 1850, to January 12, 1851 94

17. Burning of the Printing-Office and Store: July 5-19, 1851 97

18. Sinking of the Sloop: July 16 to August 29, 1851 101

19. Mrs. Cragin's Position in the Church: September 4, 1851 115

20. Spiritualism, True and False: August 6 to December 4, 1851 119

21. Education and Amusements: August 19, 1851, to November 2, 1854 130

22. Collision of the Kingdom of God with Hades: September 1851 134

23. The Utica Indictments: September 27, 1851, to December 23, 1851 136

24. Editorial Attack by the New York Observer: January 22, 1852 145

25. The Putney "Senate": October 2, 1851, to February 17, 1852 149

26. A Concentric Convention: February 1 to October 31, 1852 152

27. Hostilities Renewed: April 1 to July 6, 1852 169

28. Victory of the 27th July, 1852 186

29. The Resumption of Complex Marriage: August 29, 1852 192

30. Constitutional Christianity 194

31. Industry and Finance: August 1851 to January 1853 197

32. Seven Lectures on Social Freedom: November 26, 1852, to January 15, 1853 207

33. Administration of Complex Marriage: June 1849 to December 1852 213

34. Tilt with Tobacco: 1853 249

35. Tea, Coffee, and other Stimulants: 1854 258

36. Wrestlings with Disease and Death: September 16, 1851, to July 3, 1854 260

37. Review of the Brooklyn Epoch: 1849 to 1854 285

38. Concentration at Oneida: 1854 292

Appendix First Annual Report of the Oneida Association 295.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0252026705

OCLC:

45715841