New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony Indiana was chosen by the Harmonie society out of a want for seclusion and more space. It had fertile soil and a useful waterway, and among the Wabash river there were many opportunities for future expansion, so on May 10th the Rappites chose to buy the 7,000 acres that was New Harmony. Also in New Harmony were areas suitable for vineyards and farming, which once again provided ample economic expansion. The location of New Harmony undoubtadbly set it up for economic success, which it had. After a while they had expanded to 20,000 acres, and had built over 160 homes. Some visitors in fact, commented that "it seamed as though they had found themselves in the midst of Germany," with regards to the large amount of comercial and industrialised expansion that had immerged, in part thanks to the Wabash river allowing them easy trade opportunities with a wide variety of other communities. So when Robert Owen bought the community for 150,000$, he had inherited a thriving economy. But what once was helpful to the Rappites, was now a double edged sword for the Owenites, as the location being in the west that people were expanding to, and being among the Wabash river opened itself to a lot of new comers, which to avoid being hipocritical, Robert Owen allowed in no matter who. Because of this, they quickly began to run out of old homes to inhabit, became overcrowded, and suddenly was no longer self sufficient. And due to the lack of leadership, they struggled to make any new housing. In a later effort to bring leadership to New Harmony, Robert Owen collected several educators from the midwest and east coast, and took them on a boat called the Philanthropist, also known as the boat of knowledge down the Wabash back to New Harmony. Among those he brought was Marie Louise Duclos Fretageot, a romantasist and an outspoken feminist, who sought to reform the new constitution under equality. But the aforementioned problems couldn't just be shooken off with this, so New Harmony Collapsed only one year after the reformation of it's constitution.

Works Cited (Location)

“New Harmony, Indiana.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Harmony,_Indiana.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “New Harmony.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 July 2011, www.britannica.com/place/New-Harmony. 

Wilson, William Edward. The Angel and the Serpent: the Story of New Harmony. Indiana University Press, 1992.

Parent Map

Map: Race, Gender, Class, Sex

Coordinates

Latitude: 38.129767800000
Longitude: -87.935029900000

Timeline of Events Associated with New Harmony, Indiana

Date Event Manage
Mar 1814 to Jun 1827

New Harmony, Indiana

Originally founded by the Harmonie society under the leadership of German Immigrant George Rapp, New Harmony, Indiana was formed due to the increasing populations and costs of land in Harmony, Pennsylvania, that threatened their desire for solitude. A religious society with aspects of German culture, New Harmony found great success along the Wabash river. In stark contrast to the society following it, it was extremely well planned, self-sufficient with it's own factories and workers. They thrived until 1824, when George Rapp received a prophecy about the second coming of Christ, forcing him to move back to Pennsylvania. When he put the town up for sale, it was bought by Robert Owen, a wealthy industrialist and socialist who hoped to eliminate the growing class divide of the industrial revolution. He sought to bring together scholars and academics from all over the US, but let anyone join the society. Because of this, there was a large shortage of skilled craftsmen, and poor management and planning. In 1826, in an effort to unite this society, they wrote a new constitution, which was based on equal rights and duties, which would also hopefully bring more management to the society and train the children to become skilled craftsmen. But this was not enough to unite the people, as Robert Owen himself was a flawed leader. For one he had an open distaste for organized religion, which split much of the community. His ideals drove away farmers, upset anarchists, and divided the common people. And finally, he struggled to receive the same amount of donations that he had in Europe. Due to this disorganisation and lack of unity, New Harmony, Indiana broke apart into smaller, separate communities in 1827, and then eventually entirely dissolved in 1829.

Works Cited (Timeline)

 

“New Harmony, Indiana.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Harmony,_Indiana.

 

Owen, William. Diary of William Owen fromto April 20, 1825. ed by Hiatt, Joel W Indianapolis, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1906. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/10014024/>.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “New Harmony.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 July 2011, www.britannica.com/place/New-Harmony. 

Wilson, William Edward. The Angel and the Serpent: the Story of New Harmony. Indiana University Press, 1992.