Ann Lee Migrates to America
- Time Period
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1774
- Description
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In 1774, Ann Lee (1736-1784) and her small band of Shakers, so named for their dancing and shaking during worship, emigrated from England to the United States. They first settled near Albany, N.Y., but in the ensuing decades established communities from Maine to Indiana.Lee’s teachings were based on a vision she’d had that God was both male and female, and sexual relations were the original sin of humanity and needed to be eliminated from truly Christian communities. Under Lee, who came to be known as Mother Ann, the utopian movement spread robustly in the early national era, with followers embracing her exhortations to live communally, work diligently and remain celibate.In 1850, there were nearly 4,000 Shakers (officially known as the United Society of Believers in Christ) spread across eight states. The population has since dwindled to fewer than a dozen.
- Interactive Timeline(s)
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Women and Religion
- Browse Related Timeline Entries
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Women and Religion in American History
- Religious Groups
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Timeline Entries for the same religious group Communal Family
Communal Family: Other ARDA Links
- Photographs
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Ann Lee portrait- Hathi Trust- from Modern Messiahs and Wonder Workers by William Oxley
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First Shaker settlement, Watervliet, NY- Internet Archive- from A concise History of the United Society of Believers Called Shakers by Charles Edson Robinson
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Group of Shakers- from the New York Public Library Digital Collections
- Book/Journal Source(s)
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Lippy, Charles, and Peter Williams, 2010. Encyclopedia of Religion in America. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.
- Web Source(s)
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http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/cities/shakers.html
"The Shakers"
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ann-Lee
Encyclopedia Britannica, "Ann Lee"
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http://shakerheritage.org/educational-programs/adult-programs/history-of-the-shakers
Shaker Heritage Society of Albany, N.Y., website
- Web Page Contributor
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Sandi Dolbee
Affliated with: Former Religion and Ethics Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune
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