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The Shakers, officially known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, are a millenarian religious movement still active today in the United States, whose roots can be traced back to the English evangelical Awakening. According to their oral history, Shakerism started when two Quaker tailors from Manchester, James and Jane Wardley, began their own religious society in Bolton in 1747. Because of their charismatic worship, these enthusiasts became known locally as the “Shaking Quakers.” By their own account, the Shakers were an offshoot of both the Quakers and the Camisards, or French Prophets, who had arrived in England from France in 1706, even though no hard evidence exists of any direct link with the latter. In 1758, the Wardleys welcomed along their followers the young Ann Lee, who soon rose to prominence within the group as “Mother Ann.” Lee married Abraham Stanley in 1761 and all four of their offspring died in infancy. She became convinced as a result that marriage and sexual intercourse were intrinsically sinful, paving the way for the Shakers’ belief in celibacy. Increasing persecution forced the Shakers to leave England for America in 1774. Lee and her followers settled in Watervliet, New York, and other communities were rapidly established in New England. Early believers in pacificism, the Shakers remained neutral during the American Revolution. In the early 19th century, they sent missionaries across the Appalachians and founded important communities in Kentucky and Ohio. Their movement peaked in the mid-1800s, with an estimated 5,000 followers nationwide, but it declined sharply after the American Civil War. Most of their villages died out in the 20th century. The Shakers are generally known to the wider public for their celibate and communal lifestyle, but they are celebrated today mainly for the quality and distinctive, yet simple design of their furniture. Sabbathday Lake, Maine, remains the last active Shaker community today, with only two members left. |
