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The Shakers, or
United Society of Believers in Christ's Second
Appearing, are the most enduring and successful
of the many communitarian societies established
in America in the 18th and 19th centuries. The
first Shakers, led by Ann Lee, came to America
from Manchester, England, in 1774 seeking a place
to freely practice their religious beliefs. Near
Albany, New York, they established the foundation
for a unique sect which has endured for more
than 220 years. The early Shakers traveled through
New England and New York, attracting converts
who were impressed by the kind of personal, spiritual
relationship with God preached by Ann Lee. Converts
gathered into communities, bound by their shared
faith and a commitment to common property, celibacy,
confession of sins, equality of men and women,
pacificism and separation from the world. 
By the 1830s nineteen Shaker communities had been
established in New York, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, Kentucky
and Indiana. Shakerism reached its peak
in the mid-1800s, with an estimated five thousand
members. In England critics of their zealous
worship practices--they shook and trembled to rid
themselves of evil--referred to them as "Shaking
Quakers" and then simply as Shakers. They
believed that Ann Lee embodied the Christ spirit
in a woman and called her "Mother Ann." A
duality emerged in the Society, as men and women
shared
equally positions of authority--both spiritual
and temporal, responsibilities and respect. Men
and
women lived and worked separately as Brothers and
Sisters, a practice reflected in the mirrorlike
architecture of many of their buildings.
As they sought to create their vision of "heaven
on earth," they applied the virtues of simplicity,
purity
and perfection to their work and to themselves.
Function and quality was emphasized in their products
and designs. Their buildings were well constructed
and appointed with efficient and modern amenities.
Technology was readily adopted and applied to their
tasks. As a result, the Shakers are credited with
a number of innovations and inventions. As goods
produced for their own use were recognized for
their quality by the "world"s people," markets
developed for Shaker products.
 The
Shakers became successful businesspeople, known
for their honesty. Their farms, too, brought them
considerable prosperity. Despite economic success,
however, the Shakers never lost touch with the
spiritualism that was at the heart of their beliefs.
Although whirling, trembling, shaking and other
ecstatic worship gave way to more orderly dancing
and singing in religious services, Shakers continued
to lead lives of purity and devotion to God. Shakerism
peaked in the decades before the Civil War, as
America industrialized and the country expanded
west. The religious revivals which had brought
many converts to Shakerism lost momentum. Fewer
people found the Shaker way of life appealing.
Communities began to close in the late 1800s.
Today one Shaker community remains at Sabbathday
Lake, Maine. The Shakers, however, have left a
strong legacy of accomplishments and an approach
to life which is relevant to people of the 21st
century.
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