NEW HARMONY

This article appears in Volume V19, Page 499 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: NAN-NEW

NEW HARMONY , a

village

VILLAGE

in Posey county, Indiana, U.S.A., on the Wabash river, about 22 m. N.W. of Evansville. Pop. (1900) 1341; (1920) 1229. It is served by the Illinois Central railway, and has regular steamboat connexion with the river cities. New Harmony had its beginning in 1814-1815, when it became the home of a communistic religious sect known variously as the Harmonists, Harmonites and Rappites, founded in Germany towards the end of the 18th century by George Rapp (1757-1847), a native of Iptingen in Wurttemberg. Rapp and his followers, who sought to form a community after the manner of the primitive Christian Church, were persecuted in Germany, and in 1803-1804 emigrated to Butler county, Pennsylvania. There they established in 18o5 a community known as Harmony, consisting of some 600 persons, who held their property in common and in 1807 adopted celibacy. In 1814 Rapp sold most of his Pennsylvania land and bought about 24,735 acres (in the next ten years more than 14,000 acres in addition) on the Wabash river in Indiana Territory. In 1814-1815 Rapp and a thousand of his followers settled on the Indiana tract, their headquarters being established at New Harmony, or Harmonie as they called it. The settlers, mostly Germans, devoted themselves to agriculture, weaving and leather-working so industriously that they prospered from the start. Rapp, however, in 1825 disposed of his lands and property to Robert Owen, having returned with part of his followers to Pennsylvania and founded a new community known as

Economy

ECONOMY

(q.v.), in Beaver county, where he died in 1847.

Intent

INTENT (from Lat. intend ere, to stretch out, extend, particularly in the phrase intendere animum, to turn one's mind to, purpose)

on founding a socialistic community, Owen went to the United States in 1824, and purchased Rapp's lands and live stock for $182,000. He interested several well-known scientists in his settlement, and with them came to New Harmony in the

spring

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

of 1826. Within six months the community numbered over z000. Among its most notable members were Robert Owen's sons, Robert Dale Owen (1801-1877), a political leader and diplomat; David Dale Owen (1807-1860) and Richard Owen (1810-189o), both geologists of note; William MaClure (1763-1840), the founder of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia; Thomas Say (1787-1834), " the father of American

Zoology

ZOOLOGY (from Gr. Nov, a living thing, and ?byos, theory)

"; Charles Lesueur, a scientist and antiquarian; and Gerard Troost (1776-1850), a well-known geologist. The greater part of the settlers, how-ever, were impractical theorists or adventurers. Constitution after constitution was adopted, and with the adoption of each new constitution and with each new religious discussion a group would secede and form a separate communityin 1828 there were tenthe best known and most successful being Macluria (like the others, occupying a part of Owen's land), named after William MaClure, who became its directing power. The whole organization broke up in 1827, and Owen left New Harmony in 1828. New Harmony has a Working Men's Institute Public Library, founded in 1838 by William MaClure,
1686-1687
1775
1792-1794 Federalist 1794-1805
18o5-18o9 Dem.-Repub. 18091810 Federalist 1810-1812 Dem.-Repub. 18121813
1813-1816 Federalist 1816-1819 Dem.-Repub.
1819-1823
1823-1824
1824-1827 " Adams Man " 1827-1828 " Jackson Man " 1828-1829 " Adams Man " 1829-1830 " Jackson Man "
183o-1831
1831
1831-1834 ,r
1834-1836 Democrat
1836-1839
1839-1842
1842-1844
1844-1846 1846-1847
1847-1849
1849-1852
1852-1854
1854-1855
1855-1857 Know-Nothing 8571859 Republican 1859-1861
rr
1861-1863
1863-1865 1865-1867 1867-1869 1869-1871
1871-1872 Democrat 1872-1874 Republican 1874-1875 Democrat 1875-1877 Republican 1877-1879
1879-1881 1881-1883 1883-1885 1885-1887 1887-1889 1889-1891 1891-1893 1893-1895 1895-1897 1897-1899 1899-1901 1901-1903
1903-1905
. 1905-1907
^ 1907-1909
1909191I
1911
and having in 1907 18,000 volumes; the collection is rich in works dealing with

socialism

SOCIALISM

.
See " The Harmony Society " in German-American Annals (Philadelphia), vol. 2 (new series), for January 1904; G. B. Lock-wood and C. A. Prosser, The New Harmony

Movement

MOVEMENT

(New

York

YORK
YORK (HOUSE OF)
YORK, EDMUND OF
LANGLEY
- LANGLEY, SAMUEL PIERPONT (1834-1906)
, DUKE OF (1341-1402)
YORK, EDWARD
YORK, FREDERICK
AUGUSTUS
- AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)
, DUKE OF (1763-1827)
YORK, RICHARD, DUKE

, 1907); Meredith Nicholson, The Hoosiers (New

York

YORK
YORK (HOUSE OF)
YORK, EDMUND OF
LANGLEY
- LANGLEY, SAMUEL PIERPONT (1834-1906)
, DUKE OF (1341-1402)
YORK, EDWARD
YORK, FREDERICK
AUGUSTUS
- AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)
, DUKE OF (1763-1827)
YORK, RICHARD, DUKE

, 19o'); Morris Hillquit, History of

Socialism

SOCIALISM

in the United States (New York, 1903) ; and Frank Podmore, Robert Owen (London, 1906).

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