“Shake it up baby. Twist and shout,” was sung by the Beatles, but it was practiced almost 200 years earlier by a religious group called “The United Society of Believers.” This religious group was founded in England. 1774, Shake leader Ann Lee and her followers emigrated to America. The Believers worshipped by singing, dancing, shaking, and whirling around. Eventually they became known as ‘the Shakers.”
The Shakers were a peaceful sect that welcomed people of all races. They were against war and live in their own villages separate from the rest of society. They lived communally-that is, sharing their property and working for the common good. The qualities they admired were Kindness, generosity, modesty, purity, cleanliness, and love for humanity. Their villages plain white houses were so neat and tidy that even the roads were swept clean.
The Shakers were probably best known for their celibacy and industriousness. Single men and woman did not marry. Married couples who joined the religion had to live apart. In the Shaker community, males and females lived in separate communal houses. They had strict rules regarding behavior between the sexes, such as never shaking hands or touching each other in any way. They ate, worked, and slept in separate quarters. When conversation between a man and woman was necessary, it was done in the company of other . At their almost daily meeting for conversation and singing, males and females sat opposite each other. Even when they danced and whirled around during worship, men and women always kept their distance.
As might be expected, the Shaker style of dressing was modest, simple, and their clothes were dark in color. The women combed their back under a cup and wore long dresses with a cloth that covered the chest . Men wore dark pant and simple coats. Bright or attractive clothing was out of the question for these celibate people.
“Put your hands to work and your hearts to God,” said Ann Lee to her follower. Those words were taken seriously by the Shakers, who were very hardworking people. In order be self-sufficient, the Shakers grew their own food, wove their own cloth, and made their own tools, utensils, and handicrafts. They made chairs, buttons, tubs, baskets, smoking pipes, pens, brooms, hats, shoes, and hand-woven coats. Although simple and plain, these things were of the highest quality, and the Shakers soon became famous for their superior products.
Not only were the Shakers industrious, but they were creative and inventive as well. Their long list of inventions and improvements includes such items as the flat broom, the common clothespin, the first garden seeds packaged in paper, and machines such as an improved washing machine, a revolving oven, and a wood-burning stove.
Although it may seem that Shaker life was all rules, work, and worship, their lives were not picking fruit, walking in the woods, taking carriage rides, and laughing together-in separate groups, of course.
Over the years, the original Shaker community in New York expanded to 24 communities scattered among eight states in the eastern United States. Many people were attracted to their peaceful ways and clean, crime-free villages. Eventually the Shakers paid a price for their celibacy, however, because without children to carry on their tradition and beliefs, their numbers eventually dwindled to a very few . Today, their villages are museums and their handicrafts are item for collectors. Nevertheless, the Shakers will not be forgotten. Their search for a perfect existence where everyone was equal and in harmony is recorded in American history. The Shakers will be remembered for their many fine products and inventions for the contribution they mad to society.