Scrolling through images of New Harmony, a town situated over only 0.65 square miles of western Indiana, emulates traveling back in time 100 years. At first glance,<\/p>\n it\u00a0resembles\u00a0a rather simple, quaint existence, emblematic of a typical American small town. However, upon more thorough investigation, its history is far more nuanced and complex a narrative.<\/p>\n Founded as \u201cHarmony\u201d in 1814, the town was first home to a religious group, commonly referred to as the \u201cHarmonists,\u201d or the \u201cHarmony Society.\u201d Led by German leader George Rapp, this sect believed in the Second Coming, and lived purely and honorably to prove their worthiness of Jesus\u2019 return. In addition to practicing celibacy, they were abolitionists and promoted communal living and equality. Yet despite the Harmonists\u2019 success, the location of their settlement was not ideal for trading practices. This geographical inconvenience, in tandem with the opposition they faced from slave-owning neighbors, prompted their decision to settle elsewhere.<\/p>\n In 1824, they sold this land, along with its 180 buildings to Robert Owen, who changed the name of the community to \u201cNew Harmony,\u201d as it remains to this day. Disillusioned with religion, Owen conceived his own doctrine, grounded in the notion that an individual\u2019s environment is paramount in shaping their character and identity.<\/p>\n To that end, central to this ideology was the quest to achieve a utopia, a perfect society unencumbered by social classes and segregation. Like the Harmonists, this philosophy promoted equality for all, condemning slavery and supporting women\u2019s rights, as well as endorsing free education and communal living.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Despite having a constitution designed to govern life and foster happiness, accord and unity within the society, Owen\u2019s community lacked organization in terms of a structured government and formal leadership. Additionally, conflicting philosophies regarding\u00a0the role of religion\u00a0further exacerbated the growing disorder and disillusionment within the community. Amidst this dissent, Owen extricated himself from New Harmony, and departed for England, where he continued disseminating his utopian mission. Around the same time, followers who had been drawn to the promise of a collaborative, harmonious, orderly existence in a crime, disease and poverty-free\u00a0\u201cutopia\u201d began to move away, abandoning the communal lifestyle.<\/p>\n By 1829, after failed efforts to implement structure and reconcile disorganization within the town, New Harmony officially dissolved, dispersing into smaller neighboring communities.<\/p>\n On paper, this attempt at a utopia in New Harmony appears to\u00a0embody many characteristics\u00a0of other communities we have studied, from its promise of a perfect, untroubled\u00a0experience to its emphasis on equality. However, Owen\u2019s focus on and commitment to free education\u00a0as a core pillar of society stands out from other attempted utopias. With no religious slant, he believed in education as a vehicle to achieve enlightenment and a truly moral existence, and according\u00a0to Owen, “man is a creature of his circumstances.” Based\u00a0on this conviction, he\u00a0believed\u00a0that children should be immersed\u00a0in\u00a0education from a young age, distinguishing\u00a0this environment\u00a0as the\u00a0best to ensure\u00a0their proper growth and development in terms of both intellect and character.\u00a0Indeed,\u00a0he envisioned “a system of national education” that would prevent idleness, poverty, and crime among the ‘lower orders,'”\u00a0and believed\u00a0that “[training] children from their earliest infancy in good habits” through education would “impress them with an active and ardent desire to promote the\u00a0happiness of every individual” (A\u00a0New\u00a0View of Society and Other Writings, Robert Owen). He also emphasized the importance of experiential learning, promoting the value in children both genuinely enjoying their\u00a0schooling and\u00a0having the freedom to engage in discussion,\u00a0exploration and think deeply beyond a traditional classroom setting.<\/p>\n In some respects, today\u2019s inhabitants of New Harmony continue to model the simplistic ways of life of the Harmonists and the Owenites. And a host of historic<\/p>\n buildings remain intact to this day, from a library to a museum to an opera house, all contributing to\u00a0its enduring charm and quaint appeal.\u00a0The town also continues\u00a0to bear the name of “New Harmony,” and\u00a0in a sense,\u00a0its residents still live up to this name,\u00a0signifying\u00a0the commune’s success\u00a0in leaving a legacy of lasting harmonious life. However, I believe it is important to distinguish harmony from\u00a0 utopia. After all, one of the\u00a0downfalls of\u00a0this commune was that\u00a0its members were not unified by a particular code or set of religious beliefs. Rather, they came together over the shared desire for harmony. But with only a reliance on this commonality as a means of unification and no structured system of leadership in place, their\u00a0conflicting visions for how to achieve a utopia remained just that: mere unrealized figments.<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/places\/the-roofless-church-new-harmony-indiana<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/newharmony-in.gov\/about-new-harmony.php<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.biographyonline.net\/business\/robert-owen.html<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Robert-Owen<\/a><\/p>\n![\"1200px-Downtown_new_harmony_indiana\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-dev.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3073\/2019\/02\/1200px-Downtown_new_harmony_indiana1-300x225.jpg\")
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