The Shakers

Narrator: "THE PECULIAR GRACE OF A SHAKER CHAIR "IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT WAS MADE BY SOMEONE CAPABLE OF BELIEVING THAT AN ANGEL MIGHT COME AND SIT ON IT."

THOMAS MERTON.

Woman: "ARE YOU FREE AS YOU ARE?

"ARE YOU IN ANY DEGREE BOUND BY YOUR APPETITES, YOUR PASSIONS "YOUR SELF-WILL?

"ARE YOU AT ALL IN BONDAGE TO THE OPINION OF YOUR NEIGHBORS "TO THE CUSTOMS AND NOTIONS OF SOCIETY "HOWEVER HARMFUL OR ABSURD?

THESE DO NOT TRAMMEL THE TRUE SHAKER."

ELDRESS ANNA WHITE.

( cock crows ) Man: ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE SIMPLE ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE FREE ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE HUMBLE ♪ ♪ YEA, BOW LIKE THE WILLOW TREE.

♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE SIMPLE ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE FREE ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE HUMBLE ♪ ♪ YEA, BOW LIKE THE WILLOW TREE.

♪ ♪ I WILL BOW, THIS IS THE TOKEN ♪ ♪ I WILL WEAR THE EASY YOKE ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE BROKEN ♪ ♪ YEA, I'LL FALL UPON THE ROCK ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW, THIS IS THE TOKEN ♪ ♪ I WILL WEAR THE EASY YOKE ♪ ♪ I WILL BOW AND BE BROKEN ♪ ♪ YEA, I'LL FALL UPON THE ROCK.

♪ ( cock crows ) Narrator: THEY CALLED THEMSELVES "THE UNITED SOCIETY OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST'S SECOND APPEARING" BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR ECSTATIC DANCING THE WORLD CALLED THEM "SHAKERS."

THEY WERE ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO GAVE UP EVERYTHING-- HOMES, FAMILIES AND LIVELIHOODS-- TO PUT INTO DAILY PRACTICE WHAT THEY CALLED "AUTHENTIC CHRISTIANITY."

75 YEARS BEFORE THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVES AND 150 YEARS BEFORE WOMEN BEGAN VOTING IN AMERICA THE SHAKERS WERE PRACTICING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND SPIRITUAL EQUALITY FOR ALL MEMBERS.

THEY BELIEVED IN PACIFISM AND FEMINISM FREEDOM FROM PREJUDICE, NATURAL HEALTH AND HYGIENE AND JOYFUL PERSONAL WORSHIP.

THE SHAKERS WERE CELIBATE.

THEY DID NOT MARRY OR BEAR CHILDREN.

YET THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST ENDURING RELIGIOUS EXPERIMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

THEIR RADICAL VIEWS WERE SO CHALLENGING THEIR WAY OF LIFE SO APPEALING THAT THE "WORLD'S PEOPLE," AS THEY CALLED OUTSIDERS FLOCKED TO THIS NEW AMERICAN RELIGION.

THEY ARE, IN MANY WAYS, THE AMERICAN DREAM.

THEY ENCOMPASS ALL OF THE IDEAS OF AMERICA-- ITS INDIVIDUALISM AS WELL AS ITS COLLECTIVISM-- IN ONE AREA.

THEY EXPERIMENT WITH IT AND THEY ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL AND YET THEY ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL.

IN TERMS OF LASTING, THEY PERHAPS ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL.

IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTE THEY WILL CONTINUALLY BE SUCCESSFUL, IN MY VIEW.

Woman: "I SAW A LARGE TREE "EVERY LEAF OF WHICH SHONE WITH A BRIGHTNESS "AS MADE IT APPEAR LIKE A BURNING TORCH.

"I KNEW THAT GOD HAD A CHOSEN PEOPLE IN AMERICA-- "I SAW THEM IN A VISION-- AND WHEN I MET WITH THEM IN AMERICA, I KNEW THEM."

MOTHER ANN.

Narrator: SHAKERISM WAS FOUNDED BY A WOMAN.

SHE WAS AN ILLITERATE ENGLISH FACTORY WORKER NAMED ANN LEE.

GUIDED BY DIVINE VISIONS AND SIGNS SHE AND EIGHT FOLLOWERS CAME TO AMERICA IN 1774 TO SPREAD HER GOSPEL IN THE FREEDOM OF THE NEW WORLD.

AT THEIR HEIGHT IN 1840 MORE THAN 6,000 BELIEVERS LIVED IN 19 COMMUNAL VILLAGES FROM NEW ENGLAND TO OHIO AND KENTUCKY.

FOR A TIME, THEIR EXPERIMENT WORKED SERVING AS A MODEL FOR THE WORLD'S UTOPIANS AND PRODUCING SOME OF THE GREATEST ARCHITECTURE IN AMERICA.

TODAY, LESS THAN A DOZEN SHAKERS STILL LIVE IN TWO 200-YEAR-OLD VILLAGES IN MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE.

THESE ARE THE LAST SHAKERS.

MY MOTHER PASSED AWAY WHEN I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD AND MY FATHER REMARRIED AND MY STEPMOTHER DIDN'T LIKE MY LITTLE SISTER AND I BECAUSE SHE HAD A BOY AND A GIRL OF HER OWN SO MY FATHER EVENTUALLY HEARD OF THE SHAKERS IN MAINE SO HE PLACED US THERE, AND I WAS DELIGHTED.

YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE THAT THE SISTERS WEREN'T RELATIVES BECAUSE THEY LOVED YOU.

THEY'D MAKE YOUR LIFE HAPPY.

NO MATTER WHERE YOU WENT YOU FELT THAT LOVE, YOU KNOW AND YOU KNEW THAT WHATEVER CAME UP YOU COULD GO TO ANY OF THEM AND GET COUNSEL AND BE LOVED.

Narrator: THE SHAKERS BELIEVED THAT IDEAS COULD TAKE FORM AND THAT GOD DWELT IN THE DETAILS OF THEIR WORK AND THE QUALITY OF THEIR CRAFTSMANSHIP.

THEY AIMED AT NOTHING LESS THAN THE TRANSFORMATION OF EARTH INTO HEAVEN SO THEY STROVE FOR PERFECTION IN EVERYTHING THEY DID.

THERE WAS NO ORNAMENT OR WASTED EFFORT.

CRAFTSMEN RARELY SIGNED THEIR WORK.

IT WAS SIMPLE THE WAY THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WAS SIMPLE.

THEY WERE INVENTORS.

THEY DESIGNED DOZENS OF LABOR-SAVING MACHINES AND DESIGNED AND BUILT ALL THEIR OWN FURNITURE.

THEY WOVE WATER-REPELLENT CLOTH MADE FABRIC THAT NEEDED NO IRONING AND INVENTED THE COMMON CLOTHESPIN.

THEY TURNED THE ROUND BROOM INTO A FLAT ONE AND THEY WERE FAMOUS FOR THEIR CLOAKS, OVAL BOXES AND CHAIRS.

Woman: THEIR WORK IS WONDERFUL.

IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF THEM, REALLY.

I THINK YOU HAVE TO SEE THE SHAKERS WITH THEIR ARTIFACTS TO UNDERSTAND THEM BECAUSE THE SIMPLICITY OF THE FURNITURE THE CRAFTSMANSHIP, THE BEAUTY, THE CARE WITH WHICH IT'S DONE ALL EXEMPLIFY THE WAY THEY LIVE.

PEOPLE LOOK IN UPON US, AND THE FIRST THING THEY SAY IS "THEY'RE THE PEOPLE THAT MADE NICE FURNITURE."

AND I SAID, "I KNOW, AND I ALMOST EXPECT TO BE REMEMBERED AS A CHAIR OR A TABLE."

BUT PEOPLE THAT COME IN FEELING THAT WAY THEY FORGET WHAT'S BEHIND THAT WORK.

THERE'S THE RELIGION THAT PRODUCED THE GOOD CHAIRS AND TABLES BECAUSE EVERYTHING THEY PUT THEIR HAND TO WAS WELL DONE.

Man: "IF THEIR PRINCIPLES "ARE MAINTAINED AND SUSTAINED BY A PRACTICAL LIFE "IT IS DESTINED EVENTUALLY TO OVERTHROW ALL OTHER RELIGIONS."

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Narrator: DURING HER LIFETIME NO IMAGE OF ANY KIND WAS MADE OF ANN LEE.

SHE WAS BORN ON LEAP YEAR, FEBRUARY 29, 1736 IN MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

EVEN AS A CHILD SHE WAS TORMENTED BY A SENSE OF HER OWN IMPURITY.

FORCED BY HER PARENTS TO MARRY SHE BORE FOUR CHILDREN, ALL OF WHOM DIED.

Woman: "SOON AFTER I SET OUT TO TRAVEL IN THE WAY OF GOD "I LABORED A-NIGHTS "CONTINUALLY CRYING FOR MY OWN REDEMPTION "AND IN THE DAYTIME "I PUT MY HANDS TO WORK AND MY HEART TO GOD.

"MY SUFFERINGS WERE SO GREAT "THAT MY FLESH CONSUMED UPON MY BONES AND I BECAME AS HELPLESS AS AN INFANT."

Narrator: SHE STRUGGLED ALONE FOR NINE YEARS UNTIL IN 1770 SHE HAD A DAZZLING VISION OF JESUS.

Woman: "AT LAST MY SOUL BROKE FORTH TO GOD "WHICH I FELT AS SENSIBLY AS EVER A WOMAN DID A CHILD WHEN SHE WAS DELIVERED OF IT."

Narrator: HER REVELATION WAS ACCEPTED BY A SMALL GROUP OF ENGLISH QUAKERS KNOWN FOR THEIR VIOLENT EXERCISES OF BODY AND SOUL AS SHAKING QUAKERS, OR "SHAKERS."

TO THEM, ANN LEE BECAME "MOTHER ANN."

BUT THEY WERE NOT WELCOME IN ENGLAND.

Man: AMERICA IS THE LAND OF ZERO.

START FROM ZERO.

WE START FROM NOTHING.

THAT'S THE IDEAL OF AMERICA.

WE START ONLY FROM OUR OWN REASON OUR OWN LONGING, OUR OWN SEARCH.

THIS IS THE NATION THAT CUT ITS TIES WITH TRADITION.

IT COMES OUT OF MANY IMPULSES, SOME OF THEM NOT SO HONORABLE BUT AMONG THE HONORABLE ONES IS: "NOBODY IS GOING TO TELL ME HOW TO RELATE TO GOD.

I'M GOING TO FIND IT FROM INSIDE MYSELF."

THIS IS THE GENIUS OF PROTESTANTISM AND, IN PART, THE GENIUS OF AMERICA.

Narrator: ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR ANN LEE AND HER SMALL GROUP CAME TO AMERICA.

THEY SETTLED NEAR ALBANY, NEW YORK IN A FRONTIER WILDERNESS CALLED NISKAYUNA BY THE INDIANS AND LATER KNOWN AS WATERVLIET.

AS THE WAR DRAGGED ON A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL ALSO SWEPT THE COUNTRYSIDE.

WORD SPREAD OF A STERN AND GODLY WOMAN WHO WALKED WITH JESUS WHO KNEW EACH ONE'S PAST AND FUTURE AND WHO COULD SAVE ANY WHO CONFESSED THEIR SINS.

Woman: "I NEVER MADE ANY PROFESSION TO RELIGION "ALTHOUGH I HAD MANY SERIOUS THOUGHTS ABOUT MY SOUL "AND AT TIMES I WAS AFRAID I SHOULD GO TO HELL.

"IN THE SPRING, I HEARD OF A STRANGE PEOPLE ABOVE ALBANY "WHO SAID THEY SERVED GOD DAY AND NIGHT "AND DID NOT COMMIT SIN.

"WHEN I ARRIVED, I WAS LED TO MOTHER ANN.

"AS I SAT BY THE SIDE OF HER "ONE OF HER HANDS FREQUENTLY TOUCHED MY ARM "AND I INSTANTLY FELT THE POWER OF GOD RUN THROUGH MY WHOLE BODY."

HANNAH CHAUNCY.

Woman: ♪ I HUNGER AND THIRST, I HUNGER AND THIRST ♪ ♪ AFTER TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.

♪ Narrator: THE FEARFUL AND THE CURIOUS BEGAN TO COME DRAWN BY MOTHER ANN'S SIMPLE TESTIMONY.

Woman: "GOD'S NATURE IS DUAL-- MALE AND FEMALE EQUALLY.

"CARNAL AFFECTIONS MUST DIE "THAT SPIRITUAL AFFECTIONS MAY LIVE "AND ALL WHO WILL BE TRUE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST MUST LEAD A CELIBATE LIFE."

♪ ...MY SOUL CANNOT REST ♪ ♪ AN OCEAN I SEE... ♪ "DO ALL YOUR WORK AS THOUGH YOU HAD 1,000 YEARS TO LIVE AND AS YOU WOULD IF YOU KNEW YOU MUST DIE TOMORROW."

WHOEVER'S A CHRISTIAN AND TAKES CHRIST'S TEACHINGS INTO THEIR HEART CHRIST IS IN THEIR BODY IN SPIRIT.

WE LIVE BY CHRIST'S TEACHINGS AND SO WE KNOW THAT IF WE LOVE CHRIST AND WE'RE GOING BY HIS TEACHINGS AND HIS EXAMPLE THEN CHRIST IS WITH US.

HE HAS COME ON EARTH.

IT TOOK QUITE A LOT OF TIME TO GET PEOPLE USED TO THE IDEA THAT WE WERE SIMPLY CHRISTIAN PEOPLE JUST EXPRESSING OUR RELIGIOUS VIEWS IN A LITTLE DIFFERENT WAY FROM THEY DID.

Narrator: MOTHER ANN TRAVELED ON FOOT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND.

AT EVERY STOP THERE WERE MORE CONVERTS BUT ALSO ANGRY CROWDS WHICH ACCUSED HER OF TREASON AND WITCHCRAFT.

AT ELIJAH WILD'S HOUSE IN SHIRLEY, MASSACHUSETTS SHE WAS ATTACKED BY A MOB FOR STEALING A WIFE AWAY FROM HER HUSBAND.

Man: "THERE'S NO FEAR THAT THIS OR ANY OTHER RELIGIOUS SECT "THAT IS FOUNDED ALTOGETHER ON FANATICISM AND FOLLY WILL EVER ARRIVE AT THE SMALLEST IMPORTANCE."

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER.

Narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1784 AT NISKAYUNA A SHAKER CONVERT NAMED JOHN HOCKNELL WROTE THAT HE SAW MOTHER ANN WAFTED AWAY ON A GOLDEN CHARIOT.

WEAKENED BY YEARS OF PERSECUTION, ANN LEE DIED.

HER WORK WAS DONE.

SHE WAS 48 YEARS OLD.

Man: "THE TIME HAS COME "FOR YOU TO GIVE UP YOUR SELVES AND YOUR ALL TO GOD; "TO POSSESS AS THOUGH YOU POSSESSED NOT.

"WE SHALL HAVE ONE MEETING TOGETHER WHICH WILL NEVER BREAK UP."

Narrator: ANN LEE LEFT A HANDFUL OF INSPIRED LEADERS AND THEY GAVE THE SHAKER RELIGION ITS FORM.

TWO ELDERS AND TWO ELDRESSES WOULD GOVERN EACH COMMUNITY AND A CENTRAL MINISTRY AT MOUNT LEBANON, NEW YORK WOULD OVERSEE THE SOCIETIES.

IN 1785, AS A NEW UNITED STATES OF AMERICA STRUGGLED TO FIND ITS FORM THE FIRST COMMUNAL SHAKER BUILDING-- A MEETINGHOUSE-- WAS CONSTRUCTED.

IT STOOD AS AN ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION OF SPIRITUAL AIMS AND A MODEL FOR TEN IDENTICAL BUILDINGS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND.

Man: "YE SHALL COME IN AND GO OUT OF THIS HOUSE "WITH REVERENCE AND GODLY FEAR.

"ALL MEN SHALL COME IN AND GO OUT AT THE WEST DOORS "AND ALL WOMEN AT THE EAST DOORS.

"THERE SHALL BE NO WHISPERING, TALKING OR LAUGHING "FOR IT WAS BUILT TO WORSHIP GOD IN AND TO REPENT IN."

Woman: "THE RAISING OF THE MEETINGHOUSE AT HARVARD, MASSACHUSETTS "WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN ONE NIGHT, THAT TIME BEING CHOSEN "SO THAT THE EYES OF THE WORLD MIGHT NOT SEE THE PROCESS WHICH WAS LOOKED UPON AS A SACRED RITE."

Woman: "AFTER I'VE DONE MY WORK IN THIS WORLD "THERE WILL BE A GREAT INCREASE IN THE GOSPEL.

"SOULS WILL EMBRACE IT BY HUNDREDS AND BY THOUSANDS.

"YOU WILL SEE PEACEABLE TIMES, AND YOU MAY WORSHIP GOD UNDER YOUR OWN VINE AND FIG TREES."

MOTHER ANN.

Narrator: THEY DID COME, BY HUNDREDS AND BY THOUSANDS FROM ALSTEAD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND GUILFORD, VERMONT AND LEYDEN, MASSACHUSETTS FROM ALFRED, MAINE, AND PORTLAND, CONNECTICUT AND PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

THEY SIGNED THE COVENANT ENTERING INTO THE SHAKER CHURCH.

HUSBANDS AND WIVES BECAME BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN HOLY FAMILIES.

CHILDREN WENT INTO THEIR OWN ORDER AND PROPERTY WENT TO THE COMMON GOOD.

MANY WERE ATTRACTED BY THE POWER AND SINCERITY OF THE NEW RELIGION.

FOR OTHERS IT WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION.

"WE ARE THE PEOPLE," CLAIMED THE SHAKERS "WHO TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN."

Woman: "I WAS AFRAID IT WAS THE WAY OF GOD "AND THAT I WOULD HAVE TO EMBRACE IT "OR NEVER FIND SALVATION.

"MANY EMBRACED THE TESTIMONY DURING THAT SUMMER "AND THE MORE I SAW, THE MORE I BECAME CONVICTED "THAT IT WAS THE WORK OF GOD AND I FELT A STING OF CONSCIENCE THAT I CANNOT WELL DESCRIBE."

SISTER HANNAH CHAUNCY.

WELL, I CAME TO THE SHAKERS AS A CHILD, SEVEN YEARS OLD AND IT TOOK SOME LITTLE TIME FOR ME TO COME TO THE PLACE WHERE I GREW THIS DEEP LOVE FOR THEM.

BUT I ALMOST DID IMMEDIATELY, I LOVED THEM.

AND THERE NEVER CAME A PLACE IN MY LIFE THAT IT DIDN'T MEAN A GREAT DEAL MORE TO ME THAN ANYTHING ELSE BECAUSE IT WASN'T THE RELIGION AT THAT TIME-- IT WAS THE LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT I WAS WITH.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE A GREAT DEAL OF SHAKERISM STARTS IS A LOVE FOR PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU'RE DRAWN TO THE LIFE THEY'RE LIVING.

Woman: "ONE AFTERNOON I WAS AT A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE "WHEN TWO YOUNG WOMEN ATTIRED IN SHAKER COSTUMES "ENTERED THE REAR DOOR.

"THEY SAID THE SHAKERS "ALWAYS LIVED ACCORDING TO THEIR PROFESSION "WERE HONEST AND UPRIGHT "BUT THEY DID NOT WISH TO LIVE A CELIBATE LIFE ANY LONGER.

"A STRANGE SENSATION SEEMED TO CREEP OVER ME "AND SOMETHING LIKE A VOICE SAID, 'WHY LISTEN TO THEM?

"'GO TO THE SHAKERS.

SEE FOR YOURSELF WHO AND WHAT THEY ARE.'"

Man: "THE FIRST PEOPLE IN AMERICA, AND ACTUALLY THE WORLD "TO CREATE A SOCIETY ON THE BASIS OF COMMON PROPERTY "ARE THE SO-CALLED SHAKERS.

"ALTHOUGH THEIR RELIGIOUS VIEWS "AND ESPECIALLY THE PROHIBITION OF MARRIAGE "FRIGHTENED MANY AWAY "THEY HAVE NEVERTHELESS FOUND A FOLLOWING "AND NOW HAVE 11 LARGE COMMUNITIES EACH 300 TO 800 STRONG."

FRIEDRICH ENGELS.

Man: "NO DUTCH TOWN HAS A NEATER ASPECT "NO MORAVIAN HAMLET A SOFTER HUSH.

"EVERY BUILDING, WHATEVER MAY BE ITS USE "HAS SOMETHING OF THE AIR OF A CHAPEL.

"THE PAINT IS ALL FRESH, THE PLANKS ARE ALL BRIGHT "THE WINDOWS ARE ALL CLEAN "AND EVERYTHING IN THE HAMLET LOOKS AND SMELLS "LIKE HOUSEHOLD THINGS THAT HAVE LONG BEEN LAID UP IN LAVENDER AND ROSE LEAVES."

HEPWORTH DIXON.

Man: "THEY INFORM YOU THAT THEY WISH TO REPRESENT HEAVEN ON EARTH.

"THEIR VOW IS CELIBACY "AND THEY HAVE EVERYTHING IN COMMON.

"HOW THEY MANAGE WITH THEIR COMBS AND TOOTHBRUSHES I DID NOT PRESUME TO ASK."

ARCHIBALD MAXWELL.

Man: "I ARRIVED AT THEIR TOWN ON SUNDAY, ABOUT 11:00.

"WHEN I GOT IN VIEW OF THEIR CHURCH, I HEARD A DOLEFUL NOISE.

"AS I APPROACHED NEARER, "THE SOUND BROKE WITH INCREASING STRENGTH ON MY EARS.

"THE AIR WAS FILLED WITH PIERCING SHRIEKS, SHOUTS "AND CONFUSED ACCLAMATIONS "RESEMBLING THE WILD AND MADDENED TENANTS OF BEDLAM.

I WAS TOLD THAT THE SHAKERS WERE AT WORSHIP."

THE RICHMOND INQUIRER.

Woman: "THEY FILED OFF IN A DOUBLE CIRCLE "ONE CIRCLE GOING ONE WAY "THE OTHER, TWO OR THREE ABREAST LABORING AROUND THIS LARGE HALL "KNEES BENT, HANDS PADDLING LIKE FINS "AND VOICES CHANTING WILD AIRS LIKE SO MANY WITCHES WORKING OVER THE CAULDRON."

FANNY APPLETON LONGFELLOW.

Woman: ♪ I NEVER DID BELIEVE ♪ ♪ THAT I EVER COULD BE SAVED ♪ ♪ WITHOUT GIVING UP ALL TO GOD ♪ ♪ I NEVER DID BELIEVE ♪ ♪ THAT I EVER COULD BE SAVED ♪ ♪ WITHOUT GIVING UP ALL TO GOD ♪ ♪ SO I FREELY GIVE THE WHOLE ♪ ♪ MY BODY AND MY SOUL ♪ ♪ TO THE LORD GOD, AMEN.

♪ Narrator: THE SHAKERS BELIEVED THAT DANCING BROUGHT THEM CLOSER TO GOD.

BUT THEY ONLY PRACTICED THE IMPULSIVE, FRENZIED WORSHIP THEY WERE KNOWN FOR DURING THEIR FIRST TEN YEARS.

AFTER MOTHER ANN'S DEATH, IT LATER EVOLVED INTO A REHEARSED, ORDERLY AND PATTERNED RITUAL.

♪ LET ME HAVE MOTHER'S GOSPEL ♪ ♪ MOTHER'S SOUL-SAVING GOSPEL ♪ ♪ THAT SAME LIFE THAT SHE LIVED, THAT SHE TAUGHT IN HER DAY ♪ ♪ FREE FROM ALL THAT IS CARNAL ♪ ♪ BREATHING LIFE, LIFE ETERNAL ♪ ♪ FROM THE WORLD, FROM THE FLESH ♪ ♪ 'TIS AWAY, FAR AWAY.

♪ Woman: "SABBATH.

"PUBLIC MEETING AS USUAL.

"THE MEETINGHOUSE WAS VERY MUCH CROWDED WITH BELIEVERS "AND THE WORLD'S PEOPLE.

"IT IS JUDGED THERE WERE 500 OF THE WORLD "ATTENDED ONE MEETING TODAY.

WE SANG, WE DANCED, WE SHOUTED."

Man: "THE MUSIC WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAD EVER HEARD-- "BEAUTIFUL, IMPRESSIVE AND DEEPLY SOLEMN.

"THEIR SONGS AND HYMNS BREATHE A PURE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRIT "AND THEIR MUSIC CAPTIVATES THE EAR BECAUSE OF ITS SEVERE SIMPLICITY AND PERFECT MELODY."

Sister Mildred: THOSE SONGS HAVE SO MANY MESSAGES IN THEM AND VERY OFTEN, IF YOU CAN'T EXPRESS IT YOURSELF THE WORDS OF THE SONGS BRING IT OUT.

TO ME, THE SONGS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT PART OF MY FAITH.

I'VE FOUND SO MANY ANSWERS IN THE SONGS-- ESPECIALLY THE OLD ONES.

THE LITTLE SONG I'M ABOUT TO SING WAS WRITTEN BY ONE OF THE SHAKER SISTERS HERE IN CANTERBURY AND TAUGHT TO ME BY SISTER ANNIE BAKER WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD.

♪ I WANT TO BE CLEAN AND HOLY ALL OVER ♪ ♪ THAT MOTHER'S RICH BLESSING MY SPIRIT MAY COVER ♪ ♪ I'LL BRUSH UP MY GARMENTS AS CLEAN AS I CAN ♪ ♪ SO MOTHER CAN OWN ME, HER WHITE LITTLE LAMB.

♪ Narrator: IN THEIR HUGE FAMILY DWELLINGS, THE SEXES WERE KEPT APART.

MEN LIVED ON ONE SIDE, WOMEN ON THE OTHER USING SEPARATE DOORS AND STAIRWAYS AT ALL TIMES.

THEY WERE TAUGHT THAT TO DISCIPLINE THE BODY WAS TO FEED THE SPIRIT SO THEIR DAILY LIFE WAS GOVERNED BY RITUAL.

THEY DRESSED THE RIGHT SIDE FIRST STEPPED RIGHT FOOT FIRST ON STAIRS KNELT WITH THE RIGHT KNEE FIRST AND HARNESSED THE RIGHT-HAND HORSE FIRST.

THEY CUT THEIR BREAD AND MEAT SQUARE.

DIAGONAL SHORTCUTS WERE DISCOURAGED.

AT DAY'S END BELIEVERS WERE TOLD TO REST IN THE FEAR OF GOD AND LIE STRAIGHT.

CELIBACY EXISTS IN EVERY RELIGIOUS TRADITION IN ONE OR ANOTHER FORM, FOR SHORT OR LONG PERIODS.

IT CERTAINLY IS ONE HONORABLE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING COMMITMENT TO GOD: TO SACRIFICE THAT SORT OF PERSONAL JOY IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR THE OTHER.

BUT YOU HAVE TO BRING IN THIS QUESTION OF ENERGY-- WHERE THEY GET THEIR ENERGY FROM.

THE ENERGY OF THE SHAKERS AS I SEE IT IS WHAT'S EXTRAORDINARY; THE CREATIVE ENERGY.

AND THIS MUST HAVE COME, TO SOME EXTENT FROM THE AUTHENTIC SUBLIMATION OF THE SEXUAL ENERGY.

Narrator: THE IDEA OF CELIBACY INTRIGUED AND THREATENED THE WORLD'S PEOPLE BUT FOR THE SHAKERS THIS SACRIFICE WAS THE CORE OF THEIR STRUGGLE TO BE CLOSER TO GOD.

Eldress Soule: YOUR MISSION MAY BE TO MARRY AND BRING A NEW LIFE INTO THE WORLD.

OUR MISSION IS TO LIVE THE LIFE OF CHRIST AS NEAR AS WE CAN AND DO FOR ALL.

BUT WE BLESS MARRIAGE BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY DIDN'T HAVE LITTLE ONES WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY SHAKERS.

Woman: "THE NEXT OPENING OF THE GOSPEL WILL BE IN THE SOUTHWEST.

"IT WILL BE AT A GREAT DISTANCE AND THERE WILL BE A GREAT WORK OF GOD."

MOTHER ANN.

Narrator: IN 1800, KENTUCKY WAS THE FRONTIER-- "A STATE FULL OF UNBOUNDED OPTIMISM," ONE OBSERVER WROTE WHICH RELEGATED RELIGION TO A PLACE OF MINOR IMPORTANCE.

YET WITHIN A YEAR A HANDFUL OF PREACHERS IGNITED A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL THAT TURNED KENTUCKY INTO A MASS CAMP MEETING.

SETTLERS CONGREGATED UNDER TREES, IN FIELDS AND TENTS IN PRIMITIVE CHURCHES MADE OF TIMBER AND MUD.

FOLLOWING THE PATTERN BACK EAST THE SHAKERS BROUGHT THEIR MISSION TO THE FRONTIER IN THE HEAT OF A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL.

IN 1805 WHILE LEWIS AND CLARK WERE EXPLORING THE GREAT NORTHWEST THE MOUNT LEBANON MINISTRY SENT THREE BELIEVERS TO KENTUCKY TO GATHER IN THE RESTLESS.

THE MEN TRAVELED 1,233 MILES ON FOOT IN TWO MONTHS AND 22 DAYS.

Man: "LIKE GOD'S HUNTERS "WE WENT THROUGH THIS WILD, WOODEN WORLD "HUNTING UP EVERY SOUL THAT GOD HAD BEEN PREPARING "FOR ETERNAL LIFE.

"THE PEOPLE SUCKED IN OUR LIGHT "AS GREEDILY AS EVER AN OX DRANK WATER "AND ALL WONDERED WHERE THEY HAD BEEN AND NOT SEEN THESE THINGS BEFORE."

BROTHER ISSACHAR BATES.

Narrator: ON A BLUEGRASS HILL NEAR THE KENTUCKY RIVER 44 CONVERTS SIGNED THE COVENANT AND ESTABLISHED A VILLAGE CALLED PLEASANT HILL.

THE RIVER CONNECTED THE SHAKERS TO MARKETS DOWN THE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI.

FROM THE RIVER'S PALISADES CAME THE LIMESTONE FOR THEIR BUILDINGS.

THE MATERIAL WAS UNFAMILIAR TO THEM AND THE FIRST LIMESTONE BUILDING, BUILT IN 1809 DIDN'T SATISFY THEM.

BUT IN 1811, AFTER STUDYING WITH LOCAL CRAFTSMEN THE SHAKERS BUILT A SECOND, IDENTICAL LIMESTONE BUILDING.

THIS TIME IT WAS FLAWLESS.

BY THE TIME THE ERIE CANAL OPENED IN 1825 THERE WERE TWO SHAKER SOCIETIES IN KENTUCKY FOUR IN OHIO, ANOTHER IN INDIANA.

THE WESTERN SHAKERS HAD A PARTICULARLY PROGRESSIVE SHAKER SPIRIT.

THEY WERE THE FIRST SHAKERS TO BIND BOOKS.

THEY ENJOYED PHOTOGRAPHY.

THEY RAISED SILKWORMS, WOVE AND WORE SILK.

PLEASANT HILL WAS THE FIRST KENTUCKY SETTLEMENT WITH RUNNING WATER.

THEY DISTILLED WHISKEY FOR SALE.

FOR A TIME, ONE SOCIETY RAN A HOTEL.

AND THEY WERE ESPECIALLY RENOWNED FOR THEIR WILD-EYED STRAIN OF SHORTHORN CATTLE.

BUT INDIANA WAS THE FARTHEST WEST THE SHAKERS GOT.

THE FRONTIER MOVED ON.

( bell ringing ) Woman: "WE BELIEVED WE WERE DEBTORS TO GOD "IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND TO ALL MEN "TO IMPROVE OUR TIME AND TALENTS IN THIS LIFE IN THAT MANNER IN WHICH WE MIGHT BE MOST USEFUL."

Narrator: THE DAY OF WORK BEGAN AT THE SOUND OF A BELL-- 4:30 A.M.

IN SUMMER, 5:30 IN WINTER.

15 MINUTES AFTER RISING AND KNEELING FOR A MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER THE BRETHREN WERE OFF TO THEIR MORNING CHORES AS THE SISTERS MOVED THROUGH THE DWELLING PUTTING THE ROOMS IN ORDER.

BY BREAKFAST, FIRES WERE GOING, COWS MILKED AND FED AND PREPARATIONS FOR THE DAY'S WORK WERE COMPLETE.

Eldress Soule: WE LITTLE GIRLS WOULD GET UP AND DRESS AND GET READY TO GO TO BREAKFAST.

AND OF COURSE, THE BRETHREN THEY'D GET A WHOLE DAY'S WORK DONE BEFORE BREAKFAST SO THEY WERE READY FOR A NICE, GOOD BREAKFAST-- APPLE PIE IN THE MORNING, ALWAYS.

SO THEY WERE REALLY HUNGRY.

YOU KNOW, OUR WORK WAS ROTATED BY THE MONTH AND SO WE DID NOT WORK AT ONE TASK ALL THE TIME.

IT GAVE US OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN EVERY TRADE AND TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE WITH SOMEBODY IF THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO CONTINUE DOING THAT.

Narrator: WORK WAS WORSHIP WITH THE SHAKERS-- AN ACT OF PIETY.

IT WAS THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF RELIGION.

IT PROVIDED A SPECIFIC DAILY OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE GOD BY CARING FOR WHAT THEY DID.

DAILY LABORS AIMED NOT FOR PRODUCTS OR PROFIT BUT FOR PERFECTION.

ALL LABOR WAS CONSECRATED, AND EVEN THE MOST MENIAL TASKS WERE DIGNIFIED IN THE SERVICE OF GOD.

Man: "A MAN CAN SHOW HIS RELIGION AS MUCH IN MEASURING ONIONS AS HE CAN IN SINGING 'GLORY HALLELUJAH.'"

Narrator: THE SHAKERS WERE FARMERS AND CARPENTERS AND PRINTERS AND BEEKEEPERS.

THEY WERE BAKERS, MERCHANTS, CHEMISTS AND ARCHITECTS.

EVERYBODY WORKED, AND EVERYBODY WORKED HARD.

THEY CARDED AND SPUN WOOL AND COTTON, AND HATCHELED FLAX.

ON THEIR SHAKER LOOMS THEY WOVE HANDKERCHIEFS TOWELS, CARPETS AND SPREADS PLUS FABRIC FOR THEIR OWN NEEDS.

THEY MADE PIPES, PINS, NAILS, BROOMS AND MOPS BUTTONS AND BUCKLES AND GARDEN HOES.

THEY SOLD WINES, SAUCES, JELLIES PICKLES AND KETCHUP AND SAUSAGE MEDICINES AND HERBAL REMEDIES AND, FOR A TIME, MOST OF THE OPIUM USED IN AMERICA.

WHEN THE SHAKERS BEGAN SELLING GARDEN SEED PACKAGED IN PAPER BAGS THAT WERE CUT, FOLDED, PASTED AND PRINTED IN THEIR OWN SHOPS FARMERS ACROSS THE NATION ORDERED THEM BY THE MILLIONS.

AND THE INVENTION OF THE CIRCULAR SAW IS CREDITED TO A SHAKER SISTER.

YOU SEE, THE SHAKERS, BEING INVENTORS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT THEY WANTED TO INTRODUCE INTO THE FAMILY ANYTHING THAT WOULD MAKE THE WORK LIGHTER OR TO ADD PLEASURE BECAUSE THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A SHAKER IS NOT ONLY A HOME TO LIVE IN IT GIVES THEM A WONDERFUL SENSE OF HAVING EVERYTHING TO MAKE LIFE JOYOUS AND RELIGION SHOULD BE ANYWAY A JOYOUS EXPERIENCE FOR PEOPLE.

Man: "THE BEAUTIFUL, AS YOU CALL IT, IS ABSURD AND ABNORMAL.

"IT HAS NO BUSINESS WITH US.

"ORDER IS HEAVEN'S FIRST LAW.

THERE IS NOT IN THE WHOLE VILLAGE ONE LINE OF ORNAMENT."

ANYTHING REALLY NEW IN THOUGHT AND IN MATERIAL LIFE HAS TO HAVE ITS SOURCE IN SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO CALL SPIRITUAL.

NOBODY CAN BE REALLY CREATIVE UNLESS THERE'S SOMETHING SPIRITUAL BEHIND IT WHETHER YOU...

WHETHER IT GOES BY THAT NAME OR NOT.

I MEAN, WHO INVENTED THE HOUSE OR WHO INVENTED ANY OF THE THINGS WE HAVE?

PROBABLY SOMEONE ENGAGED IN SOME KIND OF SEARCH.

Narrator: THEY HAD AN INSTINCT FOR WHAT WORKED, WHAT WAS RIGHT.

SHAKER BUILDINGS WERE DESIGNED WITH DELIBERATE SIMPLICITY.

IN THE ROUND STONE BARN AT HANCOCK, MASSACHUSETTS ONE BROTHER COULD WALK AROUND ITS CENTER AND FEED AN ENTIRE HERD IN A FEW SHORT STEPS.

IT WAS BUILT INTO A SLOPE AND HAD GROUND-LEVEL DOORS ON ALL THREE STORIES.

THE HAY WAS HAULED IN AT THE TOP AND PITCHED DOWN TO THE STALLS BELOW.

THE SHAKERS NEVER SAW ANY SENSE IN FIGHTING AGAINST GRAVITY.

WITH EVENING CHORES DONE BELIEVERS RETURNED TO THEIR ROOMS FOR HALF AN HOUR OF MEDITATION.

EVENING ASSEMBLY BEGAN AT THE SOUND OF ANOTHER BELL.

THEY MET SOMETIMES FOR WORSHIP, SOMETIMES FOR SINGING AND SOMETIMES TO SOCIALIZE.

Woman: "MARCH 1842.

"THIS MONTH A GIFT WAS ANNOUNCED "FOR EVERYONE TO MAKE A REVIEW OF HIS LIFE.

"FOR THREE WEEKS IT WAS ALMOST A PERPETUAL SABBATH.

"TEMPORAL DUTIES, EXCEPT THOSE THAT WERE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY "WERE MOSTLY LAID ASIDE.

MEETINGS WERE HELD AT ALL HOURS."

SISTER MARCIA HASTINGS.

Woman: "DECEMBER 31.

"WE KILLED CHICKENS FOR THE MARKET THIS A.M. "SOME OF THE INDIAN SPIRITS MAKE THEMSELVES KNOWN AND SPEAK IN MEETING THIS EVENING."

Man: "SABBATH, DECEMBER 13, 1843.

"WE HAD A VERY GOOD MEETING.

IN MEETING ABOUT 22 HOURS."

Woman: "AUGUST 5.

"IT IS A GENERAL TIME OF HEALTH AND PROSPERITY IN THE DIFFERENT SOCIETIES."

Narrator: 60 YEARS AFTER MOTHER ANN'S ARRIVAL IN AMERICA 17 SHAKER COMMUNITIES WERE FLOURISHING AND NEARLY 6,000 BELIEVERS LIVED IN PEACEFUL ISOLATION UNIMPEDED BY THE WORLD.

Man: "A TREE HAS ITS WANTS AND WISHES "AND A MAN SHOULD STUDY THEM AS A TEACHER WATCHES A CHILD "TO SEE WHAT HE CAN DO.

"IF YOU LOVE THE PLANT AND TAKE HEED OF WHAT IT LIKES YOU WILL BE REPAID BY IT."

ELDER FREDERICK EVANS.

Narrator: AT ONE TIME, THE SHAKERS AT CANTERBURY DISCOVERED THAT SOME OF THEIR POORER NEIGHBORS WERE STEALING VEGETABLES FROM THE GARDENS AT NIGHT.

IN RESPONSE, THEY PLANTED EXTRA CROPS.

Woman: "WE PLANT SOME FOR THE SHAKERS "SOME FOR THE THIEVES AND SOME FOR THE CROWS.

THIEVES AND CROWS HAVE TO EAT, TOO."

IT WAS COMMON PRACTICE FOR PEOPLE TO APPEAR IN THE FALL WHEN THE WINTER SEASON WAS ABOUT TO COME AND ASK TO BE TAKEN IN AND THEY WOULD PROFESS THAT THEY WERE THINKING OF JOINING THE SHAKERS.

WHEN SPRING CAME, OFF THEY'D BE.

AND THE SHAKERS KNEW THIS PERFECTLY WELL AND THEY LABELED THEM "WINTER SHAKERS" BUT THEY NEVER REFUSED TO TAKE THEM IN.

Man: "ON THE WHOLE, THEY LEAD A GOOD AND COMFORTABLE LIFE "AND IF IT WERE NOT FOR THEIR RIDICULOUS CEREMONIES "A MAN COULD NOT DO A WISER THING THAN TO JOIN THEM.

"I SPOKE TO THEM "ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER OF THEIR SOCIETY BUT HAVE COME TO NO DECISION ON THAT POINT."

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.

Woman: "TODAY WE PURCHASED JONAS CRUTCHER "A COLORED MAN WHO HAD BEEN A BELIEVER ABOUT 19 YEARS.

"WE HAVE BOUGHT HIM TO PREVENT HIS BEING SOLD SOUTH.

HE WAS ACCEPTED ON EQUAL TERMS."

Man: "IN THE SHAKERS, I FIND ONE PEACE OF BELIEF "IN THE DOCTRINE THAT ENCOURAGES THEM TO OPEN THEIR DOOR "TO EVERY WAYFARING MAN WHO PROPOSES TO COME AMONG THEM.

"THEY DO NOT RECEIVE HIM, AND THEY DO NOT REJECT HIM "FOR THEY SAY THE SPIRIT WILL PRESENTLY MANIFEST "TO THE MAN HIMSELF AND TO THE SOCIETY "WHETHER HE BELONGS AMONG THEM.

"AND NOT IN VAIN HAVE THEY DRUDGED IN THEIR FIELDS "AND SHUFFLED IN THEIR BRUIN DANCE IF THEY HAVE TRULY LEARNED THIS MUCH WISDOM."

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Man: "IT IS WELL TO HAVE ONE'S NAME SUCH A SYNONYM FOR HONESTY "THAT ANYTHING CALLED BY IT MAY BE BOUGHT AND SOLD WITH PERFECT CONFIDENCE."

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, ATLANTIC MONTHLY.

Man: "IT IS NO MORE THAN MERE JUSTICE "TO SAY THAT WE ARE INDEBTED TO THE SHAKERS "MORE THAN TO ANY OR ALL OTHER SOCIAL ARCHITECTS "OF MODERN TIMES.

"THEIR SUCCESS HAS BEEN THE SOLID CAPITAL "THAT HAS UPHELD ALL THE PAPER THEORIES AND COUNTERACTED THE FAILURES."

JOHN HUMPHREY NOYES.

Narrator: IN THE DECADE OF THE 1840s NO LESS THAN 100,000 AMERICANS JOINED SCORES OF DIFFERENT UTOPIAN EXPERIMENTS.

IT WAS THE AGE OF THE MORMONS AND THE ONEIDANS THE TRANSCENDENTALISTS AT BROOK FARM THE INTELLECTUAL COMMUNITIES LIKE NEW HARMONY RELIGIOUS SECTS LIKE AURORA, AMANA, SKANEATELES THE HARMONY SOCIETY, BISHOP HILL AND THE ICARIANS.

OUT OF THIS MULTITUDE OF EXPERIMENTS THE SHAKERS WERE THE OLDEST AND STILL SEEMED THE SOUNDEST.

Man: "I DO NOT SEE HOW IT IS POSSIBLE IN THE NATURE OF THINGS "FOR ANY TRUE RELIGION TO CONTINUE LONG "FOR RELIGION MUST NECESSARILY PRODUCE INDUSTRY AND FRUGALITY "AND THIS CANNOT BUT PRODUCE RICHES.

"BUT AS RICHES INCREASE, SO WILL LOVE OF THE WORLD IN ALL ITS BRANCHES."

JOHN WESLEY.

Narrator: THE WORLD WHICH HAD FINALLY ACCEPTED THE SHAKERS BEGAN TO DRAW THEM AWAY.

SOME FOUND CELIBACY TOO GREAT A SACRIFICE.

OTHERS SIMPLY COULD NOT SUSTAIN THEIR FAITH.

HERVEY ELKINS LEFT AFTER 15 YEARS AT ENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE BECAUSE HE WISHED FOR AN "INEXPRESSIBLE SOMETHING WHICH WAS NOT THERE TO BE FOUND."

A FEW WHO LEFT TOOK THE SACRED RITUALS TO THE MARKETPLACE.

A POPULAR ACT AT THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM WAS THE PERFORMANCE OF ORIGINAL DANCES BY FORMER MEMBERS.

Woman: "TO A MAN OR A WOMAN "NOT THOROUGHLY AND EARNESTLY IN LOVE WITH AN ASCETIC LIFE "AND DEEPLY DISGUSTED WITH THE WORLD "SHAKERISM WOULD BE UNENDURABLE.

IT IS NOT A COMFORTABLE PLACE FOR HYPOCRITES OR PRETENDERS."

Man: "PLEASANT HILL, KENTUCKY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1815.

"THIS EVENING POLLY HOOSER COMMITTED SUICIDE "BY HANGING HERSELF.

"SHE COMMITTED THE ACT IN THE SISTERS' SHOP "ABOVE THE KITCHEN AT THE WEST FAMILY.

"POLLY WAS 18 YEARS OF AGE "A LARGE, LIKELY WOMAN, AND NATURALLY AGREEABLE AND GOOD BUT SHE SPOILED IT ALL."

Man: "DIVINE INSPIRATION IS A VOICE "THAT SPEAKS FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD TO THE SOUL OF MAN.

"IF HE HAS ANY INTEREST BEYOND THIS WORLD "HE SHOULD KEEP HIMSELF IN A POSITION TO HEAR THAT VOICE UNDERSTAND ITS LANGUAGE AND BOW TO ITS REQUIREMENTS."

Narrator: BY THE 1840s, A WHOLE GENERATION OF SHAKERS HAD GROWN UP NEVER KNOWING MOTHER ANN.

MATERIAL SUCCESS HAD INTRODUCED A CERTAIN WORLDLINESS BREEDING SOME IMPATIENCE WITH TRADITIONAL DISCIPLINE ESPECIALLY AMONG THE YOUNG.

BUT THEN AT WATERVLIET THE SPIRIT OF MOTHER ANN VISITED FOUR YOUNG GIRLS INAUGURATING A REMARKABLE PERIOD OF SPIRITUALISM KNOWN AS "MOTHER ANN'S WORK."

Woman: "I SAW THE WHOLE TREE AS THE ANGEL HELD IT BEFORE ME "AS DISTINCTLY AS I EVER SAW A NATURAL TREE.

"I FELT VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN I TOOK HOLD OF IT "LEST THE BLAZE SHOULD TOUCH MY HAND.

"SEEN AND RECEIVED BY HANNAH COHOON "IN THE CITY OF PEACE "SABBATH, OCTOBER 9, TENTH HOUR A.M., 1845.

PAINTED BY THE SAME HAND."

Narrator: IT HAD ALL BEGUN WITH MOTHER ANN'S FIRST VISION OF JESUS.

BUT NEVER BEFORE HAD THE INSPIRATION BEEN SO DIRECT OR SO VARIED.

THE SPIRITS OF DEPARTED SHAKERS AND OTHERS-- GEORGE WASHINGTON, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE INDIAN CHIEF TECUMSEH-- SPOKE THROUGH MEDIUMS.

SPIRIT DRAWINGS FILLED WITH MESSAGES WERE PAINTED CONTRARY TO THE LONG-STANDING ORDER AGAINST ORNAMENT.

THE MESSAGE WAS PLAIN: BELIEVERS HAD GROWN FORGETFUL OF THE CALL TO SIMPLICITY.

THROUGH SYMBOLS THEY WERE ENCOURAGED TO RETURN TO A LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Children: ♪ 'TIS A GIFT TO BE SIMPLE ♪ ♪ 'TIS A GIFT TO BE FREE ♪ ♪ 'TIS A GIFT TO COME ROUND WHERE WE OUGHT TO BE... ♪ Narrator: FROM THE BEGINNING THE SHAKERS TOOK IN ORPHANS, THE CHILDREN OF ADULT CONVERTS GIVING THEM A SUPERB EDUCATION THE FINEST HEALTH CARE THE DEVOTED ATTENTION OF SPIRITUAL PARENTS AND AN OPPORTUNITY, AT 21 TO SIGN THE COVENANT AND BECOME A TRUE SHAKER.

MANY LEFT, BUT A GOOD NUMBER STAYED.

TO ME, A CHILD IS BROUGHT IN AS A LITTLE GIRL AND SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS LIKE AND SHE GETS CURIOUS.

I NEVER BLAMED THEM BECAUSE I KNOW I'M CURIOUS MYSELF.

Woman: "FEBRUARY 1, SABBATH, 1863.

"AT THIS TIME OUR MINDS ARE SO MUCH CARRIED OFF "WITH WARS AND RUMORS OF WAR THAT OUR SPIRITUAL TRAVEL IS GREATLY IMPEDED."

Narrator: THE CIVIL WAR TESTED THE SHAKERS' DEDICATION TO THE IDEAL OF PACIFISM.

WHEN THE DRAFT LAW OF 1863 REQUIRED ALL YOUNG MEN TO ENLIST ELDER FREDERIC EVANS OF MOUNT LEBANON PLEADED THE CASE OF SHAKER PACIFISM WITH PRESIDENT LINCOLN.

"YOU OUGHT TO BE MADE TO FIGHT," LINCOLN TOLD HIM.

"WE NEED SUCH MEN AS YOU."

BUT HE GRANTED THE SHAKERS AN EXEMPTION FROM MILITARY SERVICE MAKING THEM AMONG THE FIRST CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.

FREDERIC EVANS WAS PERHAPS THE MOST VISIBLE AND OUTSPOKEN SHAKER WHO EVER LIVED.

HE WAS PART OF A NEW BREED OF MORE WORLDLY LEADERSHIP.

UNLIKE MOST OF HIS PREDECESSORS HE HAD READ, TRAVELED AND LECTURED ON SOCIAL REFORM.

NO VISION OF ANN LEE OR JESUS OR ANGELS IN HEAVEN HAD CONVINCED HIM TO JOIN.

IT WAS A MENTAL PHENOMENON, HE SAID, WHICH ILLUMINATED HIM.

Man: "I COULD SEE A CHAIN OF PROBLEMS "AS IN A BOOK ALL SPREAD OUT BEFORE ME "STARTING FROM A FACT WHICH I DID BELIEVE "AND LEADING ME STEP BY STEP MATHEMATICALLY "TO A GIVEN CONCLUSION WHICH I HAD NOT HITHERTO BELIEVED.

"I THEN DISCOVERED "I HAD POWERS WITHIN ME THAT I KNEW NOT OF.

I WAS REASONING AS I NEVER BEFORE REASONED."

ELDER FREDERIC EVANS.

Narrator: ELDRESS ANNA WHITE WAS ALSO A LEADER NOT ONLY AMONG SHAKERS, BUT AMONG AMERICAN PROGRESSIVES.

UNDER HER GUIDANCE, SHAKERS HELD A PEACE CONFERENCE WITH DELEGATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

THEY CALLED FOR REDUCED ARMS AND TAXES AN INTERNATIONAL POLICE FORCE AND A WORLD COURT.

ANNA WHITE TOOK THE RESOLUTIONS TO WASHINGTON WHERE SHE WAS RECEIVED BY PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

IT WAS SAID THAT ROOSEVELT'S EYES NEVER WAVERED FROM ANNA'S PIERCING LOOK.

IT WAS, AS ONE OBSERVER NOTED, "TURK MEETS TURK."

ELDRESS ANNA WHITE, MANY YEARS AGO ASKED THIS QUESTION: "AS THE ANCIENTS OF THE CITY PASS AWAY WHO WILL KEEP THE TESTIMONY BURNING BRIGHT?"

WHICH WAS, INDEED, A VERY SERIOUS QUESTION.

WHO WILL KEEP THE SHAKER LIGHT BURNING BRIGHT AND CLEAR AS THE YEARS GO ON?

Narrator: ALL OF THE SOCIETIES SURVIVED THE CIVIL WAR BUT THE CHANGES IN AMERICA WHICH FOLLOWED-- INDUSTRIALIZATION AND THE GROWTH OF CITIES AND PARTICULARLY THE LOSS OF THE FRONTIER-- INTENSIFIED THE STEADY DECLINE IN INDUSTRIES AND MEMBERSHIP FROM WHICH THEY NEVER RECOVERED.

Man: "WE AMERICANS LOVE LIBERTY TOO MUCH "TO JOIN SUCH SOCIETIES AS THESE.

"WHAT ARE THEY BUT PURE DESPOTISM "WHERE ALL ARE SUBJECT TO THE WILL OF ONE MAN "A FEW LEADERS, OR EVEN A WOMAN?

"ARE NOT THESE PLACES OPPOSED TO SCIENCE AND ALL IMPROVEMENTS?

"WE AMERICANS ARE A GO-AHEAD PEOPLE NOT TO BE CONFINED ANYWHERE OR STOPPED BY ANYTHING."

JOHN FINCH.

Woman: "IT IS THE UNDERSTANDING HERE "THAT THE SOCIETY IS GOING DOWN GRADUALLY "ON THE MALE SIDE OF THE HOUSE.

"THE OLDER BRETHREN ARE DYING OFF RAPIDLY "AND THE YOUNGER ONES ARE RUNNING OFF MORE RAPIDLY.

"WE CANNOT PREVENT A SPIRIT OF DISCOURAGEMENT FROM GETTING IN AMONG THE PEOPLE."

Man: "OUR FAMILY IS GROWING LESS FAST.

"MORE LABORERS ARE NEEDED.

"SEND THEM, LORD, WE PRAY.

THOU ALONE CANST HELP US."

Olive Hayden Austin: ONE EVENING, I HAD FALLEN ASLEEP AND I WAKENED WITH ALMOST SEEMING LIKE A VOICE SPEAKING TO ME AND THE WORDS CAME TO ME FROM THE BOOK OF PROVERBS: "TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART "AND LEAN UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING.

"IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS."

AND THIS SEEMED TO ME LIKE A CALL THAT AS I WAS FEELING THEN THAT IT WAS RIGHT FOR ME TO LEAVE.

MY WORK HAD BEEN FINISHED THERE AS LONG AS ALL MY COMPANIONS HAD LEFT.

AND SEEMINGLY, IT WAS THE THING FOR ME TO DO BECAUSE WITHOUT THE YOUNG PEOPLE THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO HOPES.

Man: "WE USED TO HAVE MORE LOOMS THAN NOW "BUT CLOTH IS SOLD SO CHEAPLY THAT WE GRADUALLY BEGAN TO BUY.

"IT IS A MISTAKE.

"WE BUY MORE CHEAPLY THAN WE CAN MAKE BUT OUR HOMEMADE CLOTH IS MUCH BETTER THAN WE CAN BUY."

WHEN MASS PRODUCTION CAME ALONG WHEN THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION REALLY GOT GOING THE SHAKERS COULDN'T COMPETE, EVEN IN THE SIMPLE WAYS IN SELLING THEIR GOODS TO THE WORLD.

AND AFTER THE CIVIL WAR THERE WERE MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BUSINESS WORLD SO THE YOUNG MEN WHO WERE SHAKERS WERE TEMPTED TO LEAVE, AND DID LEAVE.

THEY DIDN'T NEED TO LEAVE BECAUSE THEY WASN'T LOVED BECAUSE THEY WERE LOVED.

IT'S JUST A YOUNG IDEA OF "I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE."

BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE LEFT THEY'VE MADE BETTER MEN AND WOMEN AND THEY ALL WILL ALWAYS ADMIT THAT: "I COULDN'T PUT UP WITH THIS NEIGHBOR IF I HADN'T HAD MY SHAKER BRINGING-UP."

Woman: "DECEMBER 1889.

"I'M SORRY TO HEAR OF THE LOSS OF GROVELAND "AND TO HEAR THAT NORTH UNION MUST BE BROKEN UP.

"THE QUESTION VERY NATURALLY ARISES: WHICH SOCIETY NEXT?"

Man: "AUGUST 1897.

"THE APPLE CROP AT HARVARD FAILED.

"WE HAVE LEASED OUR RURAL HOME TO DR. WATKINS "FOR A SANITARIUM AND HE IS NOW PUTTING IN THE NECESSARY APPLIANCES."

Narrator: THE 20th-CENTURY SHAKERS GREW FLOWERS, HUNG PICTURES READ NEWSPAPERS AND BOOKS ON TRAVEL, HISTORY AND SCIENCE.

ORGANS AND EVEN SAXOPHONES WERE INTRODUCED INTO THEIR MUSIC.

DOOR SHEDS BECAME PORCHES.

ROOF LINES SPROUTED VICTORIAN CARVINGS AND LINOLEUM AND ORIENTAL CARPETS COVERED POLISHED FLOORS.

Man: "SAINTS ARE AS DESERVING OF THE GOOD THINGS OF THIS WORLD AS SINNERS."

ELDER FREDERIC EVANS.

Woman: "1908.

THE SOCIETY AT SHIRLEY, MASSACHUSETTS-- CLOSED."

Woman: "1910.

"WATERVLIET, OHIO AND PLEASANT HILL, KENTUCKY-- CLOSED."

Man: "1912, UNION VILLAGE, OHIO-- CLOSED."

Woman: "1917, ENFIELD, CONNECTICUT-- CLOSED."

Man: "1918, HARVARD, MASSACHUSETTS-- CLOSED."

Woman: "1922, SOUTH UNION, KENTUCKY-- CLOSED."

Man: "1923, ENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE-- CLOSED."

( no audio ) I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE 19 SOCIETIES ALL LIVING AND I WOULD GO AROUND VISITING THEM.

YOU GO IN ONE SOCIETY AND IF YOU GO TO ANOTHER, YOU FEEL RIGHT AT HOME.

THE MANNERISMS ARE THE SAME AND THE LOVE IS THE SAME.

Eldress Lindsay: MOTHER ANN PROPHESIED THAT THEY WOULD GET DOWN TO AS MANY AS A CHILD COULD COUNT ON ONE HAND AND THERE WOULD BE A REVIVAL.

SO, IT STARTED IN 1774 WITH NONBELIEVERS IN THE BEGINNING SO IT COULD AGAIN.

Sister Barker: I DON'T THINK IT WILL EVER DIE.

LIKE EVERYTHING, IT HAS ITS PERIODS OF STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS BUT I HAVE NOT THE LEAST DOUBT THE SHAKERS WILL EVER DIE.

THIS IS GOD'S WORK.

WHAT COULD BRING IT TO AN END?

NOTHING THAT A HUMAN BEING, THAT MORTALS DO.

Man: AND IT HAS A NICE TAPE SEAT AND A BEAUTIFUL COLOR.

HOW MUCH FOR IT, PLEASE?

START ME OFF AT 500.

$500 TO START IT, I'VE GOT 500, 750.

500, 600, SOMEONE.

600, WHERE?

600, 700?

700, EIGHT?

EIGHT I HAVE, TO NINE?

NINE, AND TEN.

TEN AND 11, I'VE GOT $1,000 EVEN, TO 11.

1,000 ONCE, 1,000 TWICE AND THIRD AND FINAL CALL.

IT'S OVER HERE, IT'S YOURS.

Helen Upton: EVERYTHING THEY DID WAS IMBUED WITH RELIGION BECAUSE EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECTLY DONE AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GET SO MANY PIECES DONE PER HOUR BUT IT ALL HAD TO BE PERFECTLY DONE.

AND IT DOES EXTEND TO YOU AS YOU LOOK AT IT THE SENSE OF SERENITY AND ALMOST MAKES YOU FEEL THAT, WELL, YOU COULDN'T DO WHAT THEY DO BUT WHATEVER YOU DO SHOULD BE AS WELL DONE AS POSSIBLE.

EVERYTHING AUTHENTICALLY CHRISTIAN IS ROOTED IN THE FACT THAT I WISH TO BE CONNECTED TO GOD, AND I SEE THAT I'M NOT AND THEREFORE, THIS PRODUCES A KIND OF FIRE A KIND OF YEARNING AND THAT IS THE CORE OF EVERYTHING REAL THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN A SPIRITUAL LIFE.

HOW THEY MANAGED TO HOLD THAT TOGETHER FOR SO LONG MUST HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH THE COMMUNAL RELATIONSHIPS; WITH THE CRAFTS; IT ALL CAME TOGETHER AND PRODUCED A TERRIFIC ENERGY THAT KEPT GOING FOR A LONG TIME.

SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME IF I WAS GLAD I MADE THIS LIFE CHOICE.

I COULDN'T HAVE WANTED ANYTHING MORE BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO DO IT THOROUGHLY.

I MADE UP MY MIND LONG AGO WHAT I WANTED TO DO AND I NEVER HAVE CHANGED MY MIND FROM IT.

IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THINGS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN EASY.

THEY HAVEN'T.

BUT I DID HAVE MY MIND MADE CLEAR TO ME THAT THAT WAS THE WORK I WANTED TO BE IN AND NOTHING WOULD DETER ME FROM IT.

I WOULD LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED BY THE WORLD THAT I REALLY ACCEPTED THE PRINCIPLES OF THE SHAKER CHURCH AND LIVED BY THEM.

IT'S ONE THING TO TALK ABOUT THEM ONE THING TO READ YOUR BIBLE, BUT ANOTHER THING TO LIVE IT.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED AS A TRUE SHAKER.

THE IMPRESSION PEOPLE GIVE TO US THAT WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GIVING THEM A FEELING THAT THEY'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED.

THEY FEEL LOVE AND THE INFLUENCE WHEN THEY STEP HERE INTO THIS VILLAGE.

THIS PARTICULAR LADY CAME INTO THE FRONT HALL AND SHE SAID: "WHEN I CAME UP THE ROAD AND SAW THE WHITE BUILDINGS IT WAS JUST LIKE A BLANKET OF BLESSING THAT WENT AROUND ME."

VERY PROUD OF MY HERITAGE AND I'M SO GLAD TO SHARE WHAT WE'VE HAD AND WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED WITH ALL THAT COME IN OUR PRESENCE.

IT MAKES IT NICE.

DO YOU WANT ANOTHER ONE?

Man: SURE.

♪ OH, MY SWEET SHAKER HOME ♪ ♪ OH, MY SWEET SHAKER HOME ♪ ♪ 'TIS MY JOY, 'TIS MY ETERNAL SONG ♪ ♪ HERE IN STRAIGHT PATHS I'M LED ♪ ♪ AND WITH PURITY FED ♪ ♪ OH, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE MY SHAKER HOME.

♪