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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.01.17 15:03l 62 Lines 3006 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 19199_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jan 15
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 170115/1256Z 19199@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.13
1933
The utopian Amana colony embraces capitalism
After nearly a century of cooperative living, the utopian Amana
colonists of Iowa begin using U.S. currency for the first time.
The wide-open spaces of the West have always appealed to
visionary reformers attempting to start new societies. Among
others, the Mormons in Utah, the Hutterites in South Dakota and
Montana, and the Swedenborgians in California all moved West for
the same reason: cheap land and freedom from interference. Most
reformers moved west after the Civil War, when travel became
easier and the threat of Indian resistance was declining.
As with the Mormons, the Amana colonial movement began in New
York. Christian Metz, taking his cue from the writings of 18th
century German mystics, established the group in 1842 on 5,000
acres near Buffalo, New York. Metz and his followers were similar
to the Mormons in their rejection of the selfish individualism
and dog-eat-dog competition of capitalism in favor of a more
cooperative economic system. They isolated themselves from
national and global markets and built a largely self-sufficient
means of meeting their agricultural and material needs. Barter
within the community helped them avoid using American currency.
The community's agricultural and craft operations grew so quickly
that the members soon found they needed more land than was
cheaply available in New York. Like many of other land-hungry
Americans, they looked westward. In 1855, the first members began
setting up a new colony in Iowa called Amana, purchasing 30,000
acres of contiguous land as a base for their agricultural and
craft operations. Amana (located near modern-day Iowa City)
flourished in the decades to come. By the turn of the century,
the colonists had built seven largely self-sufficient villages
with farms, stores, bakeries, woolen mills, wineries, furniture
shops, and the other necessities of independent living.
The Amana community thrived for nearly 80 years, but its
isolation from the rest of the world inevitably began to wane
during the 20th century. In the early 1930s, the colony
experienced severe economic problems, in part due to the Great
Depression. The people voted to abandon their communal life in
1932, and they reorganized the colony on a capitalist basis with
each member receiving stock in a new community corporation. The
people of Amana began using American currency in January 1933.
Although it violated the original precepts of their founders, the
decision to bring Amana into the national marketplace actually
saved the community. Today, the Amana colony is the center of a
thriving business empire of woolen mills, meat shops, bakeries,
and wineries. Though its original vision is no longer the same,
visitors to the colony will still find a communal society
dedicated to preserving many elements of Old World life and
craftsmanship.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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