A Fork in the Road

Not too long ago, we talked about the celibate Shakers, and of course every coin has a flip side.  In direct opposition to the beliefs of that sect would be those of the Oneida Community.  This particular organization was founded in the early 1830's by a Dartmouth scholar named John Humphrey Noyse.

Here was a different sort of man with a unique set of convictions.  He taught his followers that Christ had returned in the year 70 A.D., and the Kingdom of God was at hand.  His Oneidans lived a communal existence, sharing small village homes, stores, and churches (though they had no regular service).  While Noyse had been defrocked in college, losing his ministerial license, he simply continued to preach without it.

Sermons dealt with their way of life and the issues of the group.  He was the undisputed leader in this new paradise, where men and women practiced "complex marriage."  This meant that, while some unions were legal in the eyes of the state, the great man himself arranged or approved all others, and no couple was monogamous.  Women who no longer menstruated were expected to introduce young men to the mysteries of sex, and young girls willingly gave their virginity to much older males under the same principle.  Any couple who desired each other approached Noyse for a yea or nay, and he coined the term "free love" to describe these spontaneous unions.  In his eyes, every man was married to every woman.

The Oneidans used two other very unusual practices for their day and time.  Birth control was achieved to some degree by sex without ejaculation.  This was by no means a full-proof system (so don't get any ideas) as it was not possible in every planned instance.  Accidents will happen.  This became part of the canon when the preacher decided that if a man "spilled his seed" without procreation, it was no different from the "senseless" act of masturbation. 

In addition, the new kingdom demanded a new people, so the members practiced eugenics.  Noyse often chose the best "breeders" to produce children, not for the sake of love but for appearance, intelligence, and strength.  At any rate neither parent would claim the offspring; the child would be placed in a communal nursery and cared for by women assigned to work there.  This seems almost ant-like rather than human, but remember that in a communal society, no one claims ownership of anything--or anyone.

While the Oneida Community was loosely ruled by committee, all were expected to cooperate joyfully.  Those who exhibited bad attitudes or other undesirable traits that detracted from the atmosphere were subjected to communal criticism.  This was a process of shaming, where the offender was placed in the center of a meeting hall or church while the audience pointed out all of his or her unpleasant characteristics.  This was justified in the name of improvement, though the reactions were not always positive.

Among the Noysians, women worked, served, loved, and lived on an equal par with men.  Quite often, they wore pants under short skirts.  And while the communities were originally farming establishments, Oneida became renowned for its tableware.  The spoon you just put into your sink may very well have been designed by one of these "hippies" over 200 years ago.  Their silver provided a healthy income that allowed them to live on their own terms.

But the law did not.  Noyse was jailed more than once, not just for his words, but also for his actions.  In 1879, he was charged with statutory rape.  Before he could be arrested, he fled to an Oneida factory in Canada, never to return.  He continued to control the communities, large and small, by letter and messenger until his death in 1886.

John Humphrey Noyse was returned to Oneida, New York, and buried in the communal cemetery at the insistence of those who had relied upon him so diligently throughout most of his life.  By this time, complex marriage had started to fall apart, and the organization was breaking under the strain of social pressure.  As they bowed to convention, they also organized the factories into Oneida LTD, a joint stock company, which would practice a more traditional form of business.

Ironically enough, this utopia was very attractive to radicals.  Both Charles Guiteau, who assassinated President Garfield, and Leon Czolgosz, who killed President McKinley, spent many hours under communal criticism.  Apparently, they did not take it constructively.

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