When Smith was killed by a mob in Illinois in 1844,
his disciple, Brigham Young,took charge
of the church and led a mass migration to the desert around the
Great Salt Lake (then still part of Mexico). Utah eventually became
a U.S. territory after the Mexican War but was not admitted to the
Union until 1896,
when Mormons agreed to abandon the practice of polygamy.
Utopian Communities
Inspired by lofty ideals to improve mankind and end social
discord, some people during this period attempted to create new utopian communities based
on cooperation and communism. Roughly a thousand people, led by
Robert Owen, founded the New Harmony community, one
of the first utopian communities in the antebellum era. Although
New Harmony failed in just a few short years, it spurred the creation
of others.
Brook Farm was established in 1841 and
came to be one of the most famous attempts at communal living. Closely
affiliated with the Transcendentalist movement, these farmer-intellectuals
tried to hew a modest living out of the wilderness. Like New Harmony,
this community also collapsed within a few years.
John Noyes’ Oneida Community had some lasting
success. The community believed in radical ideas such as communal
marriage, birth control, and eugenics. The Shakers,
too, had a sizeable following in the 1840s,
but eventually died out because believers were forbidden to marry
or have sex.
Class and Sectional Differences
The new sects and denominations that sprung up during
the revivalist movement attracted different social groups. Most
of the new evangelical denominations attracted poor, uneducated
followers in the West and South. Less frenzied denominations, such
as the Unitarians, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians, flourished
in wealthier cities in the North. The rise of these different denominations
thus widened already-growing sectional rifts in the United States.
Revivalism, Women, and Reform
However, despite the differences among their followers,
all of the revivalist movements had the same goal: to refine humanity
and make sense of the rapidly changing American social and economic fabric.
Virtually all of the new denominations denounced alcohol, prostitution,
gambling, and lotteries. Thus, the movements also had a huge impact
on the reform movement.
