ABSTRACT
Robert Owen bought New Harmony in 1825 from the Rappites—a religious community of German peasants who had lived there a frugal, but apparently contented and modestly prosperous existence. Of the many Communities or Villages of Co-operation established during his lifetime, Owen was directly connected with only two—New Harmony and Queenwood. Owen had intended that, for the first three years, New Harmony should remain under his personal control, without any democratic government by the settlers, or any complete application of the principles of community. The terms in which Owen commented on the failure of New Harmony indicated that he had not lost faith in his plan for solving the social problem. The surprising fact is not that New Harmony collapsed, but that it lasted so long, and that visitors and residents bear testimony to the fine spirit which prevailed there even amid the dissensions and confusions which brought it to an end.
