1. By Aiko Robles and Jessica Doll
Ann Lee and the Shakers
By Aiko Robles and Jessica Doll

2. Ann Lee’s early life Ann Lee was born in 1736 in England
Her father was a blacksmith
She was illiterate and worked in a cotton factory
She married a blacksmith named Abraham Standerin in 1762
When she was in her early twenties she joined a religious group called the Shakers
She was imprisoned for her beliefs, and believed God was sending her messages about how to perfect God’s kingdom through celibacy, and to immigrate to America.

3. Ann Lee in America
Ann Lee, her husband, and 7 others immigrated to America
She was imprisoned in the U.S. for not aiding the american’s in the revolution, and was later released. Despite this she kept her English followers.
They settled in 1776 in Albany, NY. And the number of members only grew from there.
The Shakers were officially called the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing
The Shakers called Ann Lee “Mother Ann”

4. Ann Lee and her family
Ann and her husband had a bad relationship and separated
Some say husband cheated on her
She had 4 children. They all died in childhood
These events may have shaped her ideas of sex and children
In the Shaker’s religion, it is said Christ came back as Mother Ann because she had a “special manifestation of Divine Light”

5. Religious Beliefs
The shakers were often arrested and harassed for their beliefs
They were pacifists
They were most famously known for their energetic and unregulated dancing, which was later changed to choreographed dancing, then again to random dancing
They were originally called the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing
The shakers were celibate, and because this discouraged childbearing among its members, it was the main reason for the shaker’s later decline in community size.
Adopted children were allowed to leave the shaker communities at 21 if they wished.
Similar to the quakers, the shakers had more evolved ideas of gender equality for their time, and additionally more advanced looks on racial equality.

6. Shaker’s in their “Utopian Society”
Shakers abandoned their possessions and land for a common property- Holy Families
They produced very successful communities, and also invented lots of tools that helped with farm life.
The shakers commercialized seed selling, and flourished in the medicinal-herb market.
They gave goods from their gardens to the poor.
The communities prided themselves on their cleanliness and humble way of life, as a challenge to immoral city life.

7. Shaker’s in their “Utopian Society”
These communities reflected the attempts of human perfection which certain religious groups sought after during the antebellum period movement.
The shakers spread out across the country and gained thousands of members
Declined started around the mid 1800s

8. Work Cited
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Shaker.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 July 2016,
PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,
“Essay on Shaker History -- Shaker Historic Trail -- National Register of Historic Places.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior,
“Antebellum Communal Experiments.” Khan Academy, history/the-early-republic/culture-and-reform/a/antebellum-communal-experiments-cnx.