1. Amie Rott Megan Buckler
Utopia & Robert Owen
Amie Rott
Megan Buckler

2. Who was Robert Owen? Born May 14th, 1771 in Newtown, Wales
Died November 17th, 1858 in Newtown, Wales
Advocated for socialism
Notorious for his community experiments which Owen designed in hopes of having a Utopian society

3. Who was Robert Owen?
Owen was pessimistic about religion so he created his own belief system; he believed that one’s personality is shaped by uncontrollable circumstances
To execute his plans for autonomous communities he purchased 30,000 acres of land in 1825, naming the town New Harmony (Indiana)
Owen left New Harmony after losing £40,000 in the project (approx. $52,820)
Prior to New Harmony, Owen assisted with New Lanark, Scotland which was successful
Owen also worked in Queenwood (GB), Glasgow (GB), and County Cork (Ireland), and Hamphshire (GB)

5. Who was Robert Owen?
Owen spent a large sum of money on a mansion called Harmony Hall which exemplified his lack of frugalness well
Owen believed that everyone was entitled to 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, and 8 hours of play
Upon his arrival in the States in 1824, Owen stated 'I am come to this country to introduce an entire new system of society; to change it from an ignorant, selfish system to an enlightened social system which shall gradually unite all interests into one and remove all causes for contest between individuals.’
Owen most likely traveled to America since it was the land of possibility

6. Utopia
Definition: (n) an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect
In1516, Sir Thomas More coined ‘utopia’
Comes from the Greek word ‘ou-topos’ meaning 'no place' or 'nowhere’. The word ‘utopia’ is referred to as a play on words since the word ‘eu-topos’ sounds similar, meaning ‘good place’

7. Origins of utopia
The core values of utopian societies came from the Enlightenment, at this time people believed that civilians were not inherently evil
By keeping people and the environment pure, people believed that society could be at harmony

8. Why Utopias?
Creators of these utopian communities were frequently motivated by religion
A German zealot named George Rapp created the original utopian society in Pennsylvania (1804)
Those that designed these communities were often powerful, successful, optimistic, and idealistic
Designers believed that all humans were pure and created a socialist community

10. Citations
Dowd, Douglas F. “Robert Owen.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 July 2016
“Experiments with Utopia.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association
Kreis, Steven. “Robert Owen, ” Historyguide.org, 13 May 2004
“Utopia” The British Library - The British Library, 3 Apr. 2006