“Kingdom of Matthias” Blog Part II Utopian America
In the second half of the “Kingdom of Matthias,” the Prophet leads his flock to the rambling estate of Ben Folger north of New York City on the Hudson River where he establishes his patriarchal kingdom. Communal instability and infighting, alleged murder, and collapse follow not long after creation. The two most intriguing questions for me concern the appeal of this utopian community for those under Matthias’s spell in the 1830s and the wider appeal of similar utopian experiments throughout American history.
Johnson and Wilentz describe Matthias’s motives on page 92: “Matthias’s mission was to establish that reign of Truth and redeem the world from devils, prophesying women and beaten men.” What exactly was this so-called “reign of Truth” and how did Matthias hope to achieve it? How was his Kingdom constructed with regards to work assignments, gender roles, and diet and dining rituals to this end? In what ways did Mt. Zion reflect Matthias’s reaction against both the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening? Finally, why were so many apparently sane, stable adults drawn to this place?
As to the wider point about utopian communities and their popularity throughout American history, Johnson and Wilentz offer this assessment on page 172: “Moreover, ever since the 1830s, various wild American holy men who resemble Matthias even more closely have formed their own communal cults, basing their prophesies on scripture and translating their personal disappointments into holy visions of restored fatherly power. To be sure, the social background to these movements has changed enormously over the past century and a half. Yet repeatedly, Americans caught in bewildering times have made sense of things primarily with reference to alterations in sexual and family norms, and a perceived widespread sexual disorder.” Americans have been more willing than others to withdraw into experimental communities whether they be for purposes intellectual (Brook Farm), industrial/religious (Oneida), hippie dictatorial (Manson family) religious dictatorial (Jonestown), or pure Matthias/prophet-like millennial (Branch Davidians). If you’re interested in this topic, explore one of the above examples (and associated leader) and compare it to Matthias’s Mt. Zion.
Remember to follow the blog instructions posted on our class page and incorporate the suggestions I offered for your first blog. Be sure to post before midnight on Saturday, November 27 by 6 PM and I look forward to reading your responses.
Mr. B
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Kingdom of Matthias Blog 1 2010
"The Kingdom of Matthias" by Johnson and Wilentz examines the remarkable stories of two nineteenth century New Yorkers who are dramatically transformed by the Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening. The authors masterfully weave Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews through the wider tapestry of these major economic and social movements with great dramatic effect. In other words, this work reads more like a novel than a work of history; many historians do not write as gracefully or engagingly as Johnson and Wilentz.
Let’s start with Pierson who leaves the patriarchal, tradition-bound world of Morristown, New Jersey to seek his fortune in New York. While only 50 miles or so separate these two places, Pierson was entering an alien world when he crossed the Hudson River. What exactly was so socially jarring for Pierson in the big city? Why does his experience in New York lead him to reject the world he had grown up in, as Johnson and Wilentz assert: “By the standards that Elijah Pierson would later adopt, the immutable inequality of this tight-knit patriarchy was a perfect model of injustice” (17). Or more directly, in what ways did the Market Revolution and Second Great Awakening converge in Pierson’s story and transform him into a wealthy reformer who actively criticized the world in which he was raised. Finally, what do you make of Pierson’s growing religious fervor in chapter one? Is this simply the natural path of a devout Christian towards deeper connection with the divine, or did he become, as the authors contend, the “obviously deranged Elijah Pierson” (44).
Now, if you agree with the authors regarding Pierson’s mental instability following the death of his wife, what do you make of Robert Matthews? He too is swept up by the Market Revolution. But his success as a shopkeeper is brief, unlike Pierson who navigates this new economic world towards great personal wealth. Why does Matthews fail while Pierson succeeds? On the religious side of things, why does Matthews aggressively reject the tenets of the Second Great Awakening, a movement that Pierson embraced? Finally, does Matthews’s story in chapter two suggest the state of derangement that the authors apply to Pierson? Johnson and Wilentz write on page 66: “Hearing all this, Margaret began to believe that her husband, quite apart from his physical ailments, was periodically insane.” Does his behavior support Margaret’s suspicions?
For your post, respond to one of the issues I’ve raised and work off the related questions I’ve posed. You may also include direct responses to some of your classmates’ postings if and when appropriate. Be sure to include specific references to the text (quotes) in defense of your assertions. And finally, please read the “Kingdom of Matthias Blog Instructions” for guidelines before you compose. These instructions can be found under the “News” section on our Edline class page. I look forward to reading your blogs and be sure to post by midnight on Saturday, November 14.
Let’s start with Pierson who leaves the patriarchal, tradition-bound world of Morristown, New Jersey to seek his fortune in New York. While only 50 miles or so separate these two places, Pierson was entering an alien world when he crossed the Hudson River. What exactly was so socially jarring for Pierson in the big city? Why does his experience in New York lead him to reject the world he had grown up in, as Johnson and Wilentz assert: “By the standards that Elijah Pierson would later adopt, the immutable inequality of this tight-knit patriarchy was a perfect model of injustice” (17). Or more directly, in what ways did the Market Revolution and Second Great Awakening converge in Pierson’s story and transform him into a wealthy reformer who actively criticized the world in which he was raised. Finally, what do you make of Pierson’s growing religious fervor in chapter one? Is this simply the natural path of a devout Christian towards deeper connection with the divine, or did he become, as the authors contend, the “obviously deranged Elijah Pierson” (44).
Now, if you agree with the authors regarding Pierson’s mental instability following the death of his wife, what do you make of Robert Matthews? He too is swept up by the Market Revolution. But his success as a shopkeeper is brief, unlike Pierson who navigates this new economic world towards great personal wealth. Why does Matthews fail while Pierson succeeds? On the religious side of things, why does Matthews aggressively reject the tenets of the Second Great Awakening, a movement that Pierson embraced? Finally, does Matthews’s story in chapter two suggest the state of derangement that the authors apply to Pierson? Johnson and Wilentz write on page 66: “Hearing all this, Margaret began to believe that her husband, quite apart from his physical ailments, was periodically insane.” Does his behavior support Margaret’s suspicions?
For your post, respond to one of the issues I’ve raised and work off the related questions I’ve posed. You may also include direct responses to some of your classmates’ postings if and when appropriate. Be sure to include specific references to the text (quotes) in defense of your assertions. And finally, please read the “Kingdom of Matthias Blog Instructions” for guidelines before you compose. These instructions can be found under the “News” section on our Edline class page. I look forward to reading your blogs and be sure to post by midnight on Saturday, November 14.
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