Current Search: Brown, Susan Love (x) » info:fedora/fau:CurrentETDs (x) » Christian sects--Kentucky--History--19th century (x)
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Title
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Believers in Dixie: A Cultural Geography of the Kentucky Shakers.
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Creator
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Rhorer, Marc A., Brown, Susan Love, Florida Atlantic University
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Abstract/Description
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The Kentucky Shakers were distinct from those of Ohio and the Northeastern United States because they were products of the cultural environment of the Upper South. The variation originated in the country's settlement and migration patterns. People with similar cultural backgrounds tended to concentrate and migrate together. As the western frontier expanded, settlers with more socio-cultural commonalities tended to migrate in similar patterns and maintain a sense of cultural cohesion in the...
Show moreThe Kentucky Shakers were distinct from those of Ohio and the Northeastern United States because they were products of the cultural environment of the Upper South. The variation originated in the country's settlement and migration patterns. People with similar cultural backgrounds tended to concentrate and migrate together. As the western frontier expanded, settlers with more socio-cultural commonalities tended to migrate in similar patterns and maintain a sense of cultural cohesion in the newly opened westward frontier. We can observe the similarities between the Kentucky Shakers of the Pleasant Hill and South Union villages and their Southern neighbors by analyzing cultural commonalities. Examples of cultural indicators examined for evidence of regional variation include: folkways, organizational and leadership patterns, foodways and political environments. Material culture, including architecture, furniture, clothing and textiles are also considered in the regional comparison between Kentucky's Shakers and the remainder of the sect. The Kentucky Shakers were in a very unique environment, as no other Shaker settlements were situated in a slavery territory. Their geographical locale, in a strategically critical border area during the Civil War, caused the Kentucky communities to endure significant hardships not experienced by other villages during the War Between the States. In many ways the Shakers of Kentucky had more in common with their neighbors of the Upper South than they did with the other members of their sect in Ohio and the Northeastern states. These differences with the remainder of the sect caused considerable problems for the Kentucky Shakers. The cultural variations of the Kentuckians were also sources of rich uniqueness that made the Southern Shakers perhaps the most fascinating adherents to the religious movement.
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Date Issued
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2007
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000989
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Subject Headings
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Collective settlements--United States--Kentucky--South Union, Shakers--Kentucky--South Union--History, Christian sects--Kentucky--History--19th century, Human geography--Kentucky--South Union
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Format
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Document (PDF)
