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Fruitlands was a Utopian agrarian commune established in Harvard, Massachusetts by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane in the 1840s, based on Transcendentalist principles. An account of its less-than-successful activities can be found in Alcott's daughter Louisa May Alcott's ''Transcendental Wild Oats.'' Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its , which also included a dilapidated house and barn. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, bathed in unheated water and "no artificial light would prolong dark hours or cost them the brightness of morning."〔McFarland, Philip. ''Hawthorne in Concord''. New York: Grove Press, 2004. p. 81. ISBN 0-8021-1776-7〕 Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used. The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum. ==History== Amos Bronson Alcott, a teacher and member of the New England Non-Resistance Society, came up with the idea of Fruitlands in 1841. He traveled to England the following year, where he hoped to find support and people to participate with him in the experiment. England was home to his strongest group of supporters, a group of educators who had founded the Alcott House, a school based on his philosophy of teaching. One of his supporters was Charles Lane, who journeyed with him to the United States on 21 October 1842.〔Packer, Barbara L. ''The Transcendentalists''. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 2007: 148. ISBN 978-0-8203-2958-1〕 In May 1843, Lane purchased the Wyman Farm in Harvard, Massachusetts〔 for $1800. Though Alcott had come up with the idea of Fruitlands himself, he was not involved in purchasing the land, largely because he was penniless after the failure of his Temple School and his subsequent years in Concord, Massachusetts as a farmer. In July, Alcott announced their plans in ''The Dial'': "We have made an arrangement with the proprieter of an estate of about a hundred acres, which liberates this tract from human ownership".〔 They had officially moved to the farm on June 1 and optimistically named it "Fruitlands" despite only ten old apple trees on the property.〔 In principle, the Fruitlands reformers did not believe in purchasing property; Lane said the following on the subject: "We do not recognize the purchase of land; but its redemption from the debasing state of proprium, or property, to divine uses, we clearly understand; where those whom the world esteems owners are found yielding their individual rights to the Supreme Owner." 〔Gordon, Jessica. "Transcendental Ideas: Social Reform." American Transcendentalism Web. 20 Feb. 2008 Fruitlands ultimately failed the winter after it opened, largely due to food shortages and accompanying unrest in the inhabitants. The rigors of a New England winter proved too severe for the members of the Fruitlands. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fruitlands (transcendental center)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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