Abstract
Shaker Richard McNemar functioned as a “minuteman” for the Shaker cause west of the Appalachians. From the moment of his conversion in 1805, McNemar turned his time and talents fully to the promotion and defense of Shakerism. Following a series of unfortunate developments in the 1830s—the eroding infiltration of Swedenborgianism, defalcation of Union Village trustees, and incompetent leadership in the Ohio Shaker Ministry—McNemar was faced with the sad reality of the state of the western Shaker communities.
McNemar’s 1838 “Draft of an Answer to the foregoing letter from the church,” provides his candid assessment of the successes, and failures, of the western Shaker converts in managing their own affairs. The draft is slyly framed as an apologetic defense for the management of the western communities, specifically Union Village, in the face of the multiple failures. McNemar writes from a place of detached elevation, as a participant, but also somehow above the fray and privileged to know the real situations of the western communities, to which he was repeatedly dispatched as a problem solver. However, the Draft evidences McNemar’s unwillingness to step down from his privileged position willingly and with grace.
Date
1-1-2025
Volume
19
Number
1
First Page
27
Last Page
49
Journal Title
American Communal Societies Quarterly
ISSN
1939-473X
