Forrest Hellard
The History of Sexuality
Crystal Moore
UNCC 2017
The Nashoba Community
In 19th century America, there were several new
revolutionary movements involving sex, contraception, and the laws surrounding
them. Among all these movements and developments, a certain society of people
completely changed the views on sex and revolutionized the way we view sexuality
in America. These people were known as the Nashoba commune, a society
considered one of the Utopian Societies, which were people who tried to create
a more perfect and confined image of sexuality in their community. Among one of
the first women to truly make an impact on the scene, was Francis Wright, a
Scottish-born American social reformer and the founder of the Nashoba Community
in 1823. Wright was born from a Scottish merchant and radical politician that
influenced her to view things a bit differently. After receiving a massive
fortune after her parents died, she and her sister moved to America. Among make
her voice heard around the country, she published a book called A Plan for
the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in the United States Without Danger of Loss to
the Citizens of the South, which
urged Congress to set apart sects of land that would be used to emancipate
slaves and educate them[1].
In 1825, Frances used part of her fortune to demonstrate how her plan would
work. She bought a large 640 acre tract of land in Tennessee and called it
Nashoba. It was here that she purchased slaves and created a community of
people who were promised freedom and unity. The Nashoba community practiced
very liberal ideas including racial equality, and followed many of the ideals
of the New Harmony society, such as discouraging marriage and instead
encouraging free love. The Nashoba community was multi-racial, including slaves,
free blacks, and whites. This lead to sexual practices and loves of multitudes
of different people[2].
Sadly because of this, it lead to their own downfall. Rumors of inter-racial
marriage spread and the community fell into deep financial trouble. Although
the Nashoba embraced this idea of individualism and elevated love, it
ultimately lead to their downfall. When conservative media and harsh rules
viewed inter-racial sex as something that was bad, this caused the Nashoba
community to lose funding and fall. The significance here is the fact that
these people believed in love as the sole basis for any sexual conditions. In
conclusion, the Nashoba people were a group of free loving and self expressing
individuals that viewed love above everything else.
[1] Lotha , Gloria. Encyclopedia Britannica,
"Frances Wright." Last modified 07 09, 2011. Accessed March 30, 2014.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/649474/Frances-Wright.
[2] David , Andrade. Princeton.edu,
"Princeton.edu." Last modified 08 08, 2010. Accessed March 30, 2014.
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Frances_Wright.html.
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