Madame Bovary

The town of New Harmony, Indiana, perhaps offers one of the most colorful histories of Utopianism in all of America. Led by Robert Owen, it is here that a group of men and women put into practice several major social concepts that flourished among American visionaries of the nineteenth century through the formation of an unique utopia called New Harmony. One such important characteristic of nineteenth century reform was the belief that there should be …

…the society’s religious beliefs, meaning that there was no religion. Although religion did not play a role in Robert Owen’s utopian society, New Harmony, other factors certainly did. These factors—such as the focus on institutionalism rather than urbanism, the presence of a “city upon a hill” philosophy, Owen’s upbringing, and his national views—all demonstrate that Robert Owen’s utopian society reflect greatly upon the typical themes of nineteenth century America.