bloggod: the rights of humanity were more important than the rights of property,

Samuel Joseph May

(September 12, 1797 – July 1, 1871)

"was an American reformer during the nineteenth century who championed education, women's rights, and abolition of slavery.

May argued on behalf of all working people

that the rights of humanity were more important than the rights of property,

and advocated for minimum wages

and legal limitations on the amassing of wealth."

His sister was Abby May Alcott, mother of novelist

Louisa May Alcott.

..She grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller,

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne,

Henry David Thoreau

and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow."

"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

Transcendental Wild Oats by Alcott's daughter Louisa May Alcott.

***

Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its 90 acres (36 ha), 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."

Additionally, property was held communally, and

no animal labor was used."

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