{"id":5379,"date":"2025-08-07T20:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T20:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/?p=5379"},"modified":"2025-08-07T20:15:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T20:15:20","slug":"john-humphrey-noyes-1811-1886","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/2025\/08\/07\/john-humphrey-noyes-1811-1886\/","title":{"rendered":"John Humphrey Noyes (1811\u20131886)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ChatGPT said:<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>John Humphrey Noyes (1811\u20131886)<\/strong> was a radical American religious leader and social reformer best known as the founder of the <strong>Oneida Community<\/strong>, one of the most famous utopian experiments in 19th-century America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> <strong>Who Was He?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Born<\/strong>: Brattleboro, Vermont, 1811<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Education<\/strong>: Yale Divinity School<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Originally trained<\/strong> to be a <strong>Congregationalist minister<\/strong>, but diverged sharply from mainstream Christianity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Theological belief<\/strong>: Advocated <strong>Perfectionism<\/strong>\u2014the idea that it is possible to achieve a state of <strong>sinless perfection<\/strong> in this life through spiritual regeneration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key doctrine<\/strong>: He believed that Christ had already returned in 70 AD (a form of <strong>preterism<\/strong>), making the way open for the creation of heaven on earth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>He was eventually <strong>defrocked and ostracized<\/strong> for his controversial theological views\u2014particularly his ideas about sex, marriage, and social structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> <strong>What Was His Project?<\/strong> \u2013 <em>The Oneida Community<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> <strong>Founded<\/strong>: 1848 in Oneida, New York<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> <strong>Purpose<\/strong>: To build a utopian, communal society based on Noyes\u2019 radical religious and social principles.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> Key Features of the Oneida Community:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Feature<\/th><th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Perfectionism<\/strong><\/td><td>Belief that spiritual perfection and freedom from sin were achievable on earth.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Complex Marriage<\/strong><\/td><td>Rejected monogamy; all members were considered \u201cmarried\u201d to each other. Exclusive relationships were forbidden.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Male Continence<\/strong><\/td><td>A form of <strong>coitus reservatus<\/strong> (sexual intercourse without ejaculation), practiced to promote self-control and avoid unwanted pregnancies.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Mutual Criticism<\/strong><\/td><td>Members were subjected to group critiques to eliminate selfish behavior and promote communal harmony.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Communal Property<\/strong><\/td><td>All possessions were shared, including labor, goods, and profits.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Eugenics (Stirpiculture)<\/strong><\/td><td>In the 1860s, Noyes introduced a selective breeding program designed to produce morally and physically superior children. 58 children were born through this program.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Gender Roles<\/strong><\/td><td>While not egalitarian by modern standards, women had more freedom than in mainstream society: they could work, wear pants, and had some say in sexual matters.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> What Happened to It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By the 1870s, internal conflicts and external pressure mounted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 1879, facing legal and social scrutiny over \u201ccomplex marriage,\u201d <strong>Noyes fled to Canada<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The community dissolved its communal marriage system and transformed into a joint-stock company: <strong>Oneida Limited<\/strong>, which eventually became a successful manufacturer of silverware.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> Why He Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Noyes was one of the most <strong>radical and influential figures<\/strong> of 19th-century American utopianism. His ideas challenged the norms of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Religion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Marriage and sexuality<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gender roles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Property and economy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s remembered both for his <strong>progressive vision<\/strong> of a more equitable, communal society\u2014and for the <strong>controversial methods<\/strong> he used to achieve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me know if you&#8217;d like a quick visual timeline or a deeper dive into any part of his theology, the Oneida community, or their legacy.Attach<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>cite the books by and on John Humphrey Noyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ChatGPT said:<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a detailed list of <strong>books <em>by<\/em> John Humphrey Noyes<\/strong>, followed by a selection of notable <strong>books <em>on<\/em> John Humphrey Noyes<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Books by John Humphrey Noyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>According to multiple bibliographic sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Way of Holiness<\/strong> (1838) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pzacad.pitzer.edu\/Anarchist_Archives\/bright\/noyes\/biblio.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pitzer College<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Berean: A Manual for the Help of Those Who Seek the Faith of the Primitive Church<\/strong> (1847) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pzacad.pitzer.edu\/Anarchist_Archives\/bright\/noyes\/biblio.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pitzer College<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bible Communism<\/strong> (1848) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pzacad.pitzer.edu\/Anarchist_Archives\/bright\/noyes\/biblio.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pitzer College<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Male Continence<\/strong> (also titled <em>Self\u2011Control in Sexual Intercourse<\/em>) (1848) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pzacad.pitzer.edu\/Anarchist_Archives\/bright\/noyes\/biblio.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pitzer College<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Slavery and Marriage<\/strong> (1850) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Second Coming of Christ<\/strong> (1859) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Salvation from Sin: The End of Christian Faith<\/strong> (1869) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>History of American Socialisms<\/strong> (1870) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Scientific Propagation<\/strong> (1873) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Home Talks<\/strong> (1875) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mutual Criticism<\/strong> (1876) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/Author%3AJohn_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikisource<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Other sources (like Goodreads and Project Gutenberg) list similar titles\u2014e.g. <em>History of American Socialisms<\/em>, <em>Male Continence<\/em>, <em>Mutual Criticism<\/em>, <em>The Berean<\/em>\u2014confirming their status as works authored by Noyes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/list\/421476.John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Goodreads<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/author\/37836?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Project Gutenberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Books about John Humphrey Noyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Scholarly studies and biographies about Noyes provide deeper insight into his life and ideas. Notable titles include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Thomas, Robert David. <em>The Man Who Would Be Perfect: John Humphrey Noyes and the Utopian Impulse<\/em><\/strong> (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1977) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pierrepont B. Noyes. <em>My Father\u2019s House: An Oneida Boyhood<\/em><\/strong> (Farrar and Rinehart, 1937) \u2014 by his son <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia+1<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Parker, John Allerton. <em>A Yankee Saint: John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Community<\/em><\/strong> (G.P. Putnam\u2019s Sons, 1935) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Warfield, Benjamin Breckinridge. \u201cJohn Humphrey Noyes and his &#8216;Bible Communists.\u2019\u201d<\/strong> <em>Bibliotheca Sacra<\/em>, vol.\u202f78, no.\u202f309 (Jan. 1921) <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Klaw, Spencer. <em>Without Sin: The Life and Death of the Oneida Community<\/em><\/strong> (Allen Lane, 1993) <a href=\"https:\/\/pzacad.pitzer.edu\/Anarchist_Archives\/bright\/noyes\/biblio.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pitzer College<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional works such as \u201cThe Ideas of John Humphrey Noyes, Perfectionist\u201d by Leonard Bernstein, found in <em>American Quarterly<\/em> (1953) <a href=\"https:\/\/pzacad.pitzer.edu\/Anarchist_Archives\/bright\/noyes\/biblio.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pitzer College<\/a>, among others listed <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Humphrey_Noyes?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary Tables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Books <strong>by<\/strong> John Humphrey Noyes<\/th><th>Year<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>The Way of Holiness<\/td><td>1838<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The Berean<\/td><td>1847<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bible Communism<\/td><td>1848<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Male Continence<\/td><td>1848<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Slavery and Marriage<\/td><td>1850<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The Second Coming of Christ<\/td><td>1859<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Salvation from Sin<\/td><td>1869<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>History of American Socialisms<\/td><td>1870<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Scientific Propagation<\/td><td>1873<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Home Talks<\/td><td>1875<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Mutual Criticism<\/td><td>1876<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Books <strong>on\/about<\/strong> John Humphrey Noyes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>A Yankee Saint: John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Community<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>My Father\u2019s House: An Oneida Boyhood<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The Man Who Would Be Perfect: John Humphrey Noyes and the Utopian Impulse<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u201cJohn Humphrey Noyes and his &#8216;Bible Communists\u2019.\u201d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The Ideas of John Humphrey Noyes, Perfectionist<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Without Sin: The Life and Death of the Oneida Community<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You said:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>who was he and what was his project<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ChatGPT said: John Humphrey Noyes (1811\u20131886) was a radical American religious leader and social reformer best known as the founder of the Oneida Community, one of the most famous utopian experiments in 19th-century America. Who Was He? He was eventually defrocked and ostracized for his controversial theological views\u2014particularly his ideas about sex, marriage, and social &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/2025\/08\/07\/john-humphrey-noyes-1811-1886\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;John Humphrey Noyes (1811\u20131886)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5380,"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379\/revisions\/5380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditext.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}