Adin Ballou (1803–1890) was an American proponent of Christian nonresistance, Christian anarchism and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

, abolitionism and the founder of the

Hopedale Community The Hopedale Community was founded in Milford, Massachusetts, in 1843 by Adin Ballou. He and his followers purchased of land on which they built homes for the community members, chapels and the factories for which the company was initially formed. ...

. Through his long career as a Universalist and Unitarian minister, he tirelessly advocated for the immediate abolition of slavery and the principles of Christian

anarcho-socialism Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (201 ...

, and promoted the nonviolent theory of praxis (or

moral suasion Moral suasion is an appeal to morality, in order to influence or change behavior. A famous example is the attempt by William Lloyd Garrison and his American Anti-Slavery Society to end slavery in the United States by using moral suasion. In ec ...

) in his prolific writings. Such writings drew the admiration of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, who frequently cited Ballou as a major influence on his theological and political ideology in his nonfiction texts like ''The Kingdom of God is Within You,'' along with sponsoring Russian translations of some of Ballou's works. As well as heavily inspiring Tolstoy, Ballou's Christian anarchist and nonresistance ideals in texts like
Practical Christianity
' were passed down from Tolstoy to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, contributing not only to the nonviolent resistance movement in the Russian Revolution led by the Tolstoyans but also Gandhi's early thinkings on the nonviolent theory of praxis and the development of his first ashram, the

Tolstoy Farm Tolstoy Farm was an ashram initiated and organized by Mohandas Gandhi during his South African movement. At its creation in 1910 the ashram served as the headquarters of the campaign of satyagraha against discrimination against Indians in Transv ...

. In a recent publication, the American philosopher and anarchist

Crispin Sartwell Crispin Gallagher Sartwell (born 1958) is an American academic, philosopher, and journalist who is a faculty member of the philosophy department at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He has taught philosophy, communication, and political ...

wrote that the works by Ballou and his other Christian anarchist contemporaries like

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he foun ...

directly influenced Gandhi and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, as well. Ballou was a prominent local historian for Milford and wrote one of the earliest complete histories of the town in 1882: "History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1881". (2 vols) Ballou became a lifelong advocate of Christian nonresistance by 1838. '' Standard of Practical Christianity'' was composed in 1839 by Ballou and a few ministerial colleagues and laymen. The signatories announced their withdrawal from "the governments of the world." They believed the dependence on force to maintain order was unjust and vowed to not participate in such government. While they did not acknowledge the earthly rule of man, they also did not rebel or "resist any of their ordinances by physical force." "We cannot employ carnal weapons nor any physical violence whatsoever," they proclaimed, "not even for the preservation of our lives. We cannot render evil for evil... nor do otherwise than 'love our enemies.'" In 1843, he began to serve as president of the New England Non-Resistance Society.

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Friends of Adin Ballou

Christian Non-Resistance in All Its Important Bearings
(his principal work on pacifism)
Anarchy Archives
Section on Ballou. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballou, Adin 1803 births 1890 deaths 19th-century Christian universalists Activists from Massachusetts Activists from Rhode Island American abolitionists American anarchists American Christian pacifists American Christian socialists American temperance activists Christian abolitionists Christian anarchists Christian radicals Clergy of the Universalist Church of America Founders of utopian communities People from Cumberland, Rhode Island People from Hopedale, Massachusetts People from Mendon, Massachusetts Tolstoyans Unitarian socialists Utopian socialists 19th-century American clergy

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Further reading

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