Charles Lane (1800–1870) was an English-American transcendentalist,

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and early

voluntaryist Voluntaryism (,"Voluntaryism"
''

Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and a ...

, he was one of the main founders of Fruitlands and a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

Early life

Lane was born in Hackney, then east of London, and edited a financial publication, ''The London Merchant Current''. He was a disciple of

James Pierrepont Greaves James Pierrepont Greaves (1 February 1777 – 11 March 1842), was an English mystic, educational reformer, socialist and progressive thinker who founded Alcott House, a short-lived utopian community and free school in Surrey. He described h ...

, a member of Alcott House at Ham Common in Surrey, and a contributor to ''

The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...

''.

Fruitlands

Lane was an admirer of Bronson Alcott, for whom Alcott House had been named. The two met in 1842, when Alcott had traveled to England to enlist support and people for his experiment in communal living. Lane offered his support and returned to the United States with Alcott on October 21, 1842.Packer, Barbara L. ''The Transcendentalists''. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 2007: 148. The next May, Lane purchased the Wyman Farm in

Harvard, Massachusetts Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several ...

, for $1800. They had moved to the farm on June 1 and optimistically gave it the name "Fruitlands", despite there being only ten old apple trees on the property. A month later, Alcott announced the community in ''The Dial'': "We have made an arrangement with the proprietor of an estate of about a hundred acres, which liberates this tract from human ownership". In principle, the Fruitlands reformers did not believe in purchasing property; Lane said the following on the subject: "We do not recognize the purchase of land; but its redemption from the debasing state of proprium, or property, to divine uses, we clearly understand; where those whom the world esteems owners are found yielding their individual rights to the Supreme Owner." The commune attracted 14 residents, including the Alcott and Lane families. "The consociate family", as Fruitlands residents referred to themselves, wished to achieve complete freedom by separating entirely from the world economy.Hankins, Barry. ''The Second Great Awakening and the Transcendentalists''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2004: 36. To accomplish this, they refrained from trade, allowed no personal property, and did not use hired labor. They intended to grow all their own food; they also eliminated animal products from their diets entirely. Referring to their

diet, Lane wrote, "Neither coffee, tea, molasses, nor rice tempts us beyond the bounds of indigenous production... No animal substances neither flesh, butter, cheese, eggs, nor milk pollute our tables, nor corrupt our bodies." Diet was usually fruit and water; many vegetables—including carrots, beets, and potatoes—were forbidden because they showed a lower nature by growing downward. Lane and Alcott also asked participants to wear only linen clothes and canvas shoes; cotton fabric was forbidden because it exploited slave labor and wool was banned because it came from sheep. As they believed that animals should not be exploited, Fruitlands would not use animals though, eventually, they allowed an ox and a cow. The land that Lane purchased for Fruitlands proved to be not sufficiently arable. Fruitlands ultimately failed the winter after it opened, largely due to food shortages and accompanying unrest in the inhabitants. Lane blamed the community's failure on Alcott, who he believed misled him with his optimism.Packer, Barbara L. ''The Transcendentalists''. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 2007: 149. Alcott and Lane also disagreed on definitions of the consociate family. Lane believed in the renunciation of marriage in exchange for a universal or communal family.Rose, Anne C. ''Transcendentalism as a Social Movement, 1830–1850''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1981: 197.

Shakers

In January 1844, Lane left Fruitlands with his son to join a local community of Shakers. Lane admired the Shaker commitment to celibacy and it was one of the points that drew him there. Lane continued his work and joined the Shaker community; but could not settle there. He attempted another communal venture at

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan ...

. He was only there for a short time. In 1846 he returned to England, remarried, and fathered five children.

Voluntaryist leanings

Charles Lane was probably the most consistent

voluntaryist Voluntaryism (,"Voluntaryism"
''

upportedby guns and bayonets." He saw the coercive state on par with "forced" Christianity. "Everyone can see that the church is wrong when it comes to men with the ble in one hand, and the sword in the other." "Is it not equally diabolical for the state to do so?" Lane believed that governmental rule was only tolerated by public opinion because the fact was not yet recognized that all the true purposes of the state could be carried out on the voluntary principle, just as churches could be sustained voluntarily. Reliance on the voluntary principle could only come about through "kind, orderly, and moral means" that were consistent with the totally voluntary society he was advocating. "Let us have a voluntary State as well as a voluntary Church, and we may possibly then have some claim to the appellation of free men."

Selected publications

*''A Classification of Sciences and Arts, Or, A Map of Human Knowledge'', 1826 *''A Dictionary, English and Burmese'', 1841 *''A Voluntary Political Government'', 1843 *''Life in the Woods'', 1844 *''Brook Farm'', 1844

References