History of American Socialisms - dana ward's homepage

28 AMERICAN SOCIALISMS.
they are." This was the .final confession of the leaders
in the Associative experiments generally, from Owen to
the last of the Fourierites; and this confession means,
that Socialism needed for its complement, regeneration
of the heart ;-and behold, this is Revivalism!
These discords and failures of the past surely have
not been in vain. Perhaps Providence has carried forward
its regenerative designs in two lines thus far, for
the sake of the advantage of a "division of labor."
While the Bible men have worked for the regeneration
of the soul, the infidels and liberals have been busy on
the problem of the reconstruction of society. Working
apart and in enmity, perhaps they have accomplished
more for final harmony than they could·have· done
together. Even their failures when rightly interpreted,
may turn to good account. They have both helped to
plant in the heart of the nation an unfailing hope of the
"good time coming." Their lines of labor, though we
have called them parallel, must really be convergent;
and we may hope that the next phase of national history
will be that of Revivalism and Socialism harmonized,
and working together for the Kingdom of Heaven.
To complete our historical theory, we must mention
in. conclusion, one point of contrast between the
Socialisms and the Revivals.
The Socialis1ns were i1nported fro1n Europe,. while
the Revivals were Alnerican productions.
Owen was an Englishman, and Fourier was a
Frenchman; but Nettleton and Finney were both
Americans-both natives of Connecticut.
In the comparison we confine ourselves to the period
since the war of 1812, because the history of the
general socialistic excitements in this country is limited