Lisa Marie Horner, age 9, of Sioux City, Iowa, for her question:

Who are the Shakers?

The Shakers have a page of their own in American history. They came here from England way back in Colonial Days. There were only six men and two women in the group, but the Shakers had their own ideas about faith and worship. They came to a land that promised religious freedom to everyone. And here they were allowed to live the reli¬gious lives that they had chosen.
The Shakers did not call themselves Shakers. They spoke of themselves as the Alethians, which means the Children of Truth, and they called their religious group the United Society of Believers. They belonged to the Millenial Church. A millenial is a thousandth anniversary that is supposed to bring a time of blessed happiness, peace and goodness to the earth. In their church services, they sang and chanted while moving their bodies in shaking quivers. This is why other people called them the Shakers. But there was far more to these people than their way of worship.
The, Shakers had tremendous faith in living the good life. Some of their ideas were different from other religions. The Shakers did not believe in marriage or even dating, so they had no children. .But they loved family life, large families of 30 to 90 men and women. Of course the family members were not natural kinfolk. They lived in an immense house, shared their work, worshiped and enjoyed life together like loving friends. At the day's end, the men retired to their part of the house and the women to theirs.
The Shakers did not want bigger and better things to keep up with the Jone's  in fact, they did not want to be bothered with any possessions at all. All their property belonged to everybody in the group. Some people frown and call this communism, but the Shakers would not agree with the communism of certain modern countries – not at all. They shared everything with each other because it seemed right and this pleased them.
People who love their work are successful. The Shakers loved farming and their farms prospered. Soon they were selling seeds to other farmers. The Shakers turned their backs on fashion fads. They wove fabric for their simple clothing and tanned leather for their shoes. Other people bought their fine woven and knitted goods and also their beautiful handmade furniture. And many people listened to their ideas. The few Shakers who arrived in New York in 1774 spread out and increased. In 1875 there were 2,415 Shakers in America. There were groups in New York and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. The new members were converts. But there were no Shaker children to carry on the faith. Nowadays there are just a few Shakers left and they live in New England.
The Shakers loved to work but they were very sensible about work    always on the lookout for ways to do it simpler and better. They came up with many new ideas and inventions. They were the first Americans to sell seeds and the first to sweep with flat edged brooms. They invented the circular saw and the first washing machines. They invented cut nails for better carpentry. And those thoughtful Shakers made metal points for their pens when everybody else was still writing with feather quills.