In 1770, Lee was imprisoned for 30 days in Manchester for disrupting another church service. While in prison, Lee had a hunch that celibacy was the key to purity and would become the foundation of the Shaker family. Four years later, Lee had another premonition to establish a religious order in America. On May 10, 1774, Lee and a small group of followers, including her brother William Lee and her husband, left Liverpool for New York. Two years later, the Shakers established their next community. Niskayunanear Albany.
beliefs that break the norm
When Lee and his followers arrived in America on the eve of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), their staunch pacifist stance immediately aroused suspicion and controversy. Lee was accused of being a British spy and imprisoned for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to New York State. Lee, who argued that such behavior was contrary to his beliefs, spent several months in prison until Governor George Clinton asked for his release. Lee and other Shakers were also harassed. attacked by a mob Because of their beliefs.
Lee died in 1784, ten years after arriving in America. Some believe that this is the injury she sustained. being beaten contributed to her death. But long after her death, the influence of “Mother Anne,” as she was called by her followers, continued to grow. By 1850, there were approximately 5,000 Shakers in the United States.
AlamyOne of Lee’s hallmarks was a norm-shattering belief in gender and social equality. “Everyone was considered a brother and sister to everyone,” said Elizabeth de Wolf, a history professor at the University of New England and author of “Shaking the Faith: Women, Family, and Mary M. Dyer’s Anti-Shaker Campaign.”
Source: BBC Culture – www.bbc.com
