密歇根新闻广播 19世纪的乌托邦世界

Agriculture has a long history in Michigan and continues to be one of the state's top industries. And for one 19th century utopian community in the Thumb, it was half of the equation to living a godly life.

A German immigrant named Emil Bauer founded the state's first utopian community. He called it the Christian¹ German Agricultural and Benevolent² Society Ora et Labora. Today, it's more commonly known as Ora Labora (the Latin words for pray and work).

We talked to state archivist Mark Harvey with the Michigan History Center about the origin story of Ora Labora, and what caused its eventual³ collapse⁴.

Emil Baur came to America from Germany in search of religious freedom. He connected with a religious group from Pennsylvania called the Harmony Society. The Harmonists had set up successful utopian communities themselves, centered around their Christian faith.

And it was something that would hopefully elevate their life, give them a different experience than they otherwise would have. Especially in the 19th century, when life, you know, for many wasn't very elegant. It was just hard work,” explained Harvey.

Baur thought he could build a similar utopian society around agriculture in Michigan, and had financial support from the society to seek out a location for another community.

This was a time when Michigan was really promoting their land, and Michigan was really recruiting hardworking German immigrants, and so it seemed like a match made in heaven," said Harvey.

In the early 1860s, Baur purchased thousands of acres of land near Saginaw, in what is now known as Bay Port. However, much of the land was swampy⁵ wilderness⁶. That meant residents had to drain the land and cut trees to make it viable⁷ for agriculture.

Harvey says at the height of Ora Labora, the colony numbered around 300 residents. But after the Civil War draft started, those numbers quickly dwindled⁸. Every county had to supply a certain number of men to the draft, and Harvey says most of the colony's able-bodied men ended up fighting in the war and never came back.

Between the draft, the colony's lack of farming experience, and financial pressues, Ora Labora couldn't sustain itself. And so, fewer than five years after Michigan's first utopian society founded, it disbanded and the members of Ora Labora went their separate ways. Emil Baur made his way to Ann Arbor⁹, where he became a teacher and lived until his death in 1894.

This segment is produced in partnership¹⁰ with the Michigan History Center.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

3 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

6 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

8 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。