Étienne Cabet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Étienne Cabet
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Engraving by Antoine Maurin (1840)
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| Born | January 1, 1788 |
| Died | November 9, 1856 (aged 68) |
| Occupation | philosopher |
| Known for | founder of the Icarian movement |
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Notable work
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"Travel and Adventures of Lord William Carisdall in Icaria" (1840) |
Étienne Cabet (January 1, 1788 – November 9, 1856) was a French thinker and utopian socialist. A utopian socialist is someone who dreams of a perfect society where everyone lives together in peace and equality. Cabet started the Icarian movement, which was a group of people who tried to live by his ideas.
He became very popular, especially with skilled workers who were struggling because of new factories. Cabet wrote a famous book called Travels in Icaria (1840). In this book, he suggested that factories should be replaced by "workers' cooperatives." This means groups of workers would own and run businesses together. Because of problems with French officials, he moved to the United States in 1848. There, he started communities in Texas and Illinois. However, these communities faced challenges, often due to disagreements with his followers.
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Early Life and Family
Cabet was born in Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France. He was the youngest son of Claude Cabet, who made barrels, and Francoise Berthier. He studied to become a lawyer. Cabet married Delphine Lasage on March 25, 1839, in London, while he was living in England. They had one child.
Working in France
Cabet became a government lawyer in Corsica. He supported the government of Louis Philippe, even though he had been part of a group that helped remove the previous king, Charles X, in 1830. However, Cabet lost his job because he criticized the government in his book, Histoire de la révolution de 1830.
Even so, in 1831, Cabet was elected to the French Parliament as a representative for Côte-d'Or. He joined the most radical politicians. In 1834, he was accused of political problems because of his strong criticisms of the government. He was sentenced to five years away from France. He went to England to seek safety.
While in England, Cabet was inspired by other thinkers like Robert Owen and Thomas More. He wrote Travel and Adventures of Lord William Carisdall in Icaria (1840). This book described a perfect society, or utopia, called "Icaria." In Icaria, a democratically elected government controlled all money and closely watched social life. The only other independent group was the family. The book became very popular, and Cabet decided to try and make his Utopia real.
In 1839, Cabet returned to France. He began to promote a communitarian social movement. He even created the word communisme for it. This idea was about people living together and sharing everything for the good of all. Cabet also wrote a book called Le vrai christianisme suivant Jésus Christ (1846). In it, he argued that Christianity was meant to create social equality. He believed that Jesus's message was about building a communist society.
In 1841, Cabet restarted his newspaper, Populaire, which was very popular with French workers. From 1843 to 1847, he published an Icarian almanac and other writings. It is believed that about 400,000 people followed his Icarian ideas.
Moving to the United States
By 1847, Cabet realized that it was hard to change French society. After talking with Robert Owen, who had tried to start a community in Texas, Cabet decided to gather his followers and move to the United States. His goal was to create an Icarian community there.
They signed an agreement making Cabet their main leader for ten years. They left France on February 3, 1848, heading for New Orleans, Louisiana. They hoped to settle in the Red River valley in Texas. However, the land company only gave them a small amount of land, not the large area they expected. The first group of settlers returned to New Orleans. Cabet arrived later with a second, smaller group. Neither Texas nor Louisiana turned out to be the perfect place they hoped for. Many settlers got sick, and about one-third went back to France.
The remaining 142 men, 74 women, and 64 children (though 20 died on the way) moved north along the Mississippi River. In 1849, they reached Nauvoo, Illinois, where they bought land from the Mormons. Cabet was chosen as their leader for one year. This new location helped the community grow into a successful farming settlement. Education and culture were very important to the members.
By 1855, the Nauvoo Icarian community had about 500 members. They had a strong farming base, shops, three schools, mills, and even a whiskey distillery. They also had English and French newspapers, an orchestra, a choir, a theater, a hospital, and the largest library in the state with 4,000 books. Members met on Saturdays to talk about community matters. Men could vote, and women could speak but not vote. On Sundays, they discussed ethics and morals. There were no specific religious services, but members had been Christians before joining. Because of this success, some even thought about expanding the community.
In May 1851, Cabet had to go back to France to deal with some legal issues from his previous followers in Europe. He was found not guilty in July 1851. When he returned to Nauvoo in July 1852, the community had changed. Cabet then made "Forty-Eight Rules of Conduct" in November 1853. These rules were very strict, forbidding things like tobacco and complaining about food. They also demanded silence in workshops and complete obedience to him. Some people felt he was too controlling. These internal problems grew worse.
In the spring of 1855, Cabet tried to change the community's rules to make himself president for life. Instead, he was removed from the presidency. His supporters went on strike and were temporarily not allowed to eat in the communal dining hall. Even though the community had many members, it was struggling financially.
Disagreements about work and food continued to worsen. Cabet published his last book, Colonie icarienne aux États-Unis d'Amérique (1856), but it did not solve the problems. In October 1856, about 180 of Cabet's supporters left Nauvoo with him. They moved to New Bremen, Missouri, near St. Louis.
Death and Legacy
Cabet had a stroke on November 8, 1856, a few days after moving to Missouri with his last group of followers. He died soon after. He was first buried at Old Picker's Cemetery. Later, his remains were moved during the construction of a high school, and they now rest at New Saint Marcus Cemetery and Mausoleum in Affton, St. Louis County, Missouri. The French Embassy paid for his gravestone.
On February 15, 1858, the remaining Icarians settled in Cheltenham, on the western edge of St. Louis. They were led by Mercadier, a lawyer Cabet had chosen as his successor. That community ended in 1864, partly because some young men fought in the American Civil War. Before he died, Cabet had also taken legal action against the Nauvoo Icarians.
The Nauvoo community moved to Corning, Adams County, Iowa, between 1858 and 1860. They moved because of bad harvests in Illinois and because they no longer received money from France. The Corning Icarians did well until another disagreement in 1878. Some new settlers from France left to start a community in Cloverdale, California in 1883, but it only lasted four years. The community at Corning finally ended in 1898. However, it had lasted for 46 years, making it the longest-running non-religious communal living experiment in American history.
Western Illinois University has a Center for Icarian Studies, which keeps Icarian records and papers. The Nauvoo Historical Society also has some papers and items on display. Some people in Nauvoo remember the Icarians during the Labor Day Grape Festival with a historical play. While the Icarians did not start grape growing in Nauvoo, Baxter's Vineyards and Winery was founded by Icarians Emile and Annette Baxter in 1857. It is still a family business today and is Illinois' oldest winery.
See also
In Spanish: Étienne Cabet para niños
