Department of History

Though they were celibate, they are the most enduring religious experiment in American history. They believed in pacifism and feminism, freedom from prejudice, natural health and hygiene, and for more than 200 years insisted that their followers should strive for simplicity and perfection in everything that they did. Through diaries, archival photographs, music and stunning cinematography, Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.