Amish History, Conflicts, and Leaders

In 1681, William Penn became the owner of the land that later became the state of Pennsylvania. He decided to establish a colony that allowed religious tolerance. He called it the holy experiment. That meant that many religions would live in one general area without fighting. The Amish took advantage of this and moved to the area, along with the Quakers and the Mennonites. The Amish movement to North America from Europe was founded by Jacob Amman in 1693. It was an attempt to restore the early Mennonite practices which were founded by Menno Simons (Robinson).

Some of the main conflicts the Amish have had are with each other. Since arriving in North America, some members have wanted to do many things that go against the original Amish beliefs. The Amish have wanted to hold meetings in churches rather than in their own homes, to educate their children beyond the elementary grades, have buttons and pockets on their clothes, and to become involved in the public life or the “outside world”. Also, the Amish’s buggies on the highway have been an issue because buggies only go five to eight miles per hour. There have been many motor vehicle accidents involving buggies (Robinson).

The Amish school system is fairly different from ours. Schools do not have any electricity and are completely paid for and run by the Amish community. All the teachers are Amish too. The Amish insist on stopping formal schooling after the eighth grade because they believe that is enough schooling. That had conflicted with many laws that require children to remain in school until their mid-teens. A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 recognized the Amish’s right to limit the education of their children (Robinson).

Women and men do have different roles, but women are not treated badly like in some cultures. Women are responsible for housework, gardening, and caring for their children. Men are the leaders of the community and are responsible for barn and field work. Married men and unmarried men are slightly different too. Married men can grow beards, whereas unmarried men are to be completely clean shaven. Both do not have mustaches as a reaction against the military. Due to the rising cost of farm land, many Amish have been forced to take outside jobs, such as creating Amish crafts to sell to tourists and commercial enterprises.  Since they do not use any forms of birth control, the Amish usually have eight to ten children on average (Robinson).