French Utopianism on American Soil: Six Unpublished Letters by Victor Considerant

When Victor Considerant arrived in America for the first time in 1852, he did so with the intention of finding an appropriate location to realize his most cherished dream: the construction of a utopian community that would provide the imminent salvation of the world. For more than two decades, Considerant had been successfully proselytizing the Charles Fourier-inspired utopian social and economic reform program known variously in France and the United States as Fourierism and Associationism. For a variety of reasons, however, American interest in the program had all but died by 1852. Nevertheless, Considerant was determined, as his letters between December 1852 and March 1855 to Bostonian James T. Fisher make clear. In April 1855, of course, `Reunion' was founded just outside of Dallas, Texas. [Introduction, notes, and two letters in English; five letters in French.] (DFS)