Description:
Experiments with communal living, alternative marriage and sexual pat-
terns, and unorthodox lifestyles have occurred throughout American his-
tory from the earliest days to the present. Beginning with the Pilgrims and
Puritans, who sought freedom to develop their own distinctive ways of life
in the New World, a host of diverse religious and ethnic groups have at-
tempted to find a haven in America where they could live as they chose.
While immigrant groups continued to bring over their varied traditions,
many native-born Americans also began trying to develop new and more
satisfying communal patterns of their own. Although the opportunities for
social and religious experimentation have never been without limits, ex-
traordinary freedom to explore different lifestyles has always been an im-
portant element in the American experience.
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