The Amish

by:

Jamie Kalista
October 2, 2003

Outline
Overview
Origins Location Population Beliefs

Dress Code Horse & Buggy School & Work Church Summary Credits & Related Links

Amish Background
Origins
1500s Protestant Reformation -> Anabaptist Legacy 1700s -> America to avoid religious persecution

Location & Population

24 states & Ontario, CAN 150,000 population Lancaster County, PA
~350 mi from Blacksburg pop. <2000 in 1900 >18,000 today

The Plain People

Forgo ownership of modern amenities
Electricity, automobiles, telephones Follow their interpretation of the Bible Retain solidarity of community

Principles
Gelassenheit
Submission, obedience, humility, simplicity

Ordnung
Govern every aspect of daily life Differ by community

Meidung
Shunning For the good of the individual

Amish Dress Code

Simple & Non-individual Women
Solid color dresses Bonnet and apron No hair cuts No jewelry Solid color shirt w/ pants suspenders Beards when married No mustaches Hats

Men

Horse & Buggy

No cars Horse & Buggy
Same color & design Dictated by district

Why?
Weakens familycommunity structure
Causes vanity Creates inequality Leads away from close-knit family and community

Amish School & Work

School
Separate schools Through 8th grade Learn
Reading Writing Arithmetic

Trilingual

Work
Roles determined by age and gender Males
Typically farmers, merchants

Females
Work in home, restaurants, shops

Amazing applied botanists

Amish Church
Church districts
Avg. 33 families 170 members

Worship
No church building Biweekly No instruments

Summary
Simple life
Clothing Technology Daily life

Close-knit community Strong religious devotion Growing larger and stronger

Links and Credits

The Riddle of Amish Culture, Kraybill, D.B., Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1989. www.amishcountry.org About.com www.800padutch.com http://www.thepeoplesplace.com/ www.amishcountrylanes.com http://members.tripod.com/amishbuggy/buggyp ic.htm http://www.livingpictures.org/amishbuggy.htm