Iowa's old order Amish
Subtitle: an expanded edition
By: by Elmer Schwieder and Dorothy Schwieder ; with a new essay by Thomas J. Morain.
Contributors: Schwieder, Dorothy, 1933-; Morain, Thomas J., 1947-
Edition: 1st University of Iowa Press ed.
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Iowa City
Language: eng
Number of pages: 188
ISBN-13: 9781587298059
Subjects: Amish -- Iowa -- History; Iowa -- History
Description: Now back in print with a new essay, this classic of Iowa history focuses on the Old Order Amish Mennonites, the state's most distinctive religious minority. Sociologist Elmer Schwieder and historian Dorothy Schwieder began their research with the largest group of Old Order Amish in the state, the community near Kalona in Johnson and Washington counties, in April 1970; they extended their studies and friendships in later years to other Old Order settlements as well as the slightly less conservative Beachy Amish.

A Peculiar People explores the origin and growth of the Old Order Amish in Iowa, their religious practices, economic organization, family life, the formation of new communities, and the vital issue of education. Included also are appendixes giving the 1967 "Act Relating to Compulsory School Attendance and Educational Standards"; a sample "Church Organization Financial Agreement," demonstrating the group's unusual but advantageous mutual financial system; and the 1632 Dortrecht Confession of Faith, whose eighteen articles cover all the basic religious tenets of the Old Order Amish.

Thomas Morain's new essay describes external and internal issues for the Iowa Amish from the 1970s to today. The growth of utopian Amish communities across the nation, changes in occupation (although The Amish Directory still lists buggy shop operators, wheelwrights, and one lone horse dentist), the current state of education and health care, and the conscious balance between modern and traditional ways are reflected in an essay that describes how the Old Order dedication to Gelassenheit--the yielding of self to the interests of the larger community--has served its members well into the twenty-first century.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: A Peculiar People in a Brave New World: Iowa's Old Order Amish in Recent Years
pagenum: ix; title: Preface
pagenum: xx; label: 1
title: The Old Order in Iowa
pagenum: 2; label: 2
title: Origin and Growth
pagenum: 9; label: 3
title: Religious Practices
pagenum: 23; label: 4
title: Economic Organization
pagenum: 37; label: 5
title: Family Life
pagenum: 54; label: 6
title: Mobility and New Communities
pagenum: 80; label: 7
title: The School Controversy
pagenum: 94; label: 8
title: The Vital Issue: Education
pagenum: 113; label: 9
title: The Beachy Amish
pagenum: 129; label: 10
title: The Plain People in the Midwest
pagenum: 141; title: Appendixes; label: A
title: An Act Relating to Compulsory School Attendance and Educational Standards
pagenum: 153; label: B
title: Church Organization Financial Agreement
pagenum: 155; label: C
title: The Dortrecht Confession of Faith
pagenum: 156; title: Notes
pagenum: 169; title: Bibliography
pagenum: 178; title: Index
pagenum: 185