The North American Phalanx was a secular utopian socialist commune located in Colts Neck Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

The North American Phalanx was established in September 1843 and included the active participation of writer Albert Brisbane and newspaper publisher Horace Greeley, two of the leading figures of the Fourierist movement.

Charles Fourier (1772–1837) was a French philosopher who believed that the structure of modern civilization led to poverty, unemployment, isolation, and unhappiness and that people would be better off living in organized communal societies rather than individual family units.

Fourier developed the idea of the phalanstère, a collectively dwelling and cooperatively working community of 1,620 people organized on the basis of a joint stock company.

While never pursued in France during his lifetime, Fourier's ideas found practical realization in the United States in the 1840s and early 1850s as a result of the books and newspaper columns of Albert Brisbane (1809–1890).

[3] It was believed by the first participants that considerable capital would be raised for establishment of an American cooperative association and that a number of other branch organizations would emerge throughout the New York region, inspired by the Albany group's activity and success.

[4] Despite clearly inadequate resources, the Albany Branch, headed by Charles Sears and Nathan Starks, decided to persevere and a search began for suitable agricultural lands upon which a local phalanstery might be established.

[6] In addition, the community included stables, animal and wagon sheds, carpentry shops, a school and children's day care area, guest cottages, landscaped gardens and paths, and an artificial pond for bathing, boating and a supply of ice in the winter.

The North American Phalanx was moderately successful during its first seven years of operation, paying annual dividends ranging from 4.4% to 5.6% on capital invested, as well as hourly wages to all workers of the community.

[9] In accordance with the Fourierian scheme, labor was divided into general departments, called "series," of which there were six at the North American Phalanx: agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, domestic work, education, and "festal" (entertainment).

[16] The situation was further complicated by the presence of significant numbers of associationists with specific dietary beliefs, including contingents of vegetarians and Christian sectarians who foreswore the use of all products produced at the cost of a sacrifice of life.

[21] The atmosphere of the North American Phalanx and other Fourierist Associations which survived more than a year or two resembled that of a vibrant New England farming village, it was later reckoned.

"[23] The disparity between promises of social transformation and economic abundance and the realities of primitive agriculture and crude living conditions ended with the disillusionment of starry-eyed communitarians and their inflated expectations.

[23] Work was hard, the process of development slow and difficult, and communal life in close quarters presented a whole host of social pressures which undermined community stability.

[17] Moreover, the wages paid to working members of the phalanx proved barely adequate to cover room, board, and clothing for families with children — causing the loss of many of the same and the undermining of hopes of passing the community to a new generation.

[26] The North American Phalanx was also hard hit by the loss of its chief carpenter, a skilled horticulturalist, and other leading members in an 1853 succession to join the fledgling Raritan Bay Union.

[32] Efforts were made to sell the phalanx to a group organizing around Fourierist adherent Victor Considerant to act as a staging point for newcomers to his new colonization project in the state of Texas.

[30] A total of $80,000 was raised from the sale of the North American Phalanx's land and property,[29] with the proceeds divided and disbursed to the stockholders, who received 57.33 cents per dollar invested in the liquidation.

[33] The North American Phalanx was the second most publicized association of the 1840s Fourierist movement, surpassed in general interest only by Brook Farm in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

The Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold Borough, New Jersey houses a collection of records of the North American Archive which include legal and financial documents, meeting minutes, miscellaneous manuscripts, published material about the phalanx, photographs and illustrations, maps, drawings, and blueprints.