Transcendentalism

American Transcendentalism was an important movement in philosophy and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of the nineteenth century (about 1836-1860). Transcendentalism refers to the idea that in determining the ultimate reality of God, the universe, the self, and other important matters, one must transcend or go beyond everyday human experience in the physical world. Transcendentalists had a specific view of the world. They believed that everything in the world is a reflection of the Divine Soul, and physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual or ideal world. Furthermore, transcendentalists thought that people can use their intuition to behold God's spirit. They thought it was very important for everyone to be an individual, and self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority. Lastly, transcendentalists believed spontaneous feelings and intuition are superior to deliberate intellectualism.

Transcendentalists believed that one should rely upon intuition rather than reason and logic. Emerson and Thoreau are by far the most famous transcendentalists in history. Both Emerson and Thoreau valued the following key aspects of transcendentalism: Equality, Individualism, Self-Reliance, Integrity, and Optimism. They both demonstrated these values in their philosophical writings. Nature was very important to the transcendentalists, and they often went to nature to discover the meaning of life.

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson also had a great impact on this time period. They experimented with new forms of poetry that had not been seen up until this point. Dickinson focuses on the human conscience in her poetry while Whitman focuses on diction. While Transcendentalism only lasted from about 1836-1860, it played an integral role in shaping American literature.

"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson "Civil-Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau //The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail// by Jerome Lawrence & Robert Lee

As a result of his persistent refusal to pay his poll taxes, Henry David Thoreau spent a night in the Concord jail in 1846. He would have stayed longer but an aunt paid the bill for him, and he was released. Thoreau claimed he did not pay taxes as a protest against the Mexican War which he believed was based on greed. His second reason for refusing to pay taxes was his strong rejection of slavery in the country and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act which made it illegal to give safe harbor to escaping slaves from the South and required law enforcement in non-slave states and territories to return escaped slaves to their owners. Three years later Thoreau lectured and wrote about the evils of slavery culminating in this extraordinarily famous essay, "Resistance to Civil Government" or "Essay on Civil Disobedience." In his famous statement, "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," he crystallized his idea of being a person who lives courageously and who stands against the injustices of his own age.

Walden whole text
// We return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite spaces, - all mean egotism vanishes. **I become a transparent eye-ball**; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God---Ralph Waldo Emerson //

Emerson video
Alcott House

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The Transcendentalists, especially Henry David Thoreau, appalled conforming to society merely for the purpose of "fitting in". They advocated that society corrupted a persons inner goodwill. They believed that by remaining outside of society's influences a person could transcend the evils society tempted them with and achieve true peace. In his essay //Civil Disobedience,// Thoreau supported violating the laws set forth by the government if one felt that they were harmful. Thoreau practiced as he preached and refused to submit to the concept that slavery was morally acceptable. He attempted to enlighten others and bring them over to his side. He was shunned by many for his radical ideas. however, he ignored the protests and stood up for what he believed in. The definition of non-conformity is considered a failure to conform. However, Thoreau saw it not as a failure, but as a success; a successful method of exercising ones intrinsic right to defend his beliefs. "A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority."-Henry David Thoreau.

"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind." -Emerson, Self-Reliance

"Society is a joint stock company in which members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs." -Emerson, Self-Reliance