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The Transcendentalists

The Transcendentalists. "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men." - Ralph Waldo Emerson. Who were they?.

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The Transcendentalists

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  1. The Transcendentalists "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

  2. Who were they? • A group of radical thinkers in the early to mid-1800s. • Based primarily out of New England • Began as a religious movement which questioned the absolute truth of the bible and maintained that spiritual enlightenment could be found within through the process of rational thought • Questioned the established ideas about religion and society • Writing focused on morality, philosophy, and social change (slavery, women's rights, war) • Strong connections to nature

  3. Ralph Waldo Emerson • 1803-1882 • Founder of the Transcendentalist movement • Born in Boston, Massachusetts • His father was a pastor and Ralph followed in his footsteps • After the death of his wife, Emerson began to question church doctrine and eventually left the church

  4. Emerson, continued • After leaving the church, he began ‘preaching’ the ideas of Transcendentalism at lectures all over the country and writing essays about his philosophical beliefs • Encouraged people to reject institutionalized religion and find their own spiritual path • Also called for American authors to develop their own style rather than copy British writers. Often cited as the father of American literature • Emerson and his ideas had a strong influence on a wide variety of authors including Thoreau, Whitman, Melville, Dickinson, and Hawthorne

  5. Henry David Thoreau • 1817-1862 • Born in Concord, Massachusetts and attended Harvard University • Friends with Emerson and lived in his house for several years • In 1845, Thoreau built a small cabin in the woods where he lived alone for several years in an attempt to remove himself from society • It was here that he wrote the bulk of Walden and Civil Disobedience

  6. Thoreau, continued • In 1846, Thoreau was arrested for refusing to pay taxes • He refused to pay because he disagreed with the government’s support of slavery and the Mexican-American War • He was willing to stay in jail to demonstrate his commitment, but his aunt paid the fine and he was released against his will • Died of tuberculosis in 1862 • Walden inspired the environmental movement and Civil Disobedience would later have a profound impact on such leaders as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior, and J.F.K.

  7. Themes • Nature: truth and beauty can be found in nature • Nonconformity: individual thought preferable to blind obedience • Inborn wisdom: we are born with knowledge and truth in our souls, we can uncover it through the process of rational thought • Social change: anti-war, anti-slavery, anti-materialism, women’s rights

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