unit iv: transcendentalism america’s first identity crisis 1840 - 1870
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Literary Nationalism (1800 - 1840)
Established national identity Heroes (e.g., Natty Bumpo) Anti-heroes (e.g., Tom Walker) Local color (regional dialect, setting)
National identity rooted in:1. B. Franklin’s Virtues and the American
Dream2. Puritanism – Work Ethic and City Upon a
Hill3. Democracy
Literary Nationalism (1800 - 1840)
Influenced by European Romanticism Truth in absolutes
Heroes = Idealized; impossibly perfect; extraordinary people in extraordinary situations
Anti-Heroes/Enemies = pure evil Morality, thus, is absolute
All good or all evil; no gray area Emphasis
Extraordinary people in extraordinary situations Often stresses the past Glorifies nature – its appearance and grandeur
Historical Context Nothing seemed to deter America’s growth in the
nineteenth century. Geographically – America was pushing frontiers to
the Pacific Politically – it was finding its identity as a
democratic government divided into three branches
Socially – it was in a fervent state of development, constantly creating and developing new communities with its ever-expanding boundaries.
Historical Context, cont. … Such growth and advancement imbued
Americans with a collective sense of optimism and belief in progress.
Americans knew they had a special place in history
That feeling pervaded everything they thought, did, or believed.
Historical Context Policies adopted in this period placed
emphasis on energy, enterprise and personal achievement.
Laissez-faire (“leave it alone”) capitalism reigned. (recall reference to speculation in Tom Walker – unregulated trade). America as a giant workshop.
Emphasis on business, growing personal wealth and getting ahead became the underpinning for what most American believed was the ideal democratic society.
Historical Context, cont… Cities grew in size Populations scattered and the number of states
increased Growth and expansion gave the nation a firm
belief in it’s own progress Political climate that elevated self-made men like
Andrew Jackson instilled the populace with faith in the power of the individual to rise above his or her own circumstances and fashion his or her own place in the world.
Gave a collective sense of rising above, both on a cultural and individual level, created fertile ground for an optimistic, if not idealistic, American philosophy to take hold
In the 1840’s, America enters its
teenage years……and the country experiences its first identity crisis!ButBegins to define a clear “American” voice
TRANSCENDENTALISM: Origins
Major national issues came together causing America’s “identity crisis”:
1. Slavery2. Westward expansion
America = half free states / half slaveQ: Would new states be slave or free?Exacerbating the issue:Mexican War 1846-1848 –would new territory also be free or a slave territory?
Forerunners Puritanism
belief in God as a powerful force
belief that each individual can experience God first-hand
Colonialism Self-empowerment Equality
Romanticism placed central
importance on emotions and the individual
emphasized intuition and inner perception of truth that differs from reason
emphasized nature’s beauty, strangeness, and mystery
emphasized individual expression and artistic freedom
TRANSCENDENTALISM: Origins
Transcendentalism was a literary movement that flourished during the middle 19th Century (1836 – 1860).
It began as a rebellion against traditionally held beliefs by the Church that God superseded the individual.
1840-50: movement of writers began to seriously challenge American values
Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Nathaniel Hawthorne Herman Melville
Transcendentalism: Origins Group focuses on reform Ties with Unitarian Church
(rejection of Trinity) though not a religion.
Centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in the mid-1800’s (a group of intellectuals and academics)
Still influenced by European ideas and Eastern philosophies
Departure from ROMANTICISM (focus on the extraordinary, uncommon, intangible)
Embracing of REALISM (focus on the ordinary, common, tangible)
Transcendental Beliefs: BeliefsBasic Premise #1 An individual is the
spiritual center of the universe, and in an individual can be found the clue to nature, history and, ultimately, the cosmos itself. It is not a rejection of the existence of God, but a preference to explain an individual and the world in terms of an individual.
Basic Premise #2 The structure of the
universe literally duplicates the structure of the individual self—all knowledge, therefore, begins with self-knowledge. This is similar to Aristotle's dictum "know thyself."
Transcendental Beliefs: BeliefsBasic Premise #3 Transcendentalists
accepted the concept of nature as a living mystery, full of signs; nature is symbolic.
Basic Premise #4The belief that individual
virtue and happiness depend upon self-realization—this depends upon the reconciliation of two universal psychological tendencies:
1. The desire to embrace the whole world—to know and become one with the world.
2. The desire to withdraw, remain unique and separate—an egotistical existence.
So…. Nature Individualism Moral Enthusiasm Feelings
Is Divine Holds the truths of life Holds transcendence for man
when he can communicate and be one with nature
Is innocence and an escape from the evils of society
Transcendentalists believed individuals could transcend to a higher being of existence in nature.
Belief that the transcendent (or spiritual) reality, rather than the material world, is the ultimate reality
Rejection of society’s beliefs and free thought
An individual places inner truth above all else
Fulfillment comes from knowing oneself, not from materialism and not through adhering to institutions like education, the government, the church, even the family.
Advocates self trust and confidence (truth is within us)
Experience is valued over scholarship. God is located in the soul of each
individual. Finding one’s own spirituality will lead one to truth
Simple life (manual labor) This truth of existence combines
nature, the universe and man (oversoul) and is available to everyone
Considered the “Conscience of the Nation”
Challenged individuals to “question authority”
Encouraged non-conformity morality > legality Anti- Aristocracy Anti-Slavery Pro-Women’s Rights Quest for Utopia (Brook Farm)
INTUITION over LOGIC The transcendental reality can be
known not by the rational faculty or logic, but only by intuition or mystical insight
Oversoul: a divine spirit that pervades the universe and encompasses all human souls (coined by R.W. Emerson, author)
All people are open to this higher knowledge;
Great optimism and faith in men Limitless potential of man
mind/spirit > body/society
Wrong is the New Right “If a man does not keep pace with his
companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.” – Henry David Thoreau
The Founder of Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882 Unitarian minister Poet and essayist Founded the Transcendental Club Popular lecturer Banned from Harvard for 40 years
following his Divinity School address in 1835 and writes his first important
work Nature which describes how humans find God within nature:
“In the woods is perpetual youth… In the woods we return to reason and faith.”
Emerson went on to become a famous lecturer sharing his transcendental philosophy throughout the country. Among his quotable phrases:
“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
“To be great is to be misunderstood.”
Henry David Thoreau - Practitioner If Ralph Waldo Emerson was
the philosopher of Transcendentalism, Thoreau was its most devoted practitioner.
While Emerson wrote and lectured about Transcendentalism, Thoreau tried to live as a transcendentalist.
grew up in a middle class family with a significant amount of wealth.
Also attended Harvard and graduated in 1837.
A school teacher Worked in the family’s pencil
factory
Thoreau - Practitioner As an independent thinker, Thoreau
became the head of the Concord Lyceum organizing lectures where he met Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Thoreau eventually worked as a handyman and caretaker of Emerson’s estate while Emerson spent long stints studying abroad in Europe.
From 1841 – 1843 Thoreau decided to conduct an experiment of self-sufficiency by building his own house on the shores of Walden Pond and living off the food he grew on his farm.
Thoreau later documented his experiment in his famous memoir Walden.
Famous quotes from Walden: “I went to the woods to live
intentionally, to suck the marrow out of life.”
Romanticism REALISM Civil War to turn of the century Realism: Style of writing, usually
prose, in which surface appearance is presented in an unembellished way.
In contrast to romance or the fantastic, the realist writer also seeks to represent experiences that are usual or typical rather than extraordinary or exotic.
Captures ordinary people in everyday experiences and settings with almost photographic precision and detail
Represents the common through common language
Attack upon Romanticism and Romantic writers.
"Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence"
Transcendentalist Writers – 1850-1870
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Poet, Essayist, Lecturer
Henry David ThoreauEssayist, Walden
Civil Disobedience
Nathaniel HawthorneWriter
The Scarlet LetterHouse of the Seven
Gables
Herman MelvilleAuthor PoetMoby Dick
The Confidence
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