Overview

Transcendentalism – (1840-1855) -Transcendentalism was an American literary and philosophical movement of the nineteenth century. The Transcendentalists, who were based in New England, believed that intuition and the individual conscience “transcend” experience and thus are better guides to truth than are the senses and logical reason. Influenced by Romanticism, the Transcendentalists respected the individual spirit and the natural world, believing that divinity was present everywhere, in nature and in each person. Due to this belief, Transcendentalists often became active in political moments aimed at social reform that included such issues as women’s rights, anti-slavery to insure that each and every person would be allowed to live freely and to their fullest potential ⁷.

Transcendentalism is a loose term. Every writer who was a part of the movement took it a little differently.  It first came to light with the disagreements in regards to Unitarians beliefs and originated in Concord. Transcendentalists became those Unitarians who found that they were still searching for something and not satisfied. These people went against what they were taught and opened up a new way of thinking that has influenced many people over the years. These people were not originally an organized group that came together, though many later became close friends and many came together to work for The Dial. They were simply many people who seemed to think in similar ways about the world we live in.

The Transcendentalists included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, W.H. Channing, Margaret Fuller, and Elizabeth Peabody. The anti-Transcendentalist (Hawthorne and Melville) rebelled against the philosophy that man is basically good. A third group, the Fireside poets, wrote about more practical aspects of life such as dying and patriotism.

Style of Writings

Transcendentalism has an "emphasis on the oneness of individual souls with nature."5 Many of the writers were set against slavery to any person or thing. The style of these writers was taken from a variety of foreign authors. The influence the foreign writings had was large. These writings helped confirm how the Transcendentalists felt on many subjects such as the "concept of the devine."⁵ Transcendentalists would "search for reality through spiritual intuition."² These writers had a sense of searching for some unknown thing that would help them. They hoped for an idealistic and simplistic world that was at peace with each other and at peace with nature. Their writing is simplistic because the writers tended to shun many of the modern conveniences. For example, in Emerson's Nature, he literally lives in nature and in complete solitude.

The works of this movement include numerous essays, books and short stories. Essentially the works of this time seem to question everything we know.

Known Writers

Ralph Waldo Emerson

-"Nature"

-"The American Scholar"

-"The Divinity School Address"

-"SelfReliance"

-"Fate"

Margaret Fuller

- Summer on the Lakes

-Women in the Nineteenth Century

Theodore Parker

Elizabeth Palmer Peabody

Henry David Thoreau

-Walden

-"Civil Disobedience"

Quotes

"Cannot we have love instead of hate, peace instead of war?"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"So shall we come to look at the world with new eyes."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (1836)

"The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we-- through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (1836)

"[Transcendentalism is] an order of truths which transcends the sphere of the external senses."

-George Ripley⁴

"A new philosophy has risen, maintaining that nothing is everything in general, and everything is nothing in particular."

-A Baltimore clergyman¹

"...whatever was unintelligible would certainly be transcendental"

- told to Charles Dickens¹

Reception

The reception of this movement was interesting. Though many of these authors have had a lasting effect, the outbreak of their works lasted only a decade or so before tapering off. These works have spread around the world even influencing people such as Gandhi. Even though the influences are great, the authors' ideals and visions of world peace still have yet to be seen. Many brush the ideas off because it is against their culture and their norm.

Works Cited

(1) "American Transcendentalism Web." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 08 July 2011. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/.

(2) Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Introduction. MacMillan General Reference, 1963. eLibrary. Web. 09 Jul. 2011.

(3) KEHE, MARJORIE. "American Transcendentalism and the revolution within." Christian Science Monitor. 15 Jan. 2008: 16. eLibrary. Web. 09 Jul. 2011.

(4) McFarland, P., Philip, the "New England revolution ; How the home-grown Transcendentalist movement sparked an extraordinary ferment of ideas and reform." Boston Globe. 2007, November 25: C5.

(5) Wilson, Leslie P. "New England Transcendentalism." Concord, Massachusetts, USA: Thoreau, Emerson, Walden Pond, Alcott, American Revolution, Concord Minuteman, More... Concord Magazine. Web. 08 July 2011. http://www.concordma.com/magazine/nov98/trans.html.

(6) http://staff.gps.edu/gaither/literary_movements.htm

(7) Lewis, Jone J. "What Is Transcendentalism?" The Transcendentalists - including Ralph Waldo Emerson - Henry David Thoreau - Others - Dial Magazine. Transcendentalists, 2002. Web. 25 July 2011. http://www.transcendentalists.com/what.htm