Transcendentalism
1830s & 1840s
Industrial Revolution and
Transcendentalism
• Machines were replacing
people and individuals did
not matter
• Grim working conditions,
long work hours, child labor
• Transportation like the
steam engine
• Communication through the
telegraph
Industrial Revolution and
Transcendentalism
• Transcendentalists thought
the human mind was the
most important force in the
universe
• Walph Waldo Emerson
• Henry David Thoreau
Beliefs
Oversoul:
Transendentalists did not believe in a
higher being. Instead they believed in an
“oversoul,” or a better version of one’s self.
It was about being at peace with the
universe, one’s self and the oversoul.
Beliefs
• Transcendentalists rejected
material things and
cherished nature
• Nature could be dangerous,
but at the same time, could
heal someone’s soul,
according to
Transcendentalists
Elements of Transcendentalism
• Nonconformity: Thoreau
thought that society
corrupted man (not doing
something just to fit in)
• Self-reliance: According to
Emerson, it means to be
nonconforming, creative, one
with nature, and to follow
one’s own ideas
Elements of Transcendentalism
• Free thought: Thinking that is
unrestrained by men or
religion
• Confidence: Believe in
oneself and one’s abilities
• Importance of nature: Nature
can teach lessons; leave
behind materialism
Influences
• Environmental movement
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Ghandi: “You must be the
change you wish to see in
the world.”
• Non-violent protests (Civil
Disobedience by Thoreau)