By Jacqueline Koch
ETE100-01
Feb. 15, 2010
An introduction to 19th century writers and
thinkers in New England
What is
transcendentalism?
 “…
that form philosophy which sinks God
and Nature with man” (Emerson, 1845).
 A form of philosophy that seeks to
“transcend” space and time by using
intuition when asking questions about life
and society.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson,
American Whig Review
How did the movement begin?
First developed in Germany.
 Meant “what goes beyond” (Wall, 1886).
 Grew in New England; opposed strict Puritan
standards; thought man possessed the divine
within himself.
 Emerson wrote “Nature” in 1836; asserts “the
world is a divine dream from which we may
presently awake to the glories and uncertainties
of the day” (Wall, 1886).

Who were the major
transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
 Walt Whitman
 Henry David Thoreau
 Margaret Fuller
 Amos Bronson Alcott

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Formerly a Unitarian minister.
 Belonged to the Transcendental
Club (Emerson, 1844).
 Initial writings characterized as
“quaint” and “peculiar” (1844).
 By 1855, was considered the
most respected essayist,
philosopher and lecturer of his
generation (Birney, 1998).

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
An unknown poet until
Emerson praised his poetry
in 1855 (Birney, 1998).
 Best known for “O Captain!
My Captain!” about the
death of President Lincoln
(Birney, 1998).
 “Every word that falls from
his mouth shows silent
disdain and defiance of the
old theories and forms”
(Langley, 1855).

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
Best known for “Walden.”
 Enjoyed solitude, thinking and “all
manner of growing things” (Torrey,
1896).
 “A prophet, a writer, a student of
nature” (Torrey, 1896).


Interest in solitude not in
going into the woods to be
alone but to understand
the world and learn his
place in it (Torrey, 1896).
Walden

Click on the
button below
and listen to
the lecturer
describe
Walden. Give
your reactions
to her
thoughts.
Margaret Fuller (1810-1850)






Feminist and intellectual;
published essays calling for
women’s equality.
Literary editor of “New York
Daily Tribune.”
Close friends with Emerson.
Byline was an asterisk (*).
Filled with unrest and
disappointment (Margaret
Fuller).
Participated in civil and
domestic troubles.
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888)
Enthusiastic about selfeducation and optimistic.
 Introduced art, physical
education and nature
classes into curriculums
(Brown, 1999).
 Influenced Emerson’s
“Nature.”
 Founded the Concord
(Mass.) School of
Philosophy (Brown, 1999).

What were the major themes in
transcendentalism?
Nature
 Independence
 Deficient society
 Progress spurred by independence
 Ignoring religious and social conventions
 Meditation and thinking

What allowed the movement to
flourish?
In colonial America, some people wanted to
separate spirituality from traditional authority
(Wall, 1886).
 After shirking traditional conventions like
authority and religion, thinkers of the day
began to base philosophy on the human mind
in connection with nature.
 With an ocean to separate them from the
Church of England, colonists began thinking
for themselves and developed individualism
and freedom of thought (Wall, 1886).

References









“Amos Bronson Alcott.” Online image. Concord Ma. Magazine. 6 Feb. 2010. <http://www.
concordma.com/magazine/marapr01/amosbronsonalcott.jpeg>.
Alexander, J. “Walt Whitman.” Online Image. Library of Congress. 3 Feb. 2010. doi: det 4a28535.
Birney, A. (1998). Letter and corrected reprint of Walt Whitman's "O Captain, My Captain" with comments by
author. Retrieved from <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ mcchtml/corhome.html>.
Birney, A. (1998). Letter, Ralph Waldo Emerson to Walt Whitman extolling Whitman's poetry. Retrieved
from <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/corhome.html>.
Brown, A. (1999). Amos Bronson Alcott. Retrieved from <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb
/transcendentalism/authors/alcott/>.
“Emerson.” Online image. 3 Jan. 2002. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 28 Jan. 2010.
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emerson/>.
Emerson, R. (1845). Essays: second series. American Whig Review, 1, 233-236. [Electronic version].
Retrieved from the Cornell University Library via the Library of Congress.
Langley, H. (Pub.) (1855). Walt Whitman and his poems. The United States Democratic Review, 36,
205-213.[Electronic version]. Retrieved from the Cornell University Library via the Library of
Congress.
“Margaret Fuller.” Online image. Library of Congress. 5 Feb. 2010. doi: cph3a47196.
References (cont.)









Margaret Fuller. (1855). Putnam’s Monthly, 6, 107-112. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from the
Cornell University Library via the Library of Congress.
“Old Manse from the highway, Concord, Massachusetts.” Online image. 1901. Library of Congress.
Detroit Publishing Company. 28 Jan. 2010. doi: det4a07458
Parlow, G. “Henry David Thoreau, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right.” Online image.
Library of Congress. 28 Jan. 2010. Doi: cph3a02153.com.
Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1844). The Living Age, 1, 41. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from the Cornell
University Library via the Library of Congress.
“Thoreau's cove, Lake Walden, Concord, Mass.” Online image. Library of Congress. Detroit Publishing
Company. 5 Feb. 2010. Doi: det4a18296.
Thoreau, H. (1845). Walden – an annotated edition. Retrieved from <http://thoreau.
eserver.org/walden00.html>.
Topics of the times: Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1882). The Century, 24, 457-458. [Electronic version].
Retrieved from the Cornell University Library via the Library of Congress.
Torrey, B. (1896). Thoreau. The Atlantic Monthly, 78, 822-833. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from the
Cornell University Library via the Library of Congress.
Wall, A. (1886). Early transcendentalism in New England. The New England Magazine, 5, 162-171.
[Electronic version]. Retrieved from the Cornell University Library via the Library of Congress.