transcendentalism

Transcendentalism was a philosophical and literary movement that arose in the United States in the 1800s. Transcendentalism emphasizes a person’s individual spirituality and the importance of nature and encourages a frugal lifestyle.

Some of the major authors that were part of the transcendentalist movement include Ralph Walo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. The movement began in Concord, Massachusetts, during the 1830s. It became an official group after Emerson and three other Harvard University graduates formed the Transcendental Club in September 1836.

The importance of individuality is a major belief of transcendentalism. The transcendentalists believed that human beings were born good, but society and institutions corrupted their souls. They argued that humans needed to return to nature and would become spiritually enlightened through an independent, frugal life lived in nature. This is argued in both Emerson’s Nature (1836) and Thoreau’s Walden (1854).

The transcendentalists also held strong beliefs about many social causes. Emerson was unhappy with the treatment of Native Americans, Fuller was an outspoken feminist who anlayzed women’s role in society her 1845 book Woman in the Ninteenth Century, and Thoreau was vehemently opposed to slavery and strongly argued for peacefully protesting the government.

Transcendentalism would slowly begin to fade in the 1850s after Fuller’s death in a shipwreck.

The first records of the term transcendentalism come from around 1795. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb trānscendere, meaning “to surmount.” The English verb transcend also comes from this word, and the transcendentalists believed in a divine insight that “transcended” the five human senses.

Many of the works of transcendentalism are critical essays and spiritual poetry rather than narrative stories. The transcendentalists often tried to organize communities in nature to practice transcendentalism but were ultimately unsuccessful.

The most famous of these attempts was Henry David Thoreau’s living in a log cabin for over two years at Walden Pond. Thoreau lived off the land and spent most of his time writing, observing nature, and meditating. The journal that Thoreau kept during his time in the cabin became Walden, a collection of essays detailing Thoreau’s experiences.

One of the more well-known critics of transcendentalism was author Edgar Allen Poe. He mockingly referred to them as “Frogpondians” (a term he also used to mock the people of Boston) in his 1841 short story “Never Bet the Devil Your Head.”

Today, transcendentalism is most remembered for the literature written by its believers.

I am in the middle of the woods completely alone. This tweet is my Walden. I am live-tweeting transcendentalism.

— Jason Shebiro (@shebiro) November 16, 2014

• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Margaret Fuller
• Henry David Thoreau
• Walden Pond
• intuition
• nature
• Unitarian

True or False?

Transcendentalism places a high importance on nature and your own self-reflection.