Unit 2: The American Reniassance, Influencing the Transcendentalists

The American RenaissanceInfluencing the

Transcendentalists

A. The Rise of Nationalism1. The Monroe Presidency, 1817-1825, “The Era of Good Feelings”

a. Monroe Doctrine (1822)i. Americas not available for European

colonizationii. national interest more important than

regional interests

b. McColluch vs. Maryland: national interests more

importantc. Missouri Compromise

i. Missouri becomes a state (slave state)ii. other states fear upset in balance of

free and slave states

iii. Maine becomes state (free state)

DO NOT TAKE

2. War of 1812a. US vs. Britain, reasons for war:

i. trade restrictionsii. impressment of US Navy personnel into

British Navyiii. British support of Natives against

American expansionb. Battle of New Orleans: fought and won by

general Andrew Jacksonc. Treaty of Ghent 1814

i. ends war, restores “status quo” before warii. Britain wins Nepoleonic wars, establishes

era of peace3. The Jackson Presidency, 1829-1837

a. Indian Removal Act: relocate five Indian tribes from

southeast to west; decimated Cherokee tribe (Trail of Tears)

b. conflict over Second US Bank (national; upset states)

DO NOT TAKE

B. Conflicts due to Western Expansion1. Manifest Destiny (western migration, 1840s-50s)a. belief that it was a God-given right to settle all land coast to coastb. Sante Fe, Oregon, Mormon trails (most famous)c. Gold Rush, 1848-49 California2. Texas Independencea. part of Mexico, 1821, colonized by Americans 1823b. became independent republic, 1836 (won war with Mexico at Battle of San Jacinto after loss at the Alamo)c. votes to become US state3. Mexican-American Wara. US takes control of New Mexicob. Americans in California revolt against Mexico (“Bear Flag Revolt”)c. 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: US gains New Mexico, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming territories

DO NOT TAKE

C. The American Novel, “Wilderness” Experience1. more independent of traditional forms; explorative2. different subject matter available, limitless frontiers3. coincided with westward expansion and nationalism4. New Heroa. virtue = American innocenceb. youthful, innocent, intuitive, close to nature, skillful, frontiersmanc. modeled by perceptions of Andrew Jackson in Battle of New Orleans

ADD TO NOTEBOOK

D. American Romanticism1. value feeling, intuition over reason2. truth accompanied by powerful emotion, associated with natural beauty3. wanted to rise above “dull realities”a. used exotic settings (more “natural,” removed from industrial)b. sometimes used supernatural realm or old legends/folklorec. reflection on natural world until underlying truth revealedd. similar to Puritans: draw moral lessons from nature

ADD TO NOTEBOOK

E. Transcendentalism1. one must transcend (“go beyond”) everyday experience2. human perfectibility3. native mysticism: experience of nature leads to spiritual understanding4. optimisma. God works through natureb. tragic events explained on spiritual levelc. each person part of the Divine Soul5. appealed to audiences who lived in economic downturns, regional strife

ADD TO NOTEBOOK

The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in

miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power;

he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Transcendentalist”

In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.

– Aristotle

Transcendentalism: IntroductionWhen people hear the word Transcendentalism, they tend to equate its meaning with its root, transcend, meaning “to rise above the human experience.” In fact, though, the philosophy of Transcendentalism actually refers to that which is within the human mind. It refers to the innate ability within all people to fulfill their potential, to overcome adversity, to face challenges directly, to rely on an inner voice and instinct to guide them through life. Listening to the inner voice, the Transcendentalist, at one with God and Nature, grows into an autonomous, self-reliant individual who feels no need to seek affirmation outside of him or herself.

Transcendentalism: IntroductionAmerican Transcendentalism began as a combination of Unitarian theology—including the belief that God is one, rather than the Catholic “trinity”—and German philosophy in the mid-1800s. The Industrial Revolution was bringing rapid change to the country. A new materialism distracted Americans in vast numbers. Being a good citizen meant abiding by laws that were not always moral or right. For example, in a blend of greed, commerce, and immoral law, the federal government decreed in the Fugitive Slave Laws that slaves who managed to escape to the North were still property and must be returned to their owners.

Transcendentalism: IntroductionTranscendentalists, including Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, spoke out against such injustice. Their contemporaries, including Hawthorne and Poe, often viewed them as radical nonconformists. Thoreau and Emerson used The Dial magazine, founded by women’s rights activist Margaret Fuller, as a platform to speak about such topics as equal rights for women, the abolishment of slavery, the rights and responsibilities of the individual, and the injustices perpetrated in the name of Democracy.

Transcendentalism: IntroductionThe Transcendentalists valued individuality above social acceptance and creativity above financial prosperity. More controversial, however, was their belief that the Divine existed within Nature and that man existed above the traditional deity of organized religion, which they believed inspired fear and condemnation of self and of others. The movement also valued personal vision and truth above external reality, and its proponents believed in experiential education to heighten innate curiosity, rather than the rote memorization and drilling employed by public schools.

Transcendentalism: IntroductionMost Transcendentalists became unhappy with

social and political developments of the day. As a group, they developed and honed a powerful political voice, which can be seen as a forerunner of and inspiration to the Environmental Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the fight for women’s rights, and the struggle to end wars through peaceful protest. The Transcendentalists helped define the spirit of American individualism and independence.

G. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)1. Backgrounda. born in Concord, Massachusettsb. entered Harvard in 1833, graduated four years laterc. very familiar with English literature and German philosophyd. unsuccessful at teaching, took land in Walden (offered by Emerson)e. Walden experiment attempted to rediscover grandeur of simple lifei. focus for contemplative urgeii. saw private confrontation as heroiciii. spent over two years, returned home to publish essaysf. “civil disobedience”i. refused to pay poll tax in protest of Mexican-American War (spent night in jail)ii. helped fugitives escape slavery on way to Canadaiii. defended abolitionist John Brown2. Writingsa. unique blend of style, contentb. believes style imitating nature spoke spiritual truthsc. inspired passive resistance of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862Maxham daguerreotype of Henry David Thoreau

made in 1856

Civil Disobedience, 1849Henry David Thoreau is best known for Walden, which chronicles his experiment in simple, self-sufficient living. Less remembered, however, is that while living at Walden Pond, he was imprisoned for refusing to pay his poll tax as a statement of protest against slavery and what he saw as an unjust war with Mexico.

After someone else paid his tax, he was released, but he gave an 1848 lecture on "Resistance to Civil Government"--since published as "Civil Disobedience"--to explain his action.

While far less known than Walden, "Civil Disobedience" has arguably had much farther reaching effects. It helped inspire the Danish resistance in World War II, Gandhi in India, and tax resistors and civic protestors of all types for many decades.

Gandhi, 1869-1948

“Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state has become lawless or corrupt. And a citizen who barters with such a state shares in its corruption and lawlessness...Every citizen is responsible for every act of his government...There is only one sovereign remedy, namely, non-violent non-cooperation. Whether we advertise the fact or not, the moment we cease to support the government it dies a nature death....My method is conversion, not coercion, it is self-suffering, not the suffering of the tyrant… Civil disobedience is the assertion of a right which law should give but which it denies...Civil disobedience presupposes willing obedience of our self-imposed rules, and without it civil disobedience would be cruel joke....Civil disobedience means capacity for unlimited suffering without the intoxicating excitement of killing....Disobedience to be civil has to be open and nonviolent.”

Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968

“The willingness to accept the penalty for breaking the unjust law is what makes civil disobedience a moral act and not merely an act of lawbreaking.”

MLK-led March through Selma, Alabama

Lech Walesa, former President of Poland, b. 1943

“Our firm conviction that ours is a just cause and that we must find a peaceful way to attain our goals gave us the strength and the awareness of the limits beyond which we must not go.”

“We shall not yield to violence. We shall not be deprived of union freedoms. We shall never agree with sending people to prison for their convictions."

Current Acts of Civil Disobedience

Tibetan Monks, many of whom are in India in exile, have been protesting against the Chinese government for not recognizing Tibet’s independence. They do so by lighting themselves on fire; this has been going on since the 1960s. The trend has recently increased – over 30 deaths have resulted from these protests in the past year.

Crisis in Tibet

H. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)1. Backgrounda. born in Boston, poor but culturedb. father died at age 8, mother opened boarding housec. influenced by aunt Mary, energy drove to achievementd. life laid out for him early: Harvard, become minister (like 8 generationsbefore him)e. entered Harvard age 14, took job at school, then became ministerf. married in 1829, wife died of tuberculosis 17 months laterg. grief coincided with disenchantment with established religionh. became friends with Romantic English poets Wordsworth and Coleridge while in Englandi. returned to states, remarried, began lecturing2. Writingsa. expressed advantages of “young land”; freedom from old, corrupt, dying thought and customs of Europeb. access to higher laws directly through nature, not books, teachingsc. distinctly American view: denied importance of pastd. individual souls part of larger entity, “over-soul”e. appealed to both intellectuals and general public

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882