Transcendentalism

Walden Pond, Concord MA

What does “transcendentalism” mean?

• There is an ideal spiritual state which “transcends” the physical and empirical.

• A loose collection of eclectic ideas about literature, philosophy, religion, social reform, and the general state of American culture.

• Transcendentalism had different meanings for each person involved in the movement.

Where did it come from?• Ralph Waldo Emerson gave German

philosopher Immanuel Kant credit for popularizing the term “transcendentalism.”

• It began as a reform movement in the Unitarian church.

• It is not a religion—more accurately, it is a philosophy or form of spirituality.

• It centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in the mid-1800’s.

• Emerson first expressed his philosophy of transcendentalism in his essay Nature.

What did Transcendentalists believe?

Transcendentalism: A movement that sought to explore the relationship between humans and nature through emotions rather than through reason.

This was not a religion, but rather a movement to show humans how connected they are to the nature around them.

Who were the Transcendentalists?

• Ralph Waldo Emerson• Henry David Thoreau

Ralph Waldo Emerson

• 1803-1882• Unitarian minister• Poet and essayist• Founded the

Transcendental Club• Popular lecturer• Banned from Harvard for

40 years following his Divinity School address

• Supporter of abolitionism

Henry David Thoreau

• 1817-1862• Schoolteacher, essayist,

poet• Most famous for Walden

and Civil Disobedience• Influenced environmental

movement• Supporter of abolitionism

LITERATURE

• 1800’s literature illustrated daily life in early America.

• Famous Authors of the 1800’s• Washington Irving wrote

• Rip Van Winkle, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Sketchbook • Theme - change occurs but traditions remain

• James Fenimore Cooper wrote• The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans

• Theme – life on the frontier

• Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote• The Scarlet Letter

• Theme – morality, stigma’s, good v evil

• Herman Melville wrote• Moby Dick

• Theme – good v evil

LITERATURE

• Famous Authors of the 1800’s continued• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote

• Paul Revere’s Ride• Theme – American historical events

• Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote• Concord Hymn

• Theme – American historical event, spirituality and transcendentalism

• Henry David Thoreau wrote• Resistance to Civil Government

• Theme – civil disobedience, nature, abolitionism

LITERATURE

• Famous Authors of the 1800’s continued

• Louisa May Alcott wrote• Little Women

• Theme – Feminine humanity

• William Cullen wrote• Thanatopsis • Theme – natural beauty, study of nature, understand life

and death

ART

• Famous Artists of the 1800’s • Hudson River School

• Theme – natural wonders, landscapes of the Catskills Mountains and the Hudson River.

• Established by Thomas Doughty• Artists: Thomas Cole, Asher Durand and George Caleb Bingham

• Artists: George Catlin and Alfred Jacob Miller• Theme – Native American life, fur traders, riverboat workers.

MUSIC

• Famous Musicians of the 1800’s • Stephen C. Foster

• Performed musicals with American songs in large cities and log cabins using banjos and pianos.

• Combined African and European music to create a uniquely American sound.• Songs: My Old Kentucky Home and Swanee River

ARCHITECTURE

• Architectural Themes of the 1800’s • Public buildings were modeled on classical styles of Rome

and Greece.• Private homes and plantations were modeled on the style

of Greek Revival .