Ralph Waldo Emerson And The Transcendentalist Movement

Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most influential writers and philosophers of the 19th century, as the father of transcendentalism and an advocate for major reform in society and government. As a major leader in the transcendentalist movement, also known as the “American Renaissance,” Emerson brought a new set of ideals, morals, and philosophies to the table. These included his theories that one should only focus on themselves, and the actions they are taking, as well as trusting their own feelings, and doing the best they can to connect with nature in order to understand the world around them. These philosophies stemmed from a disagreement and uprise against the Unitarian church, and formal religion in general, which led a group of people
Unitarianism had become very popular in New England in the late 18th century, and was basically a branch of Christianity that said God was one whole being, not a “holy trinity” as thought of by most other western forms of Christianity, and accepted their fate as sinners who would burn in Hell no matter what they did. Despite the fact that his upbringing was strictly dominated by this religion, and that he was even a Unitarian minister himself for a few years after graduating from Boston Latin School and Harvard Divinity School, he was still in complete opposition to the teachings of it. This perspective of having practicing Unitarianism himself beforehand may have contributed to his unique viewpoints, and what made him a major leader in the transcendentalist movement, which was basically just and uprise against this religion and formal religion in general. Emerson, as well as other transcendentalists, developed the philosophy that society is corrupt, and the human soul is the only innocent, pure
They spoke out against materialism and slavery as well and were in much opposition to the Industrial Revolution. According to transcendentalism, if one did not find themselves in nature, they were corrupt and most likely did not have their morals sorted out correctly. They spoke out against slavery, and the Fugitive Slave Law specifically, which applied to their own section of the country, the northeast, because they strongly believed that each human should have their own personal liberties and freedoms, and not be bound to society or others in any way. This held the same for industry, as it caused more and more people to become part of this one big machine, which progressed American society economically, but may not have benefitted all who were involved in it. The transcendentalists were borderline socialists, and followed the idea that everyone should get equal opportunity because we are all good people who deserve it, however, again, did not think that everyone should be so involved in society. They should, instead, decide their own actions for themselves, and to do that wholly and completely, they must separate themselves from others so they are not influenced by them. Emerson said, “All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man