Transcendentalism

• EQ: Who were the key Transcendentalists and what were some of the important literary/artistic creations of the antebellum period?

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.

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.

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

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

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 .