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Thoreau and Transcendentalism Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Thoreau and Transcendentalism Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862). Transcendentalists and historical context:. Who: Well-educated people When: Mid 1800s A time of division: Civil War A time of change: immigration, Manifest Destiny, civil rights Where: Mainly New England Full of intellectuals

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Thoreau and Transcendentalism Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

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  1. Thoreau and TranscendentalismHenry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

  2. Transcendentalists and historical context: • Who: Well-educated people • When: Mid 1800s • A time of division: Civil War • A time of change: immigration, Manifest Destiny, civil rights • Where: Mainly New England • Full of intellectuals • Desire: To create a uniquely American body of literature.

  3. Transcendentalists and spiritual context: • Unitarians began to criticize & analyze the Bible • New questions about the old assumptions of religion • Age of Enlightenment • experimentation and logical thinking • rational explanations of the natural world • These new rational conclusions were not spiritually fulfilling

  4. Transcendentalists and social issues • Social reform movements: • Anti-slavery • Civil rights for women and immigrants • At the level of the human soul, ALL people had access to divine inspiration and sought and loved freedom and knowledge and truth.

  5. Henry David Thoreau • Grew up in Concord, Massachusetts • Home to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson • Surrounded by nature • Attended Harvard College from 1833 to 1837 • Unitarian • Elitist • Encouraged intellectual pursuits • Recorded observations of nature

  6. Thoreau and Walden • Walden- about his experience in nature • Thoreau escaped civilization for over two years from 1845-47 at Walden Pond: • Built a hut • Studied nature’s spirituality • Rejected materialism • Relied on himself

  7. Thoreau’s Response to Transcendental premises • Rejected pre-Civil War values • Inequity, strict realism, division • Rejected the materialism of industrialization • Condemned slavery and other injustices • Promoted preserving the natural environment • Promoted self reliance • Non-conformity • Trusting one’s intuition

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