Pleasantville: Everyone has a unique self, a nature.

1. Pleasantville: • Everyone has a unique self, a nature. • You should discover who you are, what that self is like. • You should have be who you are: • Conventional society will hake it hard for you if you do • But you should have the integrity and courage to be who you • are anyway: • you shouldn’t put the gray makeup back on • you shouldn’t make deals about what colors you’ll • paint with • If you do have the courage to be who you are, it may be • Contagious. Society may change to conform to you. • These are powerful enduring ideas in our culture. • Where did they come from?

2. The traditional culture1. Puritanism2. Protestant work ethic3. Natural gender roles

3. In modern usage, the word puritan is often used as an informal pejorative for someone who has strict views on sexual morality, disapproves of recreation, and wishes to impose these beliefs on others. . . . As Mark Twain once said: “A Puritan is someone who is Haunted by the fear that someone, somewhere, is having A good time.” The popular image oversimplifies Puritanism, but gives us a Reasonable caricature of Puritans in colonial America, who were among the most radical Puritans and whose social experiment took the form of a Calvinist theocracy.

4. Puritans believed they had a covenant with God This covenant required them to be a godly people If lived up to, God would reward them--on this earth It was essential then that Puritans police the morality, the behavior, the religious beliefs of its members It was a theocracy: the rule of a a religious elite according To religious beliefs. It was a community that stressed conformity to a single Set of beliefs and behavior It was not a community that allowed for individualism or Deviance from the accepted standards.

5. Jonathan Edwards's fearsome "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". . . defined the role of the individual: 1. to subordinate oneself to the doctrine of the community, to conform to the values of the community.” 2 to live for the future: salvation not present welfare 3. To accept the authority of others as one’s own truth

6. In Puritan New England, the family was the fundamental unit of society, the place where Puritans rehearsed and perfected religious, ethical, and social values and expectations of the community at large. The English Puritan William Gouge wrote: “…a familie is a little Church, and a little common-wealth, at least a lively representation thereof, whereby triall may be made of such as are fit for any place of authoritie, or of subjection in Church or commonwealth. Or rather it is as a schoole wherein the first principles and grounds of government and subjection are learned: whereby men are fitted to greater matters in Church or common-wealth.” Authority and obedience characterized the relationship between Puritan parents and their children. Proper love meant proper discipline.

7. Mill expressed the Puritan notion this way: “The one great offense of man is self-will. All the good of Which humanity is capable is comprised in obedience. You have no choice: thus you must do and no otherwise. “whatever is not a duty is sin.” Human nature being Radically corrupt, there is no redemption for anyone Until human nature is killed within him.” --from On Liberty, ch. 3

8. The Franklin work ethic: the self-made man 1. Work hard; do not waste time 2. Aim for worldly success:wealth 3. Delay gratification 4. Be practical. 5. Take responsibility for oneself: “rugged individualism”

9. FWE modified Puritanism: It accepted practicality and hard work; agreed that time Should not be wasted on frivolities. 2. It substituted worldly success for Puritan success in the next world. (Puritans did tend to see worldly success as a sign of salvation. 3. It agreed that gratification should be delayed but not until the next life. Gratification will come in this life if one works hard. 4. It inverted the Puritan notion of community responsibility for The welfare and salvation of all. Instead it argued that each Individual was on his own, responsible for his own success. One was no longer expected to look after others nor to expect Them to look after one. They were no longer their brothers’ Keepers.

10. Ben Franklin popularized and epitomized the legend of the Self-Made Man, and its corollary idea that America was the Land of Opportunity, where anyone who worked hard and used his (and sometimes her) head could get ahead in the world. Any boy could grow up to be President. Anyone could make the climb from Rags to Riches. Characteristically this climb was done alone, one stood on one's own two feet, and lifted oneself by the bootstraps. One's success (or failure) depended on oneself and oneself only. This typical American individualism is due largely to Franklin as well. More than any other single myth this idea that what America was about was the prospect of individual prosperity and wealth has governed our idea about who we are. If anything this preoccupation with wealth has intensified in the 200 years since Ben Franklin. Wherever this ethos prevails, romanticism grows in opposition..

11. The maxims of Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack …celebrated the virtues of hard work, sobriety, moderation, thrift and self-improvement.

12. It was a production ethic. The great virtues it taught were industry, foresight, thrift and personal initiative. The workman should be industrious in order to produce more for his employer; he should look ahead to the future; he should save money in order to become a capitalist himself; Then he should exercise personal initiative and found new factories where other workmen would toil industriously, and save, and become capitalists in their turn.

13. De Tocqueville reported at about the time of the first Romantics: The American is devoured by the longing to make his fortune; it is the unique passion of his life; he has. . . no inveterate habits, no spirit of routine; he is the daily witness of the swiftest changes of fortune, and is less afraid than any other inhabitant of the globe to risk what he has gained in the hope of a better future, for he knows that he can without trouble create new resources again...Everybody here wants to grow rich and rise in the world, and there is no one but believes in his power to succeed in that. Democracy in America 2 vols 1835, 1840

14. FrancesTrollopereportedintheearly19c on Some of the results of the combination of the Puritan ethic and Franklin’s maxims, which Included “a penny saved is a penny earned.” I neversawapopulationsototallydivestedof gayety. Theyhavenofetes,nofairs,no merrimaking,nomusicinthestreets...Ifthey seeacomedyorafarce,theymaylaughatit, buttheycandoverywellwithoutit;andthe consciousnessofthenumberofcentsthatmust bepaidtoenteratheater,Iamverysureturns morestepsfromitsdoorthananyreligious feeling.

15. In a famous lecture of the late 19c called "the Gospel of Wealth" Baptist minister Russell Crowell said Never in the history of the world did a poor man without capital have such an opportunity to get rich quickly and honestly as he has now. I say that you ought to get rich and it is your duty to get rich. How many of my pious brethren say to me, "Do you, a Christian minister, spend your time going up and down the country advising young people to get rich, to get money?”"Yes, of course I do." They say ”Isn't that awful! Why don't you preach the gospel instead of preaching about man's making money?" ” Because to make money honestly is to preach the gospel."

16. Toward the end of the 19th century the name Horatio Alger became synonymous with the idea of “Rags-to-Riches”: anyone no matter how poor could rise to wealth and success in America. (1868)

17. Edward Said says of his Palestinian father living in Cairo: My father was ruled by the practice of self-making... he came to represent...rationalistic discipline and repressed emotions, and all this had impinged on me my whole life...In me remains his relentless insistence on doing something useful, getting things done, never giving up, more or less all the time. I have no concept of leisure or relaxation, and more particularly, no sense of cumulative achievement.

18. Rugged individualism: The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. --The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002

19. 1. Women as lesser men2. Difference3. Separate spheres Gender traditionalism

20. “pre-industrial society set definite standards of gender . . . There was no sense of evolution in gender relationships. They seemed fixed by God and by history. . . Most people Believed that men and women had unalterable God-given roles. Model 1: Puritanism The relation of women to men was frequently explained on the Model of the Great Chain of Being, with woman appearing as A sort of inferior man, with similar but lesser abilities and Qualities. Women were also seen as innately evil, on the model Of Eve: tempting men into sin by their sexuality. Model 2: Difference Toward the end of the 18th century, understandings of gender Shifted, sharply, to stress the difference between men and Women. . . . Because of woman’s God-given “innate sexual Essence,” she had a “uniquely feminine” nature

21. By the end of the 19th century this had become Model 3: separate spheres Men and women each had their own natural sphere where they were properly dominant. Men’s sphere was the public World of work and politics. Women’s sphere was the private Sphere of the home and family. Women (and men) who tried to rebel against these “natural” roles were condemned as “unnatural,”not “true women” and so on.

23. Traditional Wisdom • Live for the future (sacred or secular); delay gratification • Subordinate oneself to one’s community • Women are different than men and shouldstay in their proper place • Accept the authority of others as one’s own truth • Aim for worldly success:wealth • Work hard; do not waste time: “nose to the grindstone 6. Be practical, not a dreamer: Rationalistic discipline 7. Repress emotions: they are not useful 8. Repress one’s nature: it is corrupt 9. Take responsibility for oneself: “rugged individualism”

24. What we find then is that at any give period there is a Dominant traditional and conventional morality: a set of Pre-designed scripts that people are supposed to follow In living their lives. And there is a majority of people--defenders of the status quo, The Establishment, the orthodox, the conservative (in the Traditional sense), the conventional--who live by those scripts, Defend their validity and universality, and attempt to impose Them on everyone.

25. These orthodox scripts broadly include Adherence to traditional gender roles & family structure A belief in working hard at conventional jobs and getting ahead; a belief that life success is defined by success at work. A fairly restrictive sexual morality centering sex around marriage; a condemnation of homosexuality or unorthodox sexual activities of any kind A tendency to want to impose conventional morality on everyone and to condemn those who do not follow it: a belief that correct morality is defined by the community or by an orthodox religion and a condemnation of freedom of moral choice for individuals. Adherence to one of the conventional religious denominations. A rather cautious unadventurous outlook on life. A belief in obedience and respect for authority. A skepticism or negativism about human nature leading to a belief that people need to be fairly tightly controlled.

26. But we find that there is a countercurrent to this Orthodox view of life in America, to the American Dream As so defined. This counterculture, is broadly defined by Individualism in morality and a belief in individual freedom of conscience and morality; + tolerance-“live and let live” attitude toward others A belief in the goodness of human nature. A belief that people should be allowed to develop that nature into a unique character even if that results in violating conventional behavior. A belief in nonconformity. A rejection of conventional gender roles, sexual behavior, and religiosity A rejection of conventional work in favor of rewarding challenging avocations (art is typical). A belief in expressing rather than suppressing emotions A refusal to defer gratification into the future; “seize the day” An adventurous “anything goes” attitude toward life Disrespect for authority unless it is earned.

27. We can find the first traces of this counterculture within Puritanism itself: This was the “antinomianism” of Anne Hutchinson When the Puritan elders were busy consolidating their Authority, she denied they had any and argued That the only authority was the “unmediated power of the Holy Ghost in their souls” Thus she was the first important American figure to speak For the sacredness of the individual conscience as a guide To how one should live and to defy the right of the orthodox To tell her how to live.

28. Anne Hutchinson began meeting with other women for prayer and religious discussion. Her charisma and intelligence soon also drew men, including ministers and magistrates, to her gatherings, where she developed an emphasis on the individual's relationship with God, stressing personal revelation over institutionalized observances and absolute reliance on God's grace rather than on good works as the means to salvation. Hutchinson's views challenged religious orthodoxy, while her growing power as a female spiritual leader threatened established gender roles. Hutchinson claimed direct revelation from God and argued that "laws, commands, rules, and edicts are for those who have not the light which makes plain the pathway,"

29. While both sexes carried the stain of original sin, for a girl, original sin suggested more than the roster of Puritan character flaws. Eve’s corruption, in Puritan eyes, extended to all women, and justified marginalizing them within churches' hierarchical structures. An example is the different ways that men and women were made to express their conversion experiences. For full membership, the Puritan church insisted not only that its congregants lead godly lives and exhibit a clear understanding of the main tenets of their Christian faith, but they also must demonstrate that they had experienced true evidence of the workings of God’s grace in their souls. Only those who gave a convincing account of such a conversion could be admitted to full church membership. Women were not permitted to speak in church after 1636 (although they were allowed to engage in religious discussions outside of it, in various women-only meetings), thus could not narrate their conversions.

30. In addition to stepping outside the bounds of conventional women's behavior, her denunciation of the colony's ministers and her belief that "he who has God's grace in his heart cannot go astray" set her at odds with the religious establishment. They moved to prosecute the woman Massachusetts's new governor, John Winthrop, criticized for having "a very voluble tongue, more bold than a man." According to Harvard professor Rev. Peter J. Gomes, at her trial "she bested the best of the Colony's male preachers, theologians, and magistrates." Despite her vigorous defense of her beliefs, she was excommunicated and banished in 1638, and moved with her family and other followers to Rhode Island. She is considered one of the founders of that colony, the first to establish complete separation of church and state and freedom of religion in what would become the United States.

31. The trial of Anne Hutchinson 1638

32. Hutchinson denied the power of authorities over her or Her soul. She argued that only grace within could tell whether Someone was saved. She denied that good works could get salvation. When grace as the source of inner truth was replaced By Nature, one had something close to Romanticism “Hutchinson’s vision of grace was personal, immediate, Revolutionary. . . It was the 17th century equivalent Of Romantic individualism.

33. The Puritan authorities, intent on ensuring that all their Members lead godly lives, could not put up with such Individualism. They could not allow each member to decide for himself. So they expelled Anne Hutchinson She moved to Rhode Island where Roger Williams had Established a colony allowing for religious freedom And six years later was killed in New York state during an Indian attack.

34. The Puritan elders characterized her in a way that will Become familiar in our history: “Hutchinson seduced her followers. . . Inducing them to cast Off their self-control. She threatened to leash immorality, Even moral anarchy. She disrupted the godly order by Refusing to stay in her place--she would not be subordinate, Silent, or domestic Cast this in secular terms and it approximates what generations Of defenders of the status quo, of the “establishment”, have Said about generations of Romantic rebels.

35. Anne Hutchinson’s individualistic Revolt failed in Massachusetts among the Puritans. “But her kind would be back. We will see many long, hot battles Over the same moral territory. On the one side, the moral Rules reinforce civic order, social status, and political Power. On the other, a faith stirring within individuals impress them To attack the status quo.” -James Morone, Hellfire Nation

36. The Franklin Work Ethic also contributed in its own way To the Romantic Counterculture and its successors: Its extreme individualism, its message to look out for one’s Own self, its lack of community spirit fed into the individualism of Romanticism Individualism was thus already there for Romanticism to Build upon All it needed to do was to change the focus from external To internal From finding one’s identity and self-worth in material Success to finding it in spiritual success: success in realizing One’s being according to natural rather than social standards

37. Major figures in the 19th century Romantic movement Known as Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Margaret Fuller Walt Whitman

38. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1802-1882) • Trust thyself: • every heart vibrates • to that iron string. Born in Boston, son of a Unitarian minister. Graduated Harvard at age 18. First a schoolmaster, then a Unitarian minister. Left the ministry because of doubts about Communion. Moved to Concord Mass 1835. Founded Transcendental Club. “Nature” published 1836. Writer/Lecturer, famous orator, abolitionist

39. Henry David Thoreau1817-1862 Born Concord Mass. Would have Graduated from Harvard but refused to pay $5 for his diploma. Schoolteacher, Dismissed for not spanking his pupils. Mostly worked in family pencil factory. Naturalist, advocate of simple living, tax resister & author of Walden & “Civil Disobedience”, fervent abolitionist. Lived in Cambridge MA. Inspiration for Gandhi & Martin Luther King. Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.

40. It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What everybody echoes or in silence passes by as true to-day may turn out to be falsehood to-morrow --Thoreau, Walden

42. Margaret Fuller1810-1850 First true advocate for women’s rights. Learned Latin at 5. Editor of The Dial. Wrote Woman in the 19th Century. Literary critic for NY Herald Tribune--1st female journalist on major paper. Died when the boat carrying her back to America from Europe sank. Great aunt of Buckminster Fuller What Woman needs is not as a woman to act or rule, but as a nature to grow, as an intellect to discern, as a soul to live freely and unimpeded.

43. Emerson, Thoreau and Fuller were all friends and neighbors in the Boston area in the mid 1800’s. They with a few others formed a genuine and self-conscious intellectual and religious movement, known as Transcendentalism. Included in that circle were those who created the first American commune or intentional community: Brook Farm

44. Walt Whitman (1819-1892 Possibly greatest American poet. Wrote Leaves of Grass. Born in Brooklyn. NY newspaperman. Nursed wounded during Civil War: wrote Specimen Days. Outraged Victorian America with his open sexuality in his poems and even more so by the homoeroticism they expressed. Perhaps best known for “Oh Captain! My Captain!” expressing his grief at the death of Lincoln. After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.

45. Walt Whitman • Was born in Brooklyn and was neither a friend • of the others nor a member of their circle. He • is a Romantic but a Transcendentalist only in • an honorary sense due to the presence of • Romantic and Transcendentalist themes in his • Poetry. • Transcendentalism refers specifically to that • Small but influential group surrounding Emerson • And Thoreau. • Romanticism is the name for the general beliefs • And outlooks that were held by Transcendentalists • But also by many others throughout American • History. Transcendentalists were the first, but not • The last American Romantics.

46. Homer Simpson, after discovering that a grave his father told him was his dead mother's was actually that of Whitman, says, along with intermittent kicks to the gravestone, "Damn you Walt Whitman! I … hate … you … Walt … freakin' … Whitman! Leaves of Grass my ass!")

47. "it was as a revolutionary that Whitman began his work; and a revolutionary he remained to the end...It was this revolutionary spirit that made him the friend of all rebellious souls past and present...Conventional law and order he frankly despised and those individuals who sought their own law and followed it awoke his admiration. Thoreau's "lawlessness" delighted him-"his going his own absolute road let hell blaze all it chooses,: It is a coward and a poltroon who accepts his law from others....:

48. Among the characteristic attitudes of Romanticism were the following: a deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature; a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect; a turning in upon the self and a heightened examination of human personality and its moods and mental potentialities; a preoccupation with the genius, the hero, and the exceptional figure in general, and a focus on his passions and inner struggles; a new view of the artist as a supremely individual creator, whose creative spirit is more important than strict adherence to formal rules and traditional procedures; an emphasis upon imagination as a gateway to transcendent experience and spiritual truth;

49. I am certain of nothing but of the holiness of the Heart's affections, and the truth of Imagination.What the Imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth--whether it existed before or not,--for I have the same idea of all our passions as of Love: they are all, in their sublime, creative of essential Beauty . . .. . .The excellence of every art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreeables evaporate from their being in close relationship with Beauty and Truth . . . several things dove-tailed in my mind, and at once it struck me what quality went to form a Man of Achievement, , especially in Literature, and which Shakespear possessed so enormously--I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. --Keats

50. Self-Discovery of one’s true nature • Listen to the still small voice • Ignore conventional wisdom Romanticism • 2. Authenticity & Integrity: • Express one’s true nature: • be nonconformist • develop one’s inborn abilities • Have the courage to sustain • one’s authenticity in the face of • difficulties and temptations. • 3. Change the world by personal example.