51�Թ�

What is transcendentalism?

Transcendentalism was a philosophical and literary movement that arose in the United States in the 1800s. Transcendentalism emphasizes a person’s individual spirituality and the importance of nature and encourages a frugal lifestyle.Some of the major authors that were part of the transcendentalist movement include Ralph Walo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller. The movement began in Concord, Massachusetts, during the 1830s. It became an official group after Emerson and three other Harvard University graduates formed the Transcendental Club in September 1836.The importance of individuality is a major belief of transcendentalism. The transcendentalists believed that human beings were born good, but society and institutions corrupted their souls. They argued that humans needed to return to nature and would become spiritually enlightened through an independent, frugal life lived in nature. This is argued in both Emerson’s Nature (1836) and Thoreau’s Walden (1854).The transcendentalists also held strong beliefs about many social causes. Emerson was unhappy with the treatment of Native Americans, Fuller was an outspoken feminist who anlayzed women’s role in society her 1845 book Woman in the Ninteenth Century, and Thoreau was vehemently opposed to slavery and strongly argued for peacefully protesting the government.Transcendentalism would slowly begin to fade in the 1850s after Fuller’s death in a shipwreck.