In the first half of the 1800s, American artistic expression was dominated by the Transcendentalism movement. Originally inspired by German Enlightenment philosophers like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Immanuel Kant, Transcendentalism took ideas from mysticism and Romanticism. Other forerunners of the intellectual movement in America took inspiration from the spiritual landscape painting of German romantics. Transcendentalism was a mode of thought that focused on, in the words of Kant, “not with objects but with out mode of knowing objects”. In America, this started in Massachusetts and took on the form of a belief in the inherent goodness of men and nature. Transcendentalists believed that society and its political individuals corrupted this purity. As such, they preached independence and a withdrawal from society until individuals were enlightened enough of this. For example, Henry David Thoreau, a writer of the time, submersed himself in nature for two years and isolated himself from others. This experience would go on to be recorded in his book Walden and become documented as a spiritual quest.
Transcendentalism was a response to the tensions in American society of that time. Many artists and writers critiqued American society for being too reliant on God and becoming to conforming in their thinking. They practiced religious skepticism and believed more in a Deistic figurehead. Transcendentalists, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, also wished for each individual to find “an original relation to the universe”. Just like Thoreau, Emerson also sought isolation in nature. They believed that in doing so, they would be able to develop an individual connection with nature, uncorrupted by the institutions of society. Originally a way to critique uniformity in Americans’ thinking, gradually, transcendentalists grew to critique American society as a whole, especially of their relation to slavery. Many transcendentalists were against slavery because of its immorality and how it dehumanized slaves and treated them as inhuman. In fact, Thoreau, an outspoken abolitionist, would refuse to pay his poll tax during the Mexican War because he did not want his money to go into acquiring territory that could potentially be used to expand slavery. Clearly, many American transcendentalists were concerned with the morality of their society and how freedom worked.
One way that Transcendentalism manifested itself in American culture was through poetry. Transcendentalist poets believed that the source of their writing should come from their intuition and own spirit, and not from empirical facts. As such, transcendentalist poetry was more expressive and understanding than other previous types. Their writing reflected their belief that all individuals are connected to the universe, and drew connections between moods and weather or landscapes. Because of a non-conformity focus, all transcendentalist poetry is unique and individualistic. Additionally, the beauty of nature provided the subject material of many of these poets. This would inspire them to go on to fight to establish national parks and protected areas.
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Really cool post! Another common topic of transcendentalism is the distinction between morality and law. A lot of the situations taking places turned these philosophers to transcendentalism yes, but many like Thoreau were adamant to discuss morality vs. law. In his novel; "Resistance to Civil Government" Thoreau explains that if a law prevents one form exercising what is morally correct, the law should not be followed and corrected if possible. These topics are an especially interesting facet of transcendentalism.
ReplyDeleteThis civil resistance inspired Martin Luther King, Jr's own brand of civil disobedience nearly 100 years later in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In MLK's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," he echoes Thoreau, saying, "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
DeleteYou mentioned poetry of the Transcendentalists, so I decided to look some up. Here's one by Ralph Waldo Emerson, entitled "The Rhodora".
ReplyDeleteIn May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The purple petals fallen in the pool
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,
And court the flower that cheapens his array.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing,
Then beauty is its own excuse for Being;
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never thought to ask; I never knew;
But in my simple ignorance suppose
The self-same power that brought me there, brought you.
Notice how nature is the subject of this poem, and the way the words describe this wonderful flower. This epitomizes the Transcendentalist attitude toward nature and individual thought.
https://emersoncentral.com/texts/poems/the-rhodora/
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