Transcendentalist Utopia in Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry...

Of the scores of utopian concepts within the 1800’s, most remarkable of the influx was the birth of Transcendentalism. The roots of their religious philosophy extend much farther back into American history, but in essence, rests in the context of Unitarianism. It’s origins also reach overseas to Romanticism, from which they drew inspiration from. Transcendentalism was an important movement that shaped the course of American literature, it’s assertions commonly taking shape in novels, poems, short stories, and essays, the most famous of authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists sought for their sentiments to be present in the United States, to redefine man in response to the changing context of America. Since it’s emergence in the 1820’s, Transcendentalism had lasting religious, social, and political implications on the order of society. Unitarianism had developed as a branch of the liberal wing of Christianity , which had separated from the Orthodox Christianity during the First Great Awakening. Unitarians value the â€Å"hallmarks of Christian Enlightenment†, and it’s philosophy â€Å"stressed the importance of voluntary ethical conduct†(Emergence of Transcendentalism). Yet, the Transcendentalists felt something was absent in Unitarianism; the â€Å"sobriety, mildness, and calm rationalism,† failed to satisfy the Transcendentalists whom â€Å"yearned for a more intense spiritual experience† (Emergence of Transcendentalism). For Transcendentalists,Show MoreRelatedThe Morality of Sin and Nature902 Words   |  4 Pagesmilestones, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, respectively, saw the worlds about them through entirely different lenses and thus deconstructed the fabrics of their reality to better suit these view-points. Though the movement would fall chiefly out of fashion, like with other movements before it, such as the true forms of the Rom antic and Gothic movements in England, the classics remain, giving us a pattern of what, in exactly, the ideals were of both the Transcendentalist movement asRead MoreTranscendentalism, By John Waldo Emerson And Henry David Thoreau1594 Words   |  7 PagesTranscendentalists believe that using their principles, humanity can inch closer and closer to utopia, the perfect society. Transcendentalism, the flawed doctrine, instead leads its adherents on the road to nowhere, and many of the principles fail spectacularly when applied in real life. Transcendentalism is too idealistic to be realistic. Simply put, transcendentalism is wrong. Their ideals are not just incorrect, they are potentially dangerous. First, transcendentalists such as Ralph WaldoRead MoreNotes On : Reviving Religion976 Words   |  4 Pagesexpected to sit at home and take care of the house i) Lots of women joined to abolish slavery b) The Declaration of Sentiments stated that all men and women were created equal, and this helped women s rights movement 9) Wilderness Utopia a) Robert Owen founded a communal society named Little Harmony, however it failed b) Brook Farm was an experiment in Massachusetts where people chose to live by transcendentalism philosophies c) Another social experiment was the Oneida