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          ARRoGANT                CoURiERS      WiTH     ESSaYS

Grade Level:       Type of Work           Subject/Topic is on:
 [ ]6-8                 [ ]Class Notes    [Report on the           ]
 [ ]9-10                [ ]Cliff Notes    [Transcendental Movement ]
 [x]11-12               [x]Essay/Report   [of 1830.                ]
 [ ]College             [ ]Misc           [                        ]

 Dizzed: 07/94  # of Words:892   School:Private/Girls   State:NY
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                 THE TRANSCENDENTAL MOVEMENT

     In 1830, a movement known as Transcendentalism began to gain
popularity in America.  Representing an idealistic system of thought,
"strength, courage, self-confidence, and independence of mind"1  were some
basic values admired by the followers of the Transcendental movement.
Transcendentalists opposed many aspects of their government,  where they
felt "many unjust laws existed."2 Therefore,  they became the leaders of
many modern reform movements.  Transcendentalists also had a major affect
on their society.  Transcendentalism became a "powerful force for
democracy."3

     Originating in the area in and around Concord, Massachusettes,
Transcendentalism was recognized as having an "underlying relationship to
the Romantic movement as a whole."4  Three of the most obvious or well
known sources or origin of Transcendentalism are neo-platonism,  German
idealistic philosophy, and certain Eastern mystical writings which were
introduced into the Boston area in the early nineteenth century."5

     Transcendental beliefs focused on "the importance of spirit over
matter."6  Ralph Waldo Emerson, a well known Transcendentalist, felt that
"all men aspire to the highest, and most of them spend their lives seeking
money and power only because they see nothing higher."7  Followers also
believed in a spiritual hunger, or the need to find themselves one with the
world. In addition, they believed in "an ascending hierarchy of spiritual
values rising to absolute good, truth, and beauty."8  Transcendentalists
also believed in a supreme being, the Oversoul, and felt that "if the
Oversoul is all powerful and at the same time good, then evil does not
exist."9

     Transcendentalism "appealed to the best side of human nature,
confident in the divine spark in all men, and it was a clarion call to
throw off the shackles of custom and tradition, and go forward to the
development of a new and distinct American culture."10  It was believed
that human nature was basically good since "God was in every person."11
Therefore, "man, because he isthe creature of God, necessarily partakes of
the divine nature of his creator."12 Man's creator, the Oversoul, was
conceived by Emerson as an "all pervading spiritual power from which all
things emanate, and from which man derives the divine spark of his inner
being."13  This Oversoul is "by definition good."14 The Oversoul "dwelt
within human beings as well as in nature."15

     The Transcendentalists also supported many various reform movements
such as the following:  suffrage for women, better conditions for workers,
temperance for all, modifications of dress and diet, the rise of free
religion, educational innovation, and other various humanitarian causes.
The Transcendentalists became leaders or spokesmen of reform movements in
church, state, and society.

     Transcendentalists are also known for contributing to the rise of free
religion, aiding the abolitionist movement, supporting feminism, and
promoting communitarian experiments. In the abolitionist movement, many
reformers felt that "when a sixth of the population of a nation which has
undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is
unjustly overrun and conquered by  a foreign army and subject to military
law, then it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize."16

     Transcendentalism's affect on society was tremendous. Because they led
many reform movements and rejected the conventional ideas of the eighteenth
century thought, a rift began to form between the old and new ideas in
society. Transcendentalism represented a battle between the older and the
younger generations. It also represented an emergence of a new national
culture based on native materials. This began to influence a break in
American culture. Transcendentalism encouraged "a complete break with
tradition and custom, encouraged individualism and self-reliance and
rejected a too-intellectual approach to life."17  It becamea call for
"young men to slough off their deadening enslavement to the past, to follow
the God within, and to live every moment of life with a strenuousness that
rivalled that of the Puritan fathers."18

     The main weakness of this seemingly perfect idea of Transcendentalism
ist that it had "borrowed from many sources and reconciled few of them."19
It was never united by a set program. Transcendentalism was comprised of
the various interests and labors of many different personal concepts.
Therefore, there were many conflicting values which made it an unsteady
system to follow.

     At the time of the Transcendentalism movement, "it preached,
practiced, an idealism that was greatly needed in a rapidly expanding
economy."20  However, soon people began to find other, more comprehensible
means of dealing within society. Therefore, they began to turn away from
Transcendentalism. However, even though Transcendentalism is non-existent
as a whole today, many of its ideas, values, and morals are still present
in many of the religions and beliefs of today's society. In conclusion,
Transcendentalism will always be present in the world, it just will not
have as obvious a presence.
