*TRANSCENDENTALISM NOTES*

Revolutionary writers: wanted FACTS!

Romantic writers: all about IDEAS and CREATIVITY and IMAGINATION
o Some of them wrote CREEPY THINGS (think POE)
o Starting to deal with supernatural
Whats real? Whats fake
TRANSCENDENTALISTS: All about INNER THOUGHTS. Inward thinkers.
Who are we on the inside?
o Common topics:
Nature versus Society
Following laws: yes or no?
The individual versus the crowd
The ordinary is BEAUTIFUL
o These authors BREAK THE RULES!

ANTICIPATION QUESTIONS:

1. A good person always thinks of others first

2. God is in heaven, and if we live a good life, we will go there
3. Life is better in the city
4. Life is better in the country
5. It is important that everyone in a group AGREES
6. It is okay to break the law if you have a REALLY good reason
7. I believe rational (using logic and reason) thinking is more
reliable than intuitive (go with your gut) thinking
8. People should not be afraid to change their minds
9. Camping trip or hotel room?

VOCABULARY:
1. Transcendentalism : individual is what matters; God is in
the individual
2. Individualism : To be self reliant; to depend on yourself
3. Aphorism : A short, meaningful statement about life
 4. Non-conformist / Nonconformist : Not going along with
the crowd
5. Absolve : To forgive; to set free from blame
6. Tenet : A belief; a principle
7. Nature : Instinct; natural tendencies or beliefs
8. Solitude : To be alone
9. Hobgoblin : A creature that causes fear
10. Philosophy : The study of existence; a way of
thinking
11. Mean : Lowly; poor in quality; inferior; low class
12. Countenance : A face; a facial expression
13. Theme : What the author believes about his/her
topic
14. Nonviolent Civil Disobedience : Peacefully protesting
or ignoring laws (ex: boycotting)

Henry David Thoreau

A student of Emerson
Member of Transcendentalist Club
 His ideas aligned with Emerson, with slightly different approaches
Emerson: The only good/evil is what I decide what is good/evil
o MY thoughts matter, NOT society
Thoreau: The only laws I should obey are the ones I think are right!
**points finger menacingly at crowd**
TEXTBOOK PIECES from Thoreau:
o Civil Disobedience
A collection of bits from his essays
Nonviolent civil disobedience
o Walden
(Civil Disobedience): Thoreau didnt pay his poll tax for multiple years
o Sheriff is all like, Whats goin on, bro?
o Thoreau replies, Dude, put me in the slammer, because I dont
believe in these crappy taxes
o Wrote some really great pieces in jail about mans place with the
law
o A soldier cannot be a real manbecause they follow orders
o Super controversial Ideas

Modern Nonviolent Civil Disobedience

Martin Luther King Jr. (Mid 1900s)

Womens March (2017)
Rosa Parks (I will NOT give up my seat for you!)
Protests during Presidential Election,
specifically Trump vs. Hillary
RTA strike
LGBT
Protesting Trumps Immigration ban