The American Colonial Period

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

The Colonial Period in American Literature was a time period that was marked by two very distinct

Transcendentalism was a literary movement in the 19th century that deliberately pushed forth the exploration to define spirituality and nature in a new context. So much as it is to explore, the movement had an undertone of rebellion against current societal circumstances in which writers during this time sought to change not only their environment, but also the reinvention of oneself. Also simultaneously, the Industrial Revolution took place during this time and glorified the economic growth, which sparked an era of new human thinking.

Whether by land or by sea, eighteenth century colonial travel was arduous, expensive, and many times dangerous. Because of this, few people traveled very far from their homes. Transportation has changed dramatically since the late 1700’s. It was during this time that Colonial America was budding as a new country. This was before airplanes, which appeared in the very early stages of the 1900’s. Cars showed up about the same time, so rewind about 200 plus years and we’re back in colonial America. It wasn’t civilized like it is today. The dirt roads were bumpy, grimy, and when the rains came, they were mud baths. So how did people during this time get around? Often, they didn’t. Not many people could afford the cost of travel back then. Daily American Colonial Life was extremely harsh for the first settlers and colonists. They were faced with a new country, unknown territory and no friends, relatives or neighbors to help them “In those days, it was fairly expensive to travel. Because of this, generally only government officials, merchants, and planters took the risk (Constitution Facts).” Women were supposed to stay home and look after the children while the husband went off to do business. America was still a budding country, so there were not as many cities as there are now and they were more spread out. If the man wanted to travel, it would require several hours, or even several days to ride on horseback. Often the husband wouldn’t return for a couple of days, and when he

In the 18th century, life in the English colonies had begun to calm down a little bit. European territories still continued to expand, but many colonists settled down for a more domestic life. The original towns bloomed into cities, especially around the ports. The colonial civilizations developed into a safer and more comfortable environment. Men got jobs and earned a living, children went to school, and wives cooked and cleaned the house. Much of colonial life was similar to the English lifestyle they left behind. However, there were multiple aspects to the colonial life that set it apart from its English counterpart. The life of the average settler experienced politics, education, and even daily life that could only be found in America.

Even though there is about one hundred and eighty years apart from the year transcendentalism started to the year two thousand seventeen, we can still see many similarities, and some notable differences between these two era. Transcendentalism movement is a philosophical movement that happen in between 1820s to 1830s in the United States. The movement started with Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous philosopher and writer. The main tenets of the philosophy are individualism, connect with nature, and religion. We can see a lot of their ideas still apply in today’s modern society, even after all these years.

The American Colonies for the past 20 years have become accustomed to living a thousand miles from their sovereign, the King of England and Parliament. This separation from “monarchial” control and power has created a tough and independent society, which although they believe themselves to be subjects of the crown, has molded an experience and lifestyle unlike any found within the “Crown’s” realm. Subsequently, these differences in lifestyles bond both Mother Country and colony on a path that veers from the typical empirical rule that has ruled the known world for the last century.

American Transcendentalism was an important philosophical and literary movement which placed an emphasis on staying true to one’s beliefs and expressing oneself no matter the situation or consequence. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau fully embraced these beliefs as their influence has allowed these

During the time period of late colonial and revolutionary America, change emerged with great occurrence. Society and the individuals that shaped its very being were influenced greatly by not just the land around them, but the people who came forth and represented it. From 1787 to 1861, America experienced an increased fluctuate of these particular individuals. For example Alexander Hamilton, Frederick Douglas, and Andrew Jackson. Each of those named reigned in their own quarters leaving an influential mark in cultural and political domains. One being one of America’s founding fathers, another being a highly revered social reformer, and lastly one who served as the seventh president of the United States. To be a white man owning a considerable amount of property meant that their “voice” was valid, considerably they had a decision on the direction America would go. However, not everyone fit into the standards that defined the white man who held a voice. To be alive during the time of a highly judgmental society having a voice was faced with high criticism. It was background information and social status swayed over the people. Diversity between these two factors shaped the voices of American society, molding experience into the men and women who left their influence on American history.

What is Colonial America? The phrase suggests the existence of a single geopolitical entity in the New World. Colonial America, by Edward Gray, has a mixture of textual and visual documents, including diaries, letters, sermons, newspaper columns, and poems. These were all taken from what people wrote during that time. It tells you all about the documents that were written and about them. It gives you key points on how to read documents and pick out the important parts. In the beginning, it talks about the Colonial era in the U.S. This was the longest era in history and lead to the Great Depression. This was also big in history because it was such a large movement of people, ethnic groups, and lots of other different people and groups were involved. When reading about Colonial America it talked about the organisms of the United States, the people inhabited North America and what they did, what their religion was, and how the managed their family, their businesses, their government, and their churches.

Transcendentalism was a reform movement that was pioneered by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1830’s and 1840’s. Most of the emphasis with it was placed on individualism and rejection of traditional religion, which they believed there was no need for. The basic belief was that everyone can communicate with God and nature in their own way and that each soul is a single part of a Great Spirit.

The Transcendentalism period arose in America in the year of 1836 by the founding father Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1836, he published an essay by the name of “Nature,” which reiterated the attention of many writers and philosophers who believed in the same concepts. Many of the church followers during this time were upset with the way the church was functioning, so they turned to nature and Emerson’s ideas. Consequently, he created a club where people of his fashion and intellectual could meet and share beliefs. Emerson named the club the “Transcendental Club;” many people joined it, including his friend Henry David Thoreau. Neither Emerson or Thoreau favored the way society thought or the way the government worked; this is why hey turned to nature for deeper understanding. Both Emerson and Thoreau believed in freedom, self-reliance, individuality, internal spirit, and were transcendentalists.

Transcendentalism was an early philosophical, intellectual, and literary movement that thrived in New England in the nineteenth century. Transcendentalism was a collection of new ideas about literature, religion, and philosophy. It began as a squabble in the Unitarian church when intellectuals began questioning and reacting against many of the church’s orthodoxy ways regarding all of the aforementioned subjects: religion, culture, literature, social reform, and philosophy. They in turn developed their own faith focusing on the divinity of humanity and the innate world. Many of the Transcendentalists ideas were expressed heavily by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essays such as “Nature”, “Self Reliance”, and also in his poems such as “The

In the early mid-nineteenth century, a philosophical movement known as transcendentalism took root and flourished in America. It evolved into a predominantly literary expression which placed an emphasis on the corruptions of organized religion, political parties, and societal involvement; above all, the movement promoted the wonders of “nature” and its deep connection to the divine. The adherents through transcendentalism believed that knowledge could be arrived through intuition and contemplation of the internal spirit rather than by the means of the senses. As the two most prominent figures in the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whole-heartedly embrace the principles of nature

Transcendentalism was an American literature movement urging people to look past everyday material life, and reach into their souls to find inner peace with themselves. Transcendentalism originally came from Kantian idealism. This idealism was credited by Immanuel Kant.