Posted: July 14th, 2022

Define Transcendentalism and Discuss how the Transcendentalists

Define Transcendentalism and Discuss how the Transcendentalists affected American political culture
Transcendentalism was an idealistic, religious, political, and philosophical movement that emerged in the 1830s in response to intellectualism. The movement has its origins in New England and is related to Unitarianism, a religious movement in the 19th century that emphasized rationality. Transcendentalism embraced idealism and emphasized nature over materialism. Initially, the movement began as a religious revolt but would later expand to include writers, lecturers, and philosophers who embraced transcendentalism’s ideas. Some of the most famous and influential transcendentalists included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and Lydia Maria Child. These transcendentalists supported the idea of personal knowledge of God, individual conscience, intuition over reason, and unity of all things in nature.
These ideas had a major influence on American political culture. As a group, transcendentalists were the main reason behind the first celebration of the American experiment of individualism and self-reliance. The transcendentalists criticized many aspects of the government, laws, political institutions, prompting significant changes in the years that ensued. An Essay by Emerson emphasized that institutions and laws are not superior to humans, even though they might have existed before we were born. Through the Two Cities (a political thought movement), the transcendentalists made a significant impact in separating political democracy and individual success. Civil disobedience written by Henry Thoreau imparted in people that by rebelling, they had the power to render a government powerless and even rule themselves.
Robinson DM. Transcendentalism. InOxford Research Encyclopedia of American History 2016 Aug 5.
How did the Missouri Compromise and the Nullification crisis demonstrate increasing sectional competition and disagreement over Slavery?
Regarding the Missouri compromise, Missouri had previously applied for admission to the United States in 1819. However, Congress did not make any provisions concerning the issues of allowing Slavery in the region. When James Tallmadge proposed to prevent the entry of slaves into the region, the Northerners agreed to the proposal while the Southerners disagreed. This disagreement led to the Missouri compromise, where Congress passed the legislation authorizing Missouri to pass as a slave state and accepted Maine as a slave-free state.
In the nullification crisis, the United States had an issue regarding the division of power between the federal and state governments. On December 10 of 1832, president Jackson proclaimed nullification of the tax tariff he had made earlier in 1828. The tariff was a tax on manufactured goods that benefited North Carolina at the expense of South Carolina, which led to South Carolina threatening to nullify it. While President Jackson opposed the tariff, John Calhoun was in support of it. South Carolina later declared the federal tax null and void, resulting in the nullification crisis. The Missouri compromise and the nullification crisis were clear indications that America was indeed having disagreements over Slavery.
Rayman J. Georgia, Slavery, and the Missouri Compromise.

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