The Transcendentalist Club By Maeve Larkin, Danielle Handler, Jacob Schwartz and Kira Liu

Background Information Transcendentalism: o It is the viewpoint that the basic truths of the universe “lie beyond the knowledge we obtain from our senses, reason, logic, or law of science.” However, people come to understand these truths through their intuition. Some Basic Beliefs: o Individualism o The natural world is a symbol of the spiritual world o Society is the reason for corruption o God is the soul of universe, and nature is a way to communicate with god. o People are naturally good

Founding Members Ralph Waldo Emerson o ( ) o Graduate of Harvard, and later attended Harvard Divinity School to become a minister o Became a preacher, writer, and philosopher in Boston o "Nature" Published anonymously, reflects philosophy from the newly influencial Transcendentalism movement

Founding Members George Putnam o ( ) o Unitarian minister in Roxbury

Founding Members Frederic Henry Hedge ( ) o A unitarian minister in Roxbury o Harvard's first professor of Philosophy ( )

Founding Members George Ripely ( ) o Boston Minister formally from Greenfield, MA o Founded and edited the Specimens of Foreign Standard Literature o Published major articles in The Christian Examiner

Other Members Elizabeth Palmer Peabody o stressed the connection between individuals and society through education o opened schools in the Boston area o one of the first female book publishers Amos Bronson Alcott Orestes Brownson Convers Francis Margaret Fuller Theodore Parker Students from the Harvard Divinity School People who were dissatisfied with the present state of philosophy, religion, and literature in America

Where did they meet -The first meeting, on Sept. 8, 1836 took place in Willard's Hotel in Cambridge, MA. -Emerson's book Nature came out the day after the first meeting. -The second meeting, 11 days later, was at Ripley's house in Boston. -Emerson was reluctant to have more meetings at first, but they went well. The meetings continued, at various members' homes.

Concerns using reason to go beyond pre-existing limits of the world seeking beauty in nature and spirit poetry which observes the world in a unique manner social and political reform protests, disagreements men cannot grasp every concept of nature ideas are infinite and move in a cycle dying is an automatic rebirth traditional education is inadequate against slavery and Native American trading Beliefs “Why should we grope among the dry bones of the past...?” (181, Emerson)

Transcendentalist Inspirations and Legacies Inspirations: Started as a protest against the general culture and society of the U.S.A Objections against society Legacies: Transcendentalists have been known throughout history as people who have attempted to correct "what they saw as misperceptions within societies that were caused by religion, politics and misunderstandings of science."

Bibliography Web Sites (Concerns, beliefs) ntalist.html (Concerns, beliefs) bin/article_display_page.plid=thomas.williams/american&ar=23 (Background) (inspirations and legacies) Pictures (forest) (Elizabeth Peabody) (George Putnam) (Emerson) (Hedge)