Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Short Biography

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a very important transcendentalist thinker, often described as the father of this branch of thinking. Emerson was highly influential at his own time, but his ideas continued to live on to the present day, a time at which many of his original ideas have become so integrated into American culture that they are almost inseparable. Emerson’s ideas spanned a vast variety of topics, inclusive of religion, American culture and individual mindsets. Being a prolific poet and essayist, an eloquent lecturer and an ardent debater, Emerson spread his ideas through his own works and by implanting them in others who could spread these fascinating and novel ideas to many people, first throughout the United States but soon even beyond these boundaries and on the global scale.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is today best known for his work in reforming the emotional, intellectual, cultural and religious sides of the United States – through one united philosophical set of ideals which were part of his idea of transcendentalism. Most of Emerson’s work was related in some way to his ideas which he grounded in transcendentalism, including his poems, essays, lectures and discussions with other scholars. However, transcendentalism’s involvement in so many different areas of American society meant that Emerson also put effort into different reform movements. Although he is definitely most renowned for his work for the transcendentalist ideology, he was also a strong abolitionist later in his life (before this he was opposed to slavery but wasn’t as vocal about his opinions towards it), showing his nature of being full of potential and willing to help out good causes instead of just sticking to his original path.

One of Emerson’s most essential goals was religious reform, both for himself and for others. Being from a long line of Unitarian clergymen, Emerson’s first role was as a Unitarian parson, but he quickly began to develop one central tenet of his transcendentalist identity in opposition to the Unitarian thought about God and spirituality – and in fact the thoughts from any organised religion. His experience inside organised religion turned him in the direction of a more personal spirituality and closer relationship with God. In what become one of the many parts of transcendentalist ideology, this goal of becoming free in one’s individual expression and pursuit of spirituality was a key goal which Emerson worked towards, both for himself and society. By freeing himself from organised religion and taking his own path, Emerson felt like he could lead a life in which he was more connected to God and nature, and could experience true inner spirituality in his own way. He expresses these ideas in his works including his poems and essays, thereby allowing these ideas of religious liberty to spread rapidly. While at first these works were only read by small groups, Emerson’s transcendentalist religious ideas spread slowly until they became part of the belief systems followed by many religious men and women in the US today.

What we can likely consider to be Emerson’s strongest goal in terms of reform through transcendentalist ideology was the concept of self-reliance and individuality. Emerson believed strongly that people should make their own opinions and be individuals instead of simply trying to fit within set societal norms and beliefs. The idea that “conformity is the chief Emersonian vice, the opposite or “aversion” of the virtue of “self-reliance”” (Goodman, Ralph Waldo Emerson) truly expresses Emerson’s passion for individuality – in which each person could be unique, with unique thoughts and an identity formed by their opinions and not their individual willingness to believe ideas simply to fit into society. This idea of being able to rely on oneself and being an individual was well demonstrated on a personal level by Emerson. Emerson had his own strong beliefs and was unique for the thoughts which he had, thereby very much rendering him as an individual figure. Even though much of the population at the time worked in large factories and greatly disturbed the environment, Emerson’s ability to not conform to what others were doing and instead to continue on his own path of ideas and stick to what he wanted to explore demonstrated his success in individuality and self-reliance. In order to convey his ideas of the importance of individuality and self-reliance to others, Emerson gave eloquent speeches and wrote essays, such as “Self-Reliance” (1841), and explored these complex themes in creative works like his poems. He also explored these ideas in the meetings of the Transcendentalist Club – a group of scholars and interested men and women who were key to the transcendentalist movement and discussed many of Emerson’s ideas. Either by passing on his ideas to people who implemented them directly or to people who could implement them and then spread Emerson’s ideas further, the ideas of individuality and self-reliance have become such an integral part of American society today that we mostly even forget or notice how they could have ever been absent. Emerson’s gradual introduction of these ideas into the lives of normal people as his ideas spread (especially after his lifetime) and their absorbance into the lives of most of the population today echoes the impact which Emerson and his ideas had on the United States as a whole.

A second key goal related to personality and individual traits which Emerson had was that of his belief in human potential and the potential for perfection for himself and members of society in general. As can be seen from any of his many biographies, Emerson made many accomplishments in his life which had major impacts on the world, thereby showing us how he himself strived to reach his potential. In turn, this led Emerson to believe that perfection was entirely possible. Unlike many thinkers before him who had criticised perfection as being impossible for humanity to achieve due to humanity’s believed inherent sinfulness, Emerson believed that humans had the potential for perfection. As with his other ideals, Emerson spread his ideas about humanity’s ability to achieve perfection both directly and indirectly, although his indirect spreading had the greatest impact. By giving lectures, speaking to other committed transcendentalists in the Transcendentalist Club, and writing poems and essays about these themes, Emerson was able to pass on his unique ideas to others who could implement them into their lives – who in turn continued spreading these ideas. Nowadays this Emersonian spirit has become so widespread that most Americans will agree that they are inherently good and that they wish to strive to be better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had a strong belief that America could become a nation which could also be defined by a strong artistic tradition and culture. His goal was to bring the new nation to a new level, in which it had a sophisticated culture with literature, art and other artistic mediums which were highly regarded in the US – allowing the citizens of the nation to be proud of their equality in terms of artistic tradition. His methods to achieve this goal were very direct – but they caused an indirect effect which was likely much greater than Emerson could have ever imagined. In his direct impact, Emerson’s poems and essays truly created a strong foundation for America’s future flourishing literary tradition. Even though they were not read by most people at his time, they have come to define American culture and are read today in most high school English courses. His poems and essays, however, served a second purpose – that of inspiration. Through his works, he was able to inspire many of America’s greatest writers such as Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and many more. In this way, Emerson not only added to American culture by creating his own works, but also by inspiring many other future authors who could continue towards Emerson’s goal of strengthening the new nation from a cultural perspective.

In all of the areas under transcendentalism in which Emerson pushed for change, he was able to succeed in some ways. He was able to perfectly implement his religious ideals, individualistic and self-reliant principles and thoughts about perfectibility and potential into his own life. He was also able to achieve great results for his societal goals, although the large scale results which impacted the American population were mainly after he had already died. However, by passing on his visions to others through poems, essays, lectures and discussions, and also by inspiring others to further America’s artistic tradition through his literary works, Emerson had a tremendous impact on society in the long-term, which is still seen today.

In conclusion, it is clear why Emerson is regarded as one of the key figures in United States history. His mindset of individuality, perfectibility, personal spirituality and a strong American culture have become central to the hearts of most people in the United States today. Emerson had bright visions for what the new nation would become – one with a culture regarded highly across the world, with people who could realise and strive for their potential, have a personal spirituality and be unique individuals instead of simply following along with overall societal trends. Although he was not able to reach these goals for the whole country during his lifetime, his teachings to others through his poems, essays, lectures and discussions led to them spreading through the nation after his lifetime and becoming central tenets of American life – and his ideas still remain visible in American identity today.

Works Cited

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Shi, David Emory. America: A Narrative History 11E. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2019.

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