Sunset
A sunset along the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Clicking on this photo will allow you to download a Quicktime movie of a sunset over the Allagash by WGME-TV photographer Scott Episcopo. This 968 K file will take about three minutes to download. To view this video, your browser will need the QuickTime System extension version 2.1 or later. QuickTime is available at http://www.quicktime.apple.com
It is Thoreau's legacy as a philosopher - or more specifically a Transcendentalist - that has probably left the biggest impact. Those who subscribed to transcendentalism, a philosophy that flourished in New England from around 1835 to 1860, believe in "transcending," or rising above the lower animalistic impulses of life (animal drives) and moving from the rational to a spiritual realm. They believe in the divinity and unity of man and nature, and of the supremacy of intution over sense-perception and reason as a source of knowledge. Transcendentalism drew from German metaphysical philosophers like Immanuel Kant, and Eastern Vedic thought. Though it was quite popular, Thoreau was one of only a few who actually put the ideas into practice, living in the woods with few amenities, taking a passionate interest in the living things around him, and ardently following his own interests rather than those around him.

Related stories from this series

  • Thoreau: Inspired writer, profound thinker
    His essay 'Civil Disobedience' influenced Gandhi and Kennedy, but his nature writings remain his most important works.
  • Thoreau's campaign to preserve forests live on
  • 'I wished ... to see a moose' While not a sportsman, Thoreau wanted to observe a hunt for the 'great frightened rabbits.'
  • Mountain of the people Following Thoreau's footsteps to the top of Mount Katahdin gives glimpses of the ferocious, unforgiving place he saw.
  • Thoreau Society keeps his ideas alive Thoreau fan club holds dear the naturalist's desire for conservation.

    More about Thoreau and philosophy on the Internet

  • CyberSaunter's Thoreau World Wide includes a nice, brief life history, and more about Walden, his family, love interests and lots of images.
  • The Formal Education of Henry David Thoreau from the University of Maryland details his early education and his years at Concord Academy and Harvard. The site also has information about Thoreau's family.
  • Thoreau: The Great Transcendentalist gives a very nice description of how Thoreau was influenced by transcendentalism, and vice versa.
  • The East Meets West site provides a broader look at the movement, and how other writers and scholars fit into it.
  • An introduction to American transcendentalism from California State University
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau's good friend and fellow Transcendentalist.

    Taking it into the classroom

  • Why did Transcendentalism become popular at the time it did?
  • What would a Transcendentalist think about living life in Maine today? About issues such as widening the Maine Turnpike, and the clearcutting controversy?
  • Look for Transcendentalist influences in other writers of the time, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville and Walt Whitman, and in politics, such as in the abolitionist movement.
  • What is Brook Farm and how did it fit into the movement?
  • Compare Transcendentalism to other philosophies such as Marxism, Pragmatism and Existentialism.

    • Original content in this site by Lori Haugen, graphics by Kathy Jungjohann, Guy Gannett New Media.
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    Background: Excerpt from Thoreau's Journal, June 25th, 1853, © The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, MA 1302.29.

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