McLarty and Campbell 1

Franny McLarty
Angela Campbell
Whipple, APUSH Pd. 6
Cooper, AP Language Pd. 4 and 5
11/19/15

Transcendentalism as Seen Through the Rise of Democracy

The Romantic Era was a shift from rationally based to emotionally based thought, and

was divided about the potential good or evil involved with individualism. Transcendentalism

stemmed from the belief that good would elicit from individualism. It began in the mid 19th

century between the 1820s to 1830s in the eastern area of the United States, rooted in rural areas

surrounded by undisturbed nature. A transcendentalist is a person who believes that people can

be trusted to govern themselves on what is morally right and these morals influenced an

individual's understanding of life relationships, without being considered religious values (U.S.

History). The three common motifs found amongst transcendentalist literature are the inherent

goodness of man, the interconnectedness of the world, and the beauty and peace of nature. The

inherent goodness of man essentially means that people are born naturally innocent and good,

and that any bad things that they do are a result of the impact of a corrupted society on their

natural pureness. Some transcendentalist writers were William Ellery Channing, who was a

Unitarian preacher that had a leading influence during the transcendentalist movement because

of his book, Slavery which was written as a criticism on the institution of slavery in Virginia, and

Christopher Pearse Cranch, who was an author and poet that began as a Unitarian minister and

later became associated with the transcendentalist movement due to his admiration for Ralph

Waldo Emerson. Cranchs poetry was often featured in transcendentalist magazines such as The

Dial and his poem Human Helpers most thoroughly explored the goodness of man. Both

works of literature had significance during the transcendentalist movement, showcased the
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greatness of the human heart, and placed importance on human emotion and the individuals

choice to make independent and beneficial decisions. The goodness of man is reflected in the

Antebellum era because of the rise of democracy; there was an increase in franchise, a more

participatory government, and the elimination of property and tax requirements to vote. This

showed that people believed that each individual had the power to effectively contribute to

government. For the creative piece, we created a movie poster that connects the basic themes of

transcendentalism with the influences of the rise of democracy to explore the motif of the

inherent goodness of man in America during the mid 19th century. The motif of the inherent

goodness of man is directly expressed in both Human Helpers and Slavery.

In his poem Human Helpers, Christopher Cranch thoroughly includes the motif of the

inherent goodness of man associated with transcendentalist thought. He expresses that good is an

overall more powerful force than evil by saying in that in life there is the triumph of hope over

terrors (16). He also writes that the great human heart is ever pleading/ Its kindred divine,

though misleading(17-18). Through this, he emphasizes that human feeling is powerful, the

heart longs to be good, and even though people may make mistakes and do things that are

morally wrong, it doesnt mean that they are wholeheartedly bad. In other words, having flaws

does not make them evil. Cranchs poem is a salute to all the people, past and present, who have

used their lives to help others and to help society as a whole such as writers and revolutionaries.

His poem emphasizes that people who dedicate their lives to others help society rise above

unfortunate events leaving those bad things shattered and humbled (24). Cranchs poem

directly and obviously represents the inherent goodness of man because he emphasizes the idea

that people crave to help others and make society better, and even though people make mistakes,
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those mistakes do not define them. The mistakes represent flukes in a naturally good human

nature rather than the acts of goodness being a fluke of an evil natural state.

In the introduction of the book Slavery, William Ellery Channing uses many references to

the motif of the inherent goodness of man to allude that the leaders of society act with the great

interests of humanity in mind (2). Channing justifies many actions taken against slaves by white

slave owners as nothing but a characteristic. Although, he compares slavery to many evils in

society he expresses his philosophy that the use of slaves is just one of many bad flaws of the

human race. Likewise, Channings book explains that he who wants to sanctify himself

discovers the truth and ultimate goodness of humanity, which can only occur after cleansing

[mans] heart of all wrath and uncharitableness they will live free of evil and will be able to

prosper in society (2). He explains that good men represent humanity, however, bad people, those

who do not cleanse their evils, should not define the human race as a whole. Channing suggests

that inner reflection of society's evils by man, is the only way that truly good people with

universal love will lead the country and change that historical trend of slavery (2). People who

empathize and respect different parties, opinions, and races with the belief in the goodness of

man, are able to improve society and live out a transcendentalist life.

Transcendentalist themes were also ever present in the government and politics as well as

literature. The rise of democracy with the antebellum era represents the inherent goodness of

man because it showed that society progressively moveed forward toward increased fairness and

equality. Starting with Andrew Jacksons rise to power from humble backgrounds, many people

started to realize that wealth and property played no important role in the ability to effectively

participate in politics. This was a major drift away from aristocracy in America, and a general

shift to a more equal and democratic nation. Jackson, who advocated for all white men to
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participate in government, eliminated property and tax requirements to vote. By eliminating

these requirements, people inside government and outside of government illustrated their natural

goodness through allowing a wider variety of people to vote. They rejected the previous idea that

one needed to be a wealthy landowner in order to contribute anything useful to politics,

recognized that they were wrong to think that, replaced it with the more progressive idea that

wealth did not affect ones ability to effectively participate in making political decisions, and in

turn improved the lives of many people in the United States. This increase in franchise represents

the progressive nature of humanity, showing that people want to make society better.

For our creative piece we did a movie poster for the rise of democracy in relation to the

goodness of man in the United States. A poster for the story of a grand improvement in American

equality, and also a story filled with continued oppression and irony. In our poster we included

pictures of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the father of transcendentalism, and other influential

transcendentalist writers such as Henry David Thoreau, William Ellery Channing, and

Christopher Cranch to emphasize that the goodness of man was an American transcendentalist

theme. We also included an image of Andrew Jackson because his presidency is often associated

with equal voting rights for all white men and expanding the idea of a more participatory

democracy. We placed all these white men, the authors and Jackson, above the title and on the

same level to show that they were equal in regards to voting laws. These men are holding up a

glowing heart to represent that during the Romantic period, people were influenced by their

emotions and feelings. The heart is rising and glowing to show that during the Antebellum era,

people used the goodness in their hearts to allow all white men equality by eliminating property

and tax requirements to vote. The rising heart represents the increase in franchise. Below the

title, a slave, a Native American chief, and a woman stand grounded. We included these people to
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showcase the irony of the celebration in increased franchise because the franchise was still

severely limited, excluding everyone but white men. However, we also included the slave

holding a ballot box over his head to foreshadow that the increase in franchise for white men

eventually leads to suffrage movements and the right to vote for all three minorities. Lastly,

flowers, trees, and an isolated cabin are featured in the poster because they are symbols of

transcendentalism.

The goodness of man is thoroughly reflected in the two pieces of literature that we

analyzed because they both represent that human mistakes does not make one evil. In the

Antebellum era the goodness of man is also reflected in society because an increase in franchise

led to a domino effect of advocacy for individual rights. Transcendentalism was a philosophy

that focused on the brighter perspective of the human race, and explored a spiritual state that was

grounded in individual experience.

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Works Cited

Ellery Channing, William. Slavery: Introduction. Boston: James Munroe and Company,
1835. Print.

Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy. U.S. History. Independence Hall Association,

2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.

Cooke, George Willis. "Human Helpers." The Poets of Transcendentalism: An Anthology.

Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1903. Print.

"William Ellery Channing." William Ellery Channing. American Transcendentalism Web, Web.
18 Nov. 2015.
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