Imagine living in a small cabin by a serene pond, surrounded by nature and the tranquility it
brings. Fresh air, bird songs, no one interrupting your quiet contemplation — just you, your cabin,
and nature. Sounds like a perfect setting for a Transcendentalist who shuns materialism, seeks
individualism, and wants to achieve spirituality through nature, right? Just go live alone in
the woods. Well, that's exactly what Henry David Thoreau did for 26 months between 1845 and 1847.
Aside from being a well-known Transcendentalist, Thoreau was a nature lover, a philosopher,
a writer, and a social critic who challenged the status quo of his time.
In today's video, we're going to learn about the life and times of Henry David Thoreau and get an
overview of his two best-known works: Walden and Civil Disobedience. And before you go,
we'll take a look at your agenda for the week and make sure you're ready to dive into this lesson.
OK, time travelers, let's return to the 19th century, where we can spend a little time at
Walden Pond, exploring the ideas and actions of Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau.
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1817. His father was in
the pencil-making business, but young Thoreau had other interests. He enjoyed writing and
spending time in nature. He excelled as a student, and he went on to study at Harvard.
It was at Harvard that Thoreau was introduced to Ralph Waldo Emerson, 14 years his senior,
and became enthralled by the movement of Transcendentalism. At Emerson's suggestion,
Thoreau began keeping a daily journal, a habit he maintained until shortly before his death.
After graduating from Harvard, Thoreau tried his hand at teaching, but he was fired from his job
because he refused to implement corporal punishment. It was against his principles
to inflict physical pain on others. So, in 1838, Thoreau and his brother John started
their own school based on their own principles. There was a lot of discussion-based learning,
frequent field trips, and absolutely no corporal punishment. Things were going well for a while;
the school was thriving. Thoreau published some poems in The Dial, a journal started by Emerson
and Margaret Fuller, and in 1840, the 23-year-old Henry David Thoreau fell in love with and proposed
to Ellen Sewell. However, Ellen's father was opposed to the match, so the couple didn't marry.
Then, in 1841, John cut himself while sharpening a razor and became seriously ill.
Without his brother's help, Thoreau had to close the school. He was invited to live at the home
of Emerson, his mentor. Thoreau served as a handyman and often cared for Emerson's kids.
And remember how Thoreau's brother got sick from cutting himself with a razor? Well, in 1842, John
died of tetanus. This tragic turn of events may have served as a catalyst for Thoreau's 1845 move
to Walden Pond, which happened to be on land owned by Emerson. He borrowed an ax, cut down trees,
built a small cabin, and planted a garden from which he would eat for the next couple of years.
In Thoreau's own words, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,
and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." You recall that Transcendentalists
promote solitary contemplation in nature and find a Divine Spirit among all living things. However,
you won't find many Transcendentalists who moved out to the woods all alone, but this
is the kind of guy Thoreau was: He was all in — not just a man of ideas but a man of action.
And he was also a man of action when it came to things he did not agree with. Thoreau was
passionately opposed to the institution of slavery, and when Texas became a slave state
and opened the door for the westward expansion of slavery and America entered into war with Mexico,
he was incensed. As an American citizen, Thoreau felt like he could not support his government
when it had policies that allowed for things he considered atrocities, so he took a stand not
just with words but with actions. As an act of protest, Thoreau refused to pay his poll taxes.
A poll tax was a fixed amount that had to be paid by each adult, and it usually determined whether
or not a person had the right to vote. By the way poll taxes were declared unconstitutional in 1966.
Back to Thoreau. Because of his refusal to pay the tax, he was sent to jail. There's a
legend that claims that Emerson went to the jail to visit his friend and asked,
"Why are you here?" To which Thoreau replied, "Why are you not here?" [chuckles] While we don't know
whether that story is actually true or not, we do know that Thoreau was released from jail the next
day after an anonymous party (most historians believe it was his aunt) paid his taxes.
Well, after his 26 months at Walden Pond Thoreau re-entered civilization, but he didn't back down
from his ideas. He wrote, spoke, published, and continued to live by his principles, even
if it meant it sometimes got him into trouble. Eventually, Thoreau's opposition to slavery led
him to support John Brown — another man of action. After the failed raid at Harpers Ferry and the
arrest of John Brown, Thoreau wrote and delivered a speech called "A Plea For Captain John Brown,"
and even though Thoreau delivered this speech multiple times, Brown was convicted of treason
and hanged. After Brown's death in 1859, Thoreau was despondent and his own health declined.
Henry David Thoreau died of tuberculosis in 1862 at age 44, and at his funeral Ralph Waldo Emerson
delivered a eulogy. When Thoreau's life ended, he had no idea that his work would live on to
impact future generations of America. Two Works in particular: Walden and Civil Disobedience
Thoreau's most famous work is Walden, a book that Chronicles his two-year stay in a cabin
he built himself on the shores of Walden Pond. The book is a meditation on the simplicity of
life and the importance of self-reliance. Thoreau believed that modern society had
become too complicated and that people were too dependent on material possessions.
While many Americans were pursuing wealth, and the American economy was shifting rapidly towards
manufacturing and transportation, Thoreau was actively pursuing the notion that true success
came from a life of simplicity and self-reliance. In a nutshell, that's Transcendentalism.
Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience was published in 1849, and it has become one of the most
influential pieces of political philosophy in American history. The essay argues that
individuals have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws in a civil, non-violent manner. Thoreau's
argument is based on the idea that the individual conscience is superior to the laws of the state.
He believed that when a law is unjust, it is the duty of the individual to disobey it and work to
change it. Although Civil Disobedience did not change history during Thoreau's lifetime, it has
had a significant influence on many civil rights movements in American history, including the
suffragette movement, the labor movement, and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Martin Luther
King Jr. was greatly influenced by Thoreau's ideas, and he famously used Civil Disobedience
as a tactic in the fight for civil rights. You'll be reading excerpts from both Walden and Civil
Disobedience this week, and you'll be responding to Thoreau's ideas with your own opinions.
Let's take a look at what will be expected of you this week as you learn about Henry David Thoreau.
This week, you'll have daily PDF readings and activities based on the life and times
of Thoreau and excerpts from both Walden and Civil Disobedience. Of course, that will be
followed each day by some online practice, and on day five you'll answer reflection questions,
refresh your writing skills, take an online assessment, and complete a culminating
assignment that requires you to write a critical analysis of Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. It's
a four paragraph essay in which you introduce the central idea of Thoreau's essay, provide a
summary of his main arguments, and then provide your own opinions about the effectiveness of his
arguments. And then, you'll have a concluding paragraph in which you sum up your insights.
In this culminating writing assignment, as well as in your PDF activities throughout the week, you'll
be engaging in something Transcendentalists love: independent critical thinking. And you'll be also
doing something Thoreau would appreciate: You'll be taking a stand and speaking your own mind.
In our last lesson you learned a lot about the ideas of Transcendentalism. Well,
this week you'll be introduced to the man who went to the woods and put those ideas into action!