User:Hopeb99/sandbox

Article Evaluation - Transcendentalism

needs more mentions of transcendentalism literature and its effect on American culture

needs more clear and/or expanded definition of the term

maybe mention modern transcendentalism (if that's a thing)

more examples of criticisms

tone seems mostly neutral, but maybe in favor of it

the origin section may need to be expanded/cleared up a bit

beliefs section could maybe include more

sources are much more in-depth than article; there seems to be a lot of good information that has been looked over or oversimplified

lots of discussion on what to add and historical context, also some quite discouraging reviews

part of several wikiprojects, but all c-class or start class

Adding Images Module

Misc. To Do

• Switch placement of "Second Wave of Transcendentalists" and "Major Figures" sections
  • Move "Beliefs" section after "Origin"?
    • Add photo of A.B. Alcott?
    • Add Fruitlands article to "See Also" section
    • Maybe discuss the politics of Transcendentalism?
    • Link to article on Leo Marx's book The Machine in the Garden

Draft of Contribution

(to go in "Beliefs" section, after "Idealism")

Importance of nature

Transcendentalists have a deep gratitude and appreciation for nature, not only for aesthetic purposes, but also as a tool to observe and understand the structured inner workings of the natural world. (#4 in general references list on page, gotta fix) Emerson emphasizes the Transcendental beliefs in the holistic power of the natural landscape in Nature:

In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.

The conservation of an undisturbed natural world is also extremely important to the Transcendentalists. The idealism that is a core belief of Transcendentalism results in an inherent skepticism of capitalism, westward expansion, and industrialization. As early as 1843, in Summer on the Lakes, Margaret Fuller noted that "the noble trees are gone already from this island to feed this caldron," and in 1854, in Walden, Thoreau regards the trains which are beginning to spread across America's landscape as a "winged horse or fiery dragon" that "sprinkle[s] all the restless men and floating merchandise in the country for seed."